A peat bog in Store Vildmose, Denmark. Diana Vigah Adetsu
New research finds that microalgae in northern peat bogs will absorb more carbon dioxide as the planet warms, helping to take a bite out of emissions.
The findings offer some hope for the future impact of peatlands, which cover just 3 percent of the Earth but store more carbon than all the world’s forests put together. The fear is that in a hotter world, peatlands will decompose faster, unleashing huge amounts of stored carbon to the atmosphere. But the new modeling study finds that microalgae in bogs will draw down a significant portion of that carbon.
Thus far, experts have not accounted for the effect of peatland microalgae in climate projections. The new study, published in Nature Climate Change, finds that if emissions stay high through the end of this century, microalgae will soak up 14 percent of the carbon dioxide spewing from northern peatlands.
ALSO ON YALE E360
Turning Farmland Back to Peatland: Can It Slow CO2 Emissions?
