Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Peer-reviewed

Expert assessment of future vulnerability of the global peatland carbon sink

Julie Loisel, Angela Gallego‐Sala, Matthew J. Amesbury, Gabriel Magnan, Gusti Z. Anshari, David W. Beilman, Juan C. Benavides, Jerome Blewett, Philip Camill, Dan J. Charman, Sakonvan Chawchai, Alexandra Hedgpeth, Thomas Kleinen, Atte Korhola, David J. Large, Claudia A. Mansilla, Jurek Müller, Simon van Bellen, Jason B. West, Zicheng Yu, Jill L. Bubier, Michelle Garneau, Tim R. Moore, A. Britta K. Sannel, Susan Page, Minna Väliranta, Michel Bechtold, Victor Brovkin, Lydia E. S. Cole, Jeffrey P. Chanton, Torben R. Christensen, Marissa A. Davies, François De Vleeschouwer, Sarah A. Finkelstein, Steve Frolking, Mariusz Gałka, Laure Gandois, Nicholas T. Girkin, Lorna I. Harris, Andreas Heinemeyer, Alison M. Hoyt, Miriam C. Jones, Fortunat Joos, Sari Juutinen, Karl Kaiser, Terri Lacourse, Mariusz Lamentowicz, Tuula Larmola, Jens Leifeld, Annalea Lohila, Alice M. Milner, Kari Minkkinen, Patrick Moss, B. David A. Naafs, J. E. Nichols, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Richard J. Payne, Michael Philben, Sanna Piilo, Anne Quillet, Amila Sandaruwan Ratnayake, Thomas P. Roland, Sofie Sjögersten, Oliver Sonnentag, Graeme T. Swindles, Ward Swinnen, Julie Talbot, Claire C. Treat, Alex Valach, Jianghua Wu

Nature Climate Change · 2020

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Summary

The carbon balance of peatlands is predicted to shift from a sink to a source this century. However, peatland ecosystems are still omitted from the main Earth system models that are used for future climate change projections, and they are not considered in integrated assessment models that are used in impact and mitigation studies. By using evidence synthesized from the literature and an expert elicitation, we define and quantify the leading drivers of change that have impacted peatland carbon stocks during the Holocene and predict their effect during this century and in the far future. We also identify uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the scientific community and provide insight towards better integration of peatlands into modelling frameworks. Given the importance of the contribution

Subject
Other / interdisciplinary
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
System type
Other
DOI
10.1038/s41558-020-00944-0
Catalogue ID
BFmommpepi-tokd5f
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