Peatland

A waterlogged landscape where plant remains accumulate faster than they decompose, forming peat. Peatlands store large amounts of carbon and include bogs and fens.

Peat: Partially decomposed plant material accumulated in waterlogged conditions. Its gradual accumulation is what turns a waterlogged landscape into a peatland.
Bog: A peat-forming wetland that receives water mainly from precipitation and is often acidic and nutrient-poor. Bogs are peatlands sustained largely by rain rather than mineral-rich groundwater.
Carbon sink: A reservoir that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases over a given period. Undisturbed peatlands can store carbon accumulated over centuries or millennia.
Greenhouse gas emissions: The release of gases that trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere. Drainage and burning can turn peatlands from long-term carbon stores into emission sources.
Flow Country: A vast expanse of blanket bog in northern Scotland. Its extensive peatlands illustrate the scale of blanket bog landscapes.
Anoxia: A condition in which oxygen is absent from an environment. Saturated soils restrict oxygen and slow the decay of plant remains.
Fen: A peat-forming wetland supplied by groundwater or surface water, often richer in minerals than a bog. Fens show how water sources produce peatlands with different chemistry and vegetation.
Peat extraction: The removal of peat from wetlands for fuel, horticulture, or other uses. Extraction makes peatlands a resource while exposing stored carbon to loss.
Biodiversity: The variety of life across genes, species, and ecosystems. Peatlands support specialized species adapted to waterlogged, nutrient-poor conditions.
Great Vasyugan Mire: A vast peatland complex in western Siberia. It is among the world’s largest continuous wetland and peatland systems.

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