Researchers combined more than 1,000 records of peat deposits buried under mineral sediments with a global ecosystem model to reconstruct global peatland dynamics over the past 130,000 years, finding evidence for expansion of peatlands and increased carbon accumulation at high northern latitudes during warm periods and burial of peatlands during periods of glacial expansion, providing a potential long-term carbon storage mechanism.
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Article #18-13305: "Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y," by Claire C. Treat et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Claire C. Treat, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, FINLAND; tel: +358-469599744; e-mail: <claire.treat@uef.fi>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences