In a study published in Environmental Research Letters, researchers discussed how peat bogs, which are wetlands containing high levels of carbon from decaying vegetation, could play a crucial role in helping the world achieve climate goals, such as limiting postindustrial warming to 2 degrees Celsius as outlined in the 2015 Paris agreement. Alexander Popp, a senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, emphasized the importance of protecting and restoring these peatlands, as achieving certain greenhouse gas emission targets would be extremely challenging without these efforts. Peatlands are found worldwide, in both tropical and colder regions, and while they only cover 3% of the global land area, their deep layers of peat contain significantly more carbon than the world's forests. In undisturbed bogs, the carbon remains wet and preserved. However, if a bog is drained for farming or other purposes, the carbon begins to oxidize and is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming. This process can last for hundreds of years. It is currently estimated that drained peatlands around the world release as much carbon dioxide each year as all air travel combined. Additionally, dried out peatlands pose a fire hazard, and peat fires have the potential to release large amounts of carbon rapidly. In September and October 2015, peat fires in Indonesia, where bogs have been drained for palm oil plantations and other purposes, released more carbon dioxide daily than all the fossil fuels burned in the European Union. Restoring dried peatlands by allowing them to become wet again would saturate the decaying vegetation, preventing further carbon dioxide release and eliminating the fire hazard. "Rewetting them is crucial for achieving mitigation targets," Popp stated. Many climate change mitigation pathways predict that by the end of the century, land use, including forests and agriculture, would be a net carbon sink, storing more carbon than is released into the atmosphere. This would help slow global warming. The researchers stated that many pathways do not consider emissions from degraded peatland. When they incorporated peatland data into their land-use model, they discovered that land use would release more carbon dioxide than it stored. By protecting pristine wetlands and rewetting 60% of degraded ones, land use could become a net carbon sink again. Mike Waddington, a peat researcher at McMaster University, praised the study for advocating the restoration of peatlands, noting their significant carbon storage capabilities despite covering a small area. He mentioned that the study emphasized how crucial peatlands are in regulating the global climate. Currently, efforts to change land use for climate benefits often prioritize planting trees over preserving peatlands. Waddington explained that there is significant pressure to plant trees in drained peatlands, but this is not the best option considering the carbon storage capacity of intact bogs. Peat bogs are typically dried out by digging ditches, allowing water to drain. Some peatlands are drained for peat extraction for horticulture or fuel, in addition to being converted into croplands or forests. Waddington stated that draining only 10 to 15% of a peatland and extracting peat can transform the entire system into a source. To restore peatlands, blocking ditches or building berms to maintain peat saturation could be effective. The study found that there was uncertainty in cost estimates for protecting and restoring peatlands, but the main conclusion remained the same. Waddington described this as an easy and straightforward solution. © 2020 The New York Times Company holds the rights to this text.