Peatlands and Climate Change 2nd Edition 2023 - PDF version

Peatlands and Climate Change (Editor: Maria Strack) as downloadable PDF

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International Peatland Society, Jyväskylä, December 2023

414 pages, full colour, A5

ISBN 978-952-99401-8-9 (print version)

About the book

In their natural state, peatlands take up and store carbon in their soils and hold it there for millennia. Therefore, peatlands represent the largest terrestrial store of organic carbon. However, natural and anthropogenic disturbance has the potential to release this peatland carbon store, contributing to substantial greenhouse gas emissions. As the planet faces the threat of human-caused climate warming, the role that peatlands play in climate regulation has gained international recognition. Conservation and restoration of peatlands are now often called on as nature-based climate solutions.

To better understand the interactions among intact, disturbed, and restored peatlands and the climate system, a growing body of research has been completed over the past few decades. In 2008, the International Peatland Society launched the first edition of the book “Peatlands and Climate Change”, compiling the state of the science on peatland carbon storage and greenhouse gas exchange at that time.

This second edition represents a fully updated text on the current breadth of knowledge, including methods for peatland management to protect carbon stocks and reduce future greenhouse gas emissions. This is presented alongside details about international agreements and organizations that inform peatland management and aim to incorporate peatlands in climate change actions and strategies.

Together this information will provide readers with a strong basis for understanding the interactions between peatlands and climate and the pathways forward for peatland management on a warming planet.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Executive summary for policymakers

Peat and peatlands

Long-term peat development and accumulation

Peatlands, greenhouse gas exchange and climate change

Climate impacts of anthropogenic disturbances: Understudied anthropogenic disturbances and peatland carbon cycling

Climate impact of peatland agriculture

The impacts of forestry on peatland carbon stocks, greenhouse gas dynamics, and climate

Climate impact of peat extraction for fuel and horticultural use

Peatland restoration, rewetting and greenhouse gas balances

Peat and peatlands in international agencies, agreements, conventions, and programs

Looking to the future - managing peatlands under a changing climate

About the IPS

Financial contributions

Authors

Rebekka Artz

Nicole Balliston

Brynhildur Bjarnadottir

Kenneth A. Byrne

Sakonvan Chawchai

Nicholas Clarke

John Couwenberg

Scott J. Davidson

Sarah A. Finkelstein

Angela Gallego-Sala

Tasha-Leigh Gauthier

Bernd Hofer

Vytas Huth

Järvi Järveoja

Jyrki Jauhiainen

Sabine Jordan

Gerald Jurasinski

Sylvain Jutras

Åsa Kasimir

Benoit Lafleur

Anna Laine-Petäjäkangas

Maija Lampela

Andis Lazdiņš

Jens Leifeld

Massimo Lupascu

Liisa Maanavilja

Ülo Mander

Colin P.R. McCarter

Kari Minkkinen

Sini Niinistö

Alice Noble

Felix Nwaishi

Paavo Ojanen

Mike Peacock

Anna-Helena Purre

Tracy Rankin

Florence Renou-Wilson

J.O. Rieley

Nigel Roulet

Bambang Setiadi

Narasinha Shurpali

Andrey Sirin

Thomas J. Sloan

Maria Strack

Erin Swails

Muh Taufik

Carl Trettin

Merritt Turetsky

J. Michael Waddington

Lahiru Wijedasa

Sophie L. Wilkinson

David Wilson

Raphael Wust

In memory of Bambang Setiadi and Andrey Sirin who passed away in 2023.

Funding

The editing, printing and publishing of the book was supported by a crowdfunding campaign.