New research chair empowers wetland climate solutions
We are thrilled to share that Water Institute member Dr. Maria Strack has been recently named Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Wetland Climate Solutions. This prestigious Chair builds on her previous role as CRC in Ecosystems and Climate, expanding her focus to more directly support Canada’s climate goals through wetland conservation, restoration and sustainable use. Backed by $1.4 million in funding, this new Chair will drive forward research at the intersection of wetlands and climate action.
Dr. Strack, a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo, is internationally recognized for her research on peatlands.
“Even though peatlands only cover 3% of the Earth’s surface, they store about 600 billion tonnes of carbon,” says Strack. “That’s more than the carbon stored in all the world’s forests combined.”
As powerful carbon sinks, peatlands play a critical role in climate regulation—but their benefits can be rapidly undone when disturbed by economic activities such as agriculture, mining or oil and gas development.
“It’s vital to investigate how these greenhouse gas exchanges work so that they can be accounted for in peatland management decisions,” says Strack.
This new Chair will allow Dr. Strack to work more closely with communities and industry partners to identify practical ways to reduce emissions from these landscapes and accelerate the power of peatland restoration to repair critical ecosystem functions such as carbon sequestration.
The Tier 1 CRC in Wetland Climate Solutions will focus on three main objectives:
- Quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wetland disturbances, including resource exploration activities, road crossings and agricultural peatland use.
- Predicting GHG emission reductions following peatland restoration, including projects on oil sands sites and post-harvest peatlands.
- Informing best management practices that minimize GHG emissions from peat stockpiling, new peat harvesting techniques, and improved restoration methods.
Dr. Strack’s team will collaborate closely with Indigenous communities, restoration practitioners, industry and government scientists to ensure their findings are not only scientifically robust, but also directly influence restoration practices and GHG emissions reporting.
This new Chair also supports Strack’s leadership of the national Can-Peat project, a collaborative initiative to enhance understanding of Canada’s peatlands and their role in climate mitigation. By combining field studies, lab experiments, modelling and community knowledge, Can-Peat is helping to build a shared foundation for managing peatlands in ways that preserve their long-term carbon storage.
“Canada has over one quarter of the world’s peatlands, with most currently intact. Therefore, we have the responsibility to steward this globally significant carbon stock,” Strack reflects. “This Chair provides the opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of peatland management decisions in Canada’s climate action plans and the research program will train the next generation of experts to support implementation of wetland climate solutions.”
To learn more about Dr. Strack’s research, visit the Wetland Soils & Greenhouse Gas Exchange Lab.