Cited by 396Peatlands and Wetlands EcologyClimate change and permafrostSoil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Peatlands and Global Change: Response and Resilience

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Page, S.E., Baird, A.J.·2016·Annual Review of Environment and Resources

Abstract

Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that accumulate dead organic matter (i.e., peat) when plant litter production outpaces peat decay, usually under conditions of frequent or continuous waterlogging. Collectively, global peatlands store vast amounts of carbon (C), equaling if not exceeding the amount of C in the Earth's vegetation; they also encompass a remarkable diversity of forms, from the frozen palsa mires of the northern subarctic to the lush swamp forests of the tropics, each with their own characteristic range of fauna and flora. In this review we explain what peatlands are, how they form, and the contribution that peatland science can make to our understanding of global change. We explore the variety in formation, shape, vegetation type, and chemistry of peatlands across the globe and stress the fundamental features that are common to all peat-forming ecosystems. We consider the impacts that past, present, and future environmental changes, including anthropogenic disturbances, have had and will have on peatland systems, particularly in terms of their important roles in C storage and the provision of ecosystem services. The most widespread uses of peatlands today are for forestry and agriculture, both of which require drainage that results in globally significant emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a greenhouse gas (GHG). Climatic drying and drainage also increase the risk of peat fires, which are a further source of GHG emissions [CO 2 and methane (CH 4 )] to the atmosphere, as well as causing negative human health and socioeconomic impacts. We conclude our review by explaining the roles that paleoecological, experimental, and modeling studies can play in allowing us to build a more secure understanding of how peatlands function, how they will respond to future climate- and land-management-related disturbances, and how best we can improve their resilience in a changing world.

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Crossref · 10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085520

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  • The total amount of carbon stored in wetlands and peatlands has been estimated at approximately 1,500 GtC, approximately 30-40% of the global terrestrial carbon stock.

    “The total amount of carbon stored in wetlands and peatlands has been estimated at approximately 1,500 GtC, approximately 30-40% of the global terrestrial carbon stock (44,45).”

    From Restoring Degraded Lands (2021) · cites this paper as [45]

    Section 1 and the Summary Points describe peatlands as major carbon stores and estimate that they contain 500–700 GtC. The paper does not give the claimed 1,500 GtC estimate for wetlands and peatlands together or the figure of 30–40% of global terrestrial carbon stock. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Smith P, Bustamante M, Ahammad H, Clark H, Dong H, et al. 2014. Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU). In Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ed. O Edenhofer, R Pichs- Madruga, Y Sokona, E Farahani, S Kadner, et al., pp. 811-922. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge Univ. Press
  2. Belyea LR, Clymo RS. 2001. Feedback control of the rate of peat formation. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B 268:1315-21
  3. Draper F. 2015. Carbon storage and floristic dynamics in Peruvian peatland ecosystems. PhD Thesis, Sch. Geogr., Univ. Leeds, Leeds, UK
  4. Dargie G. 2016. Quantifying and understanding the tropical peatlands of the central Congo basin. PhD Thesis, Univ. Leeds, Leeds, UK

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Authors
Page, S. E., & Baird, A. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Leicester (GB)
  • University of Leeds (GB)
Venue
Annual Review of Environment and Resources
Published
2016-11-01
Volume
41
Issue
1
Pages
35-57
ISSN
  • 1543-5938 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-2050
OpenAlex
W2246953143
Cited by
396
References
82
Citations by year
2026: 39 · 2025: 85 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6
FWCI
1.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Annual Review of Environment and Resources (publishedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Climate change and permafrost
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
Keywords
peatlands, global change, peatland carbon storage, peatland resilience, peatland drainage, greenhouse gas emissions, peatland fires, methane emissions, CO2 emissions, peatland formation, climate change impacts, land management, peatland hydrology, peatland vegetation

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