New data-driven map reveals extensive peatlands in Amazon Basin
A consortium of researchers led by the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and Charles University, Prague have developed a new data-driven map which predicts substantially more peatland area in the Amazon basin than previously ...
The map of the Amazon Basin reveals a far greater extent of peatlands than previously documented. The new research article, published in Environmental Research Letters, sheds light on a critical carbon store and ecosystem potentially vulnerable to climate change and human impacts.
Peatlands are waterlogged landscapes that accumulate partially decomposed plant matter over thousands of years. They store vast amounts of carbon and play a crucial role in regulating the global climate. However, their distribution in the Amazon Basin, a region critical for global climate stability, has been poorly understood.
An international team of peatland researchers, led by Dr. Adam Hastie from Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, compiled data from over 2,400 ground reference points across the Amazon. These points showing the ecosystem type with or without peat were combined with satellite imagery and other environmental data to create a high-resolution map of peatland extent.
The new map estimates that peatlands cover approximately 251,000 square kilometers of the Amazon Basin, an area larger than Belgium. This is significantly greater than previous estimates, suggesting that vast areas of peatland remain undocumented, particularly in northern Brazil and Bolivia.
Image of open peatland at Napo river during fieldtrip led by Adam Hastie and Jose Reyna. Photo taken on Jun 2019. Credit: IIAP
Image of Margarita del Aguila and Jose Reyna from IIAP at a community at the Corrientes River obtained the prior informed consent during peatland sampling. Credit: IIAP