Fire experiments on peatlands in Southeast Asia have identified previously unknown emissions patterns and could point to ways to detect these smoldering fires before they become too big to fight.
peat
Posted inFeatures
Firing Up Climate Models
Scientists are working to incorporate wildfire data into climate models, resolving hindrances related to scale, speed, and the complex feedbacks between the climate and wildfire emissions.
Posted inScience Updates
A Global Perspective on Wildfires
Satellites provide global-scale data that are invaluable in efforts to understand, monitor, and respond to wildfires and emissions, which are increasingly affecting climate and putting humans at risk.
Posted inNews
Peatlands Are Drying Out Across Europe
Peatlands are some of the world’s largest reservoirs of soil carbon, but new research finds that in Europe they are drying out, putting them at risk of turning from carbon sinks to carbon sources.
Posted inNews
Resilient Peatlands Keep Carbon Bogged Down
Boreal peatlands contain some of the world’s largest reservoirs of soil carbon, and new research suggests some peatlands may hold on to that carbon even as the climate changes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Depth Matters in Peat Bog Nutrient Cycling
Peatlands store around a third of Earth’s soil carbon, and a new study begins to reveal how the ecosystems’ organic matter changes with depth.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Drones Hunt for Impacts of Oil Exploration on Wetland Emissions
Seismic lines, constructed for petroleum resource exploration, disturb Canadian peatlands, but how can we detect their impact on greenhouse gas budgets?
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Measuring Emissions from Smoldering Peat Fires
A new study measures emission factors for tropical peatland fires in Malaysia.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Better Way to Probe Peat
Florida scientists use ground-penetrating radar to image underground carbon stores in the Disney Wilderness Preserve.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Wetter Climate Increases Methane Production in Peat
As northern Minnesota's climate got wetter, precipitation drove mobile forms of young carbon deeper into peatlands, doubling the size of methane-producing strata.