Deforestation and draining of the peatlands in equatorial SE Asia has greatly increased their flammability, and in September–October 2015 a strong El Niño-related drought led to further drying and to widespread burning across parts of Indonesia, primarily on Kalimantan and Sumatra. These fires resulted in some of the worst sustained …
Deforestation and draining of the peatlands in equatorial SE Asia has greatly increased their flammability, and in September–October 2015 a strong El Niño-related drought led to further drying and to widespread burning across parts of Indonesia, primarily on Kalimantan and Sumatra. These fires resulted in some of the worst sustained …
The palm oil industry is still a leading cause of deforestation in Indonesia. Three years after the world’s biggest palm oil traders adopted ‘no deforestation’ policies, Greenpeace International examined 11 traders to see how much progress they had made. Not only were they unable to prove their suppliers were not …
This week, Rwanda's minister for infrastructure, James Musoni, witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a peat power plant in Mamba sector, Gisagara District. On completion, the plant is expected to increase installed capacity in the country by 40%. Read more... Speaking at the ceremony, Musoni said: "We are …
Low energy supply, complete with shortages, high costs and poor access, remains major impediments to Africa’s social and economic progress. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 commits to fast-tracking modern, efficient, reliable and cost effective renewable energy for all households, businesses, industries and institutions. To support this, in 2016, the African …
Peatlands are carbon-rich ecosystems that cover just three per cent of Earth’s land surface, but store one-third of soil carbon. Peat soils are formed by the build-up of partially decomposed organic matter under waterlogged anoxic conditions. Most peat is found in cool climatic regions where unimpeded decomposition is slower, but …
Anthropogenic activity is affecting the global climate through the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) e.g. CO2 and CH4. About a third of anthropogenic GHGs are produced from agriculture, including livestock farming and horticulture. A large proportion of the UK's horticultural farming takes place on drained lowland peatlands, which are a …
Living with fire is a challenge for human communities because they are influenced by socio-economic, political, ecological and climatic processes at various spatial and temporal scales. Over the course of 2 days, the authors discussed how communities could live with fire challenges at local, national and transnational scales. Exploiting our …
About 60% of the European wetlands are located in the European part of Russia. Nevertheless, data on methane emissions from wetlands of that area are absent. Here we present results of methane emission measurements for two climatically different years from a boreal peatland complex in European Russia. Winter fluxes were …
Northern peatlands have been accumulating organic matter since the start of the Holocene, and are now a substantial store of terrestrial carbon. However, their current status as carbon sinks is less clear, because of the possible effects of climate change, air pollution, grazing and drainage etc., and the difficulties of …
It is believed that oil palm plantations and industrial forest companies have played roles in the spreading of fires currently burning hundreds of hectares of peatland in West and East Tanjungjabung regencies, Jambi province. “Fire mitigation is urgent. The government, as the license issuer, should have asked the companies to …
Plantation-associated drainage of Southeast Asian peatlands has accelerated in recent years. Draining exposes the upper peat layer to oxygen, leading to elevated decomposition rates and net soil carbon losses. Empirical studies indicate positive relationships between long-term water table (WT) depth and soil carbon loss rate in peatlands. These correlations potentially …
Smoldering peat fires in Indonesia are responsible for large quantities of trace gas and particulate emissions. However, to date no satellite remote sensing technique has been demonstrated for the identification of smoldering peat fires. Fires have two distinct combustion phases: a high temperature flaming and low temperature smoldering phases. The …
Arctic permafrost soils store large amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC) that could be released into the atmosphere as methane (CH4) in a future warmer climate. How warming affects the complex microbial network decomposing SOC is not understood. The researchers studied CH4 production of Arctic peat soil microbiota in anoxic …
A moratorium on land conversion begun during former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration in 2011 has not yet been effective to save peat forests in Riau, as slash and burn practices to clear areas for plantations in the province have continued to occur. In Sumber Jaya village, Siak Kecil district, …
Vast areas of deforested tropical peatlands do not receive noteworthy shading by vegetation, which increases the amount of solar radiation reaching the peat surface. Peat temperature dynamics and heterotrophic carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) fluxes were monitored under four shading conditions, i.e. unshaded, 28%, 51% and …
Responsible management practices can help to maintain peatland ecosystem services while sustaining and improving local livelihoods. This recent FAO publication gives guidance on responsible peatland management practices, supporting the reduction of GHG emissions from managed peatlands. This overview of current knowledge on peatlands, includes data related to their geographic distribution, …
Blanket bog—characterized by an almost complete landscape covering of undecayed organic peat—is a highly distinctive biome restricted to regions that experience hyperoceanic climatic conditions. Bioclimatic modelling suggests there will be a dramatic shrinkage of the available climatic space for blanket bogs with only a few, restricted areas of persistence.
Peat bogs are primarily situated at mid to high latitudes and future climatic change projections indicate that these areas may become increasingly wetter and warmer. Methane emissions from peat bogs are reduced by symbiotic methane oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs). Higher temperatures and increasing water levels will enhance methane production, but also …
We quantified the wholesale transformation of the boreal landscape by open-pit oil sands mining in Alberta, Canada to evaluate its effect on carbon storage and sequestration. Contrary to claims made in the media, peatland destroyed by open-pit mining will not be restored. Current plans dictate its replacement with upland forest …
Wetlands are among the most productive and economically valuable ecosystems in the world. However, because of human activities, over half of the wetland ecosystems existing in North America, Europe, Australia, and China in the early 20th century have been lost. Ecological restoration to recover critical ecosystem services has been widely …
