Articles | Volume 22, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6057-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6057-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Ideas and perspectives
| 
24 Oct 2025
Ideas and perspectives |
| 24 Oct 2025
| 24 Oct 2025
Ideas and Perspectives: Potentially large but highly uncertain carbon dioxide emissions resulting from peat erosion
Thomas C. Parker
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
Chris Evans
UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor, LL57 2UW, UK
Martin G. Evans
Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Miriam Glendell
The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
Richard Grayson
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Joseph Holden
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Changjia Li
Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Pengfei Li
College of Geomatics, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 70021, China
Rebekka R. E. Artz
The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
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Short summary
Many peatlands around the world are eroding and causing carbon losses to the atmosphere and to freshwater systems. To accurately report emissions from peatlands we need to understand how much of the eroded peat is converted to CO2 once exposed to the atmosphere. We need more direct measurements of this process and a better understanding of the environmental conditions that peat is exposed to after it erodes. This information will help quantify the emissions savings from peatland restoration.
Many peatlands around the world are eroding and causing carbon losses to the atmosphere and to...
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