If you happened to have listened to my recent podcast about composting, you will see that an intricate chemistry between carbon and nitrogen is crucial to this biological process. Today, I will introduce a similar subject that has a lot to do with decomposed organic matters, but at a much grander scale.
A group of Duke University researchers published a paper on Global Change Biology. The paper concluded that peatlands drained for agriculture or forestry are susceptible to the rapid release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) through enhanced microbial decomposition and increased frequency of deep peat fires. The researchers present evidence that rewetting drained subtropical wooded peatlands (STWPs) along the southeastern USA coast, primarily pocosin bogs, could prevent significant carbon losses.
Fig. 1 Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina
Named after the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, this coastal landscape occurs in low-lying shallow basins that do not drain naturally. According to NOAA, pocosins are formed by the accumulation of organic matter resembling black muck which builds up over thousands of years. The land is of little agricultural value but once drained can be turned into commercial development. This is where the problem lies. During the draining of the peatlands, large amounts of carbon that has been stored there can be released into the atmosphere. Not all of this type of landscape is under strict conservation like the Everglades National Park, an endless expanse of swampy area which our family visited in 2016.
Figure 2: The healthy balance of a peatland
The peatlands habitat is not only limited to the southeastern US. It can be found in cold climates such as Scotland and also in tropical jungles. Some statistics put 30% of the amount of total land-based carbon into peatlands. The solution to trapping this carbon appears to be simple—maintaining a water level between 20 and 30 cm below the local water table will do the trick.
However, given my personal experience of living through two once-a-1000-year floods in Historical Ellicott City in 2016 and 2018, respectively, I have been in awe of the sheer power of water. I’d rather believe a lot of engineering needs to be done besides educating the general public.
Reference:
- https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/rewetting-southern-peatlands-could-prevent-millions-tons-co2-emissions
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2021/congo-peatlands-carbon-emissions/
