{"id":22547,"date":"2025-04-17T18:36:30","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=22547"},"modified":"2025-04-17T18:36:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:36:31","slug":"colombias-peatlands-could-be-crucial-in-the-fight-against-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/colombias-peatlands-could-be-crucial-in-the-fight-against-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia\u2019s Peatlands Could Be Crucial in the Fight Against Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">UC Santa Cruz-led researchers have discovered extensive peatlands in Colombia that could play a crucial role in combating climate change. These ecosystems store up to 70 years worth of the nation\u2019s carbon emissions, highlighting the need for urgent conservation efforts.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Hidden among Colombia\u2019s eastern lowlands lie vast swathes of peatlands, recently revealed through research led by Scott Winton, an assistant professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. This discovery, <a href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.1088\/1748-9326\/adbc03\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in the journal Environmental Research Letters, highlights the immense potential of these ecosystems to fight climate change by storing significant amounts of carbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peatlands are not just another type of wetland; they are extraordinary carbon sinks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOn a global scale, peatlands cover only 3% of land surface but store more carbon than all of the world\u2019s trees,\u201d Winton said in a news release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their soggy soils inhibit the decomposition of plant material, leading to the accumulation of carbon-rich peat. This makes their conservation a crucial element in international climate strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Winton\u2019s team, along with collaborators from ETH Zurich, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Stanford University, mapped newly identified and predicted peatland zones across Colombia, estimating an area of 7,370 to 36,200 square kilometers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These findings suggest that conserving these peatlands could drastically reduce Colombia\u2019s carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, Colombia&#8217;s peatlands face significant threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lack of current knowledge about their locations, coupled with rapid agricultural and infrastructural development, puts them at risk of being drained and destroyed. This would not only release stored carbon but also halt the peatlands&#8217; ability to act as carbon sinks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Winton acknowledges the urgency of the situation, noting that Indonesia&#8217;s peatland destruction due to agriculture has led to massive CO2 emissions, demonstrating the global importance of conserving these ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team\u2019s process was far from easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe visited a lot of wetlands without finding any peat, and we kind of had to stumble around and struggle a bit before we figured out how to find what we were looking for,&#8221; Winton added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Persistence paid off when they finally identified peat soils at 51 out of more than 100 sites, leading to the discovery of two distinct types of peatlands: palm swamps and white-sand peatlands, the latter previously undocumented in South America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their rigorous research, examining soil samples and employing satellite imagery, led to a refined predictive model for identifying peatlands, signaling potential areas for future exploration and conservation. These Colombian peatlands alone might sequester an amount of carbon equivalent to 70 years of the country\u2019s emissions from fossil fuels and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Winton emphasizes that the battle is just beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere are many places across Colombia and around the world where we could still find large peatlands that we didn\u2019t know existed that would totally upend current assumptions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Colombia continues to rebuild and develop, prioritizing the identification and protection of these peatlands can both preserve a critical natural resource and solidify the nation\u2019s role in combating global climate change. Additional research and proactive conservation efforts can ensure peatlands remain effective carbon sinks and turn these hidden heroes into frontline defenders against climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ucsc.edu\/2025\/04\/colombia-peatlands.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">University of California, Santa Cruz<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hidden among Colombia\u2019s eastern lowlands lie vast swathes of peatlands, recently revealed through research led by Scott Winton, an assistant professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. This discovery, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, highlights the immense potential of these ecosystems to fight climate change by storing significant amounts of carbon. Peatlands [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[88,303,53,302],"class_list":["post-22547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-and-environment","tag-eth-zurich","tag-pontificia-universidad-javeriana","tag-stanford-university","tag-uc-santa-cruz"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Hidden among Colombia\u2019s eastern lowlands lie vast swathes of peatlands, recently revealed through research led by Scott Winton, an assistant professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. This discovery, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, highlights the immense potential of these ecosystems to fight climate change by storing significant amounts of carbon. Peatlands&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22547"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22641,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22547\/revisions\/22641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}