Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

TERRESTRIAL BIOGEOCHEMISTRY

Peatlands as prolific carbon sinks

Northern peatlands store over 1,000 Gt of carbon, almost double previous estimates, according to a new analysis of peat core data. The fate of this peat carbon, however, is uncertain in a rapidly changing world.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Petite Bog, Nova Scotia.

M.J.A.

References

  1. Gorham, E. Ecol. Appl. 1, 182–195 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Yu, Z., Loisel, J., Brosseau, D. P., Beilman, D. W. & Hunt, S. J. Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, L13402 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Nichols, J. E. & Peteet, D. M. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0454-z (2019).

  4. MacDonald, G. M. et al. Science 314, 285–288 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Loisel, J. et al. Holocene 24, 1028–1042 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Korhola, A. et al. Quat. Sci. Rev. 29, 611–617 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Williams, J. W. et al. Quat. Res. 89, 156–177 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Loisel, J. et al. Earth-Sci. Rev. 165, 59–80 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Erb, K.-H. et al. Nature 553, 73–76 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Le Quéré, C. et al. Earth Syst. Sci. Data 10, 2141–2194 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Schmittner, A. & Somes, C. J. Paleoceanogr. Paleocl. 31, 669–693 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Ciais, P. et al. Nat. Geosci. 5, 74–79 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Yu, Z. et al. Global Biogeochem. Cy. 27, 131–140 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Gallego-Sala, A. V. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 8, 907–913 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew J. Amesbury.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Amesbury, M.J., Gallego-Sala, A. & Loisel, J. Peatlands as prolific carbon sinks. Nat. Geosci. 12, 880–881 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0455-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0455-y

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing