Bogs and climate

How do bogs interrelate with the climate

Within the moist bog soil, plants are not completely decomposed because of the exclusion of air (and oxygen). Gradually peat layers have established – up to six metres or even more in height - over thousands of years. During their lifetime, these former plants had extracted climate-damaging CO2 (carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere which still remains permanently bound as carbon in the peat (so-called "carbon sinks"). However, peat in intact bogs is still decomposed by anaerobic bacteria (without oxygen). Thus climate-effective methane (CH4), is emitted from the soil into the atmosphere. The carbon balance of natural bogs remains clearly positive. However, if bogs are drained for use, air invades into the peat body and the peat is mineralized. As a result, huge amounts of CO2 and additional nitrous oxide (N2O) escape, which has a far higher climate-damaging effect (approx. 300 x) than CO2. So drained peatlands lose their important function as carbon sinks, instead they become a gas source and contribute significantly to climate change.

Bogs and climate are closely interrelated. On the one hand, intact bogs slow down global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the climate also affects the bogs. So far, they have reacted to climate fluctuations with more or less strong growth. Intact bogs are sluggish ecosystems, have a good self-regulation and can overcome dry periods without lasting damage. Now, for the first time in the history of the earth, a rapid global warming has started affecting marshland (bog) ecosystems. This could be fatal: After a certain degree of disturbance, bogs lose their ability to store carbon and release carbon dioxide which has an impact on the climate(as explained above).

Peatlands play an important role in climate change, more than ever before. They are valuable water reservoirs and also have a positive influence on the local climate.