Teaser blurb: The PeatRestore project aims to bring together peatland professionals from academic, government, and NGO spaces to collaborate on products that catalyze peatland restoration by co-developing practical and timely tools and guidance.
Canadian peatlands are one of Earth’s most important natural carbon sinks, covering more than 12% of Canada's land area and containing an estimated ~25% of the world's peatland carbon reservoir (Hugelius et al., 2020). These ecosystems are particularly dominant in the Hudson Bay Lowlands but also span large swaths of the arctic, sub-arctic, boreal plains and maritime Canada.
Human activities, like resource extraction, inevitably overlap with peatland areas. While only an estimated 2% of Canadian peatlands have been disturbed to date, ongoing human development will continue to impact new areas. These industrial activities disrupt the natural ability of peatlands to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and store it as soil carbon. Depending on the disturbance type and how it changes the normal conditions present in that peatland, impacted areas may also release previously stored soil carbon as CO2 or methane (CH4). These changes to the usual greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange have significant global implications for climate regulation, so ecological restoration or reclamation is necessary for disturbed areas to regain their normal GHG functions.
Held at the Barrier Lake Institute in Kananaskis, the Can-Peat Symposium brought together researchers, students, and stakeholders from across Canada to exchange knowledge, showcase research, and strengthen partnerships in the peatland community.
Peatlands are the most common type of wetlands, consisting of thick soil layers of partially decomposed organic matter. These ecosystems cover 13 per cent of Canada’s land area, which corresponds to 27 per cent of the world’s peatlands. They provide essential benefits like clean water and food, flood protection, and habitat for a myriad of unique species. Peatlands are also one of the planet’s most effective carbon storage systems, holding about 60 per cent of Canada’s organic soil carbon. More details about Canadian peatlands can be found in the NRCAN database.
Even in the quiet of winter, microorganisms are hard at work in peatlands, cycling nutrients such as carbon. As a result, during winter, peatlands tend to release carbon dioxide (CO2) through microbial respiration because the plants that absorb CO2 are dormant. In contrast, plants take in CO2, via photosynthesis, during the growing season (GS). These seasonal dynamics generally balance out, with peatlands acting as net CO2 sinks over the course of the year. In Canada, however, winter temperatures are rising faster than other seasons. Warmer winters result in shorter cold periods and longer GSs. While a longer GS may increase the amount of CO2 peatlands absorb, the warmer conditions could also boost microbial activity, potentially offsetting the extra CO2 absorbed by plants. This shift in seasonal dynamics could tip the balance and weaken the ability of peatlands to act as carbon sinks. Understanding these seasonal changes is crucial for predicting how peatlands will respond to a changing climate and provide insights into their potential role as nature-based solutions.
Can-Peat Local Contexts Guide Part 1 is now available
Data and information about Canadian peatlands are valuable to a wide range of knowledge users concerned about the future of peatlands in the country. The Can-Peat project is particularly interested in information related to carbon storage and greenhouse gas exchange in Canadian peatlands to inform Canada’s climate action plan. To achieve that goal, many of the Can-Peat activities aim to make Canadian peatland data more findable and accessible, while also working to support Indigenous data sovereignty. One step that Can-Peat is taking towards this goal is using the Local Contexts Hub as a tool to help identify Indigenous data in its research activities.
To help researchers get started, we are holding a series of drop-in sessions about registering for and using the Local Contexts Hub. These drop-in sessions will be held on Teams on October 21 from 11 am–12 pm ET, October 29, 1–2 pm ET and November 6, 3–4 pm ET. Contact canpeat@uwaterloo.ca if you’d like to attend a drop-in session and need a meeting invitation.
This document serves as a general introduction for new Can-Peat HQP (highly qualified personnel) to the project workings. Please refer to your research group or/and institution’s guidelines and policies for more detailed information.