Preserving Peatlands - Slowing Climate Change with Bogs
Peatlands are very often the setting for chilling folklore. But they serve an important function - for the climate and biodiversity. Theyre capable of absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, thereby helping to mitigate the climate crisis. Nevertheless, bogs are still being destroyed all over the world. In Finland, peatlands are being drained to extract peat and generate energy. With dramatic consequences: less than half of all the countrys bogs are still intact. Tero Mustonen is a climatologist. He founded the organization Snowchange, to protect and save peatlands. Together with members of his village, Snowchange sued the energy company responsible for the destruction of the Linnunsuo wetland. Mustonens organization is now engaged in the worldwide fight to salvage and rewild biotopes. Greta Gaudig and Sabine Wichmann also campaign for the revitalization of peatlands. At the Greifswald Moor Center, the two conduct research on whats known as paludicultures: plant species that can be farmed in wetlands. Gaudig and Wichmann want to recreate moorlands previously drained for agriculture. "We need to convince farmers," the agronomist Sabine Wichmann explains. After all, ultimately they are the ones who will need to invest if they are to continue living off their land. One of the worlds most expensive and far-reaching climate experiments is taking place in the US state of Minnesota: in the Marcell Experimental Forest. Here, co-founder Randy Kolka is working with scientists from all over the world. Together theyre studying the connection between peatlands and climate change. Their findings are included in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, thereby impacting political decision-making. SUN 13.08.2023 00:02 UTC SUN 13.08.2023 03:30 UTC SUN 13.08.2023 14:30 UTC SUN 13.08.2023 20:30 UTC MON 14.08.2023 01:15 UTC MON 14.08.2023 05:02 UTC WED 16.08.2023 17:30 UTC Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 Delhi UTC +5,5 I Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8 London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3 San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4 SUN 13.08. 2023 09:30 UTC Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3