Wetlands as secret weapons in the fight against climate change
Natural wetland habitats like the peat bogs and fens in lowland England are a major carbon sink as they lock the carbon into the soil in the form of peat. Peatlands in the UK are thought to store more carbon than all the woodlands in the UK and France combined. Peat is formed due to waterlogged, anaerobic conditions inhibiting decomposition of plant matter. However, as a result of widespread fen habitat modification and drainage across the Fens to support agriculture and peat extraction, these habitats have been converted from natural carbon sinks into major carbon sources. Lowland peat under intensive arable agriculture in East Anglia are probably the UK’s largest land use derived source of carbon emissions. Our Fen Display recreates a typical lowland fen in miniature. Find out what you can do to reduce peat extraction by visiting this point on the trail.
Next: Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
Previous: Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna)
Return to the trail home page.