Peatland restoration
[3][4] Historically, peatlands have been drained for several main reasons; peat extraction, creation of agricultural land, and forestry usage.
Peatlands home a variety of native flora and fauna put at risk by projected degradation from climatic or anthropogenic alternation, placing emphasis and need for restoration efforts.
[7] A raised water table also results in a local direct cooling effect, moist vegetation and soil has a higher thermal conductivity and therefore solar radiation is rather used for evapotranspiration than warming the surface.
A peatland as an intact ecosystem is a natural water purifier, it filters and stores organic substances, metals or other toxic matter and retains nutrients.
[11] In drained sites there is a tendency for plant diversity to decrease, with mosses (including Sphagnum) facing difficulties in recolonizing such areas.
Peat extractions cause destabilisation of local ecosystems through physical landscape damage of digging, draining and isolation through habitat fragmentation.
Due to the water-logged nature of this environment, consistent seasonality and fluctuations, are essential to restoring stability and protecting pristine peatlands.
Climatic change of variables, such as precipitation and temperature, threaten significant factors mostly namely that of hydrology (due to its immediate effects on microbial decomposition within the soil).
[18] The rewetting of drained fen peatlands can lead to the growth of tall graminoid wetland plants, such as Common reed (Phragmites australis) and Broadleaf cattail (Typha latifolia), which can become the dominant vegetation for many years to decades.
[24] This can cause lasting changes to the biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and land cover characteristics of the area, particularly in terms of geochemistry and hydrology.
[27] A major peatland restoration project took place in Snowdonia (Eryri), Wales, where an upland farm witnessed the return of rare bird species after two decades of absence.
[28] During the summer of 2021, European golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria) and Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) successfully bred in the rewetted habitats, and chicks sightings were recorded for both species.
Restoration of peatlands could address the above impacts through creation of policy and/or adjusting use of the landscape, to protect and therefore reduce event occupancy of fires.
[34] Rewetting involves returning a degraded peatland to its original waterlogged conditions, which are critical to restoring peat-forming vegetation and suppressing the risk of forest fire,[35] aerobic microbial metabolism, and enzyme activity.
[29] The purpose of rewetting is to preserve soil moisture and decrease the rate of drainage, achieved by blocking and filling canals, and digging deep wells.
[43] The idea is to regenerate wet peatlands and increase the water table to get the peatland-ecosystem back to work, which stores high amounts of carbon.
[3] Meeting the requirements of the Paris Agreement calls for carbon neutrality by 2050–2070, achieving this target entails rewetting 500,000 km2 of drained peatlands at an average rate of over one million hectares annually.
[45] During the COP21 negotiations in Paris, a map highlighting global peatland hotspots was released to showcase the areas that require immediate attention to decrease greenhouse emissions.
[47][48] It provided a platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, and insights on the global protection, restoration, and sustainable management of peatlands among practitioners, researchers, policymakers, enthusiasts, and other stakeholders.
[51] Through the establishment of strategic partnerships among countries the EPI serves as a unifying force in promoting knowledge-sharing, mutual learning, and increased investment, to protect valuable peatlands across Europe.
Its main objective is to expedite the recuperation and reinstatement of the hydrological functions of degraded peat, predominantly resulting from drying and fire, through a well-planned, systematized and targeted approach.
[55] The Katingan Mentaya Project is managed by PT Rimba Makmur Utama in partnership with Wetlands International, Yayasan Puter, and Permian Global.
With an area three times the size of Manhattan, the project protects a biodiversity hotspot home to 100+ endangered, threatened, or vulnerable plants and animal species and works with local communities to improve livelihoods and promote rural economic development.
[58] The Programme has five main objectives: Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest and most effective private organization dedicated to conserving, restoring, and managing wetlands and associated habitats for North America's freshwater aquatic birds.
[59] They recognize the challenges waterbirds conservation face due to the degradation and destruction of wetlands and other habitats, and aim to turn this pattern by collaborating with various stakeholders, including private individuals, landowners, agencies, and scientific communities.
[59] Life to ad(d)mire project was initiated to address the decline of specific wetland habitats and species at Natura 2000 sites in Sweden.
[60] The ultimate goal was for the hydrologically-restored bogs to become carbon sinks, to prevent the ongoing loss of CO2 into the atmosphere caused by drained peatlands.
[65] Peat moss is a crucial substrate for forest plant nursery production, as it significantly enhances the quality and survival of seedlings.
[65] The selection of this substrate is based on several factors, including its organic and mineral composition, ability to retain water, cost, and availability.
[66] But they are also associated with fear due to the risks of becoming lost, sinking into the marshy terrain, and encountering dangerous fauna, including anacondas and mythical creatures.
