Dr Lorna Harris
@lornaharris.bsky.social
Ecosystem Scientist | Artist | Forests, Wetlands, Peatlands, & Climate Change | Carbon, Moss, Lichens, Permafrost, Fire, Tea | Science-Policy | she/her
These 'solutions' always seem to miss the point... Peatlands have been storing organic matter as peat for thousands of years. Carbon released from drained & degraded peat is sig for global emissions. Yet, we continue to make climate-stupid decisions around peatland protection and management.
October 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
These 'solutions' always seem to miss the point... Peatlands have been storing organic matter as peat for thousands of years. Carbon released from drained & degraded peat is sig for global emissions. Yet, we continue to make climate-stupid decisions around peatland protection and management.
With planning & time (and funds!), yes. We can restore water levels & surface vegetation and slowly return the peatland to a carbon sink. But we can't restore lost peat soil carbon - this is irrecoverable in our lifetimes. It takes 100s to 1000s of yrs for peat soil to build up.
October 4, 2025 at 5:06 PM
With planning & time (and funds!), yes. We can restore water levels & surface vegetation and slowly return the peatland to a carbon sink. But we can't restore lost peat soil carbon - this is irrecoverable in our lifetimes. It takes 100s to 1000s of yrs for peat soil to build up.
Both maps were produced using openly available peatlands data, with minor changes to titles and labels in Canva. Follow the links from the 2 papers below:
Melton et al. (2022) - global peatlands
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
Hugelius et al. (2021) - northern peatlands
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Melton et al. (2022) - global peatlands
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
Hugelius et al. (2021) - northern peatlands
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
A map of global peatland extent created using machine learning (Peat-ML)
Abstract. Peatlands store large amounts of soil carbon and freshwater, constituting an important component of the global carbon and hydrologic cycles. Accurate information on the global extent and dis...
gmd.copernicus.org
September 15, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Both maps were produced using openly available peatlands data, with minor changes to titles and labels in Canva. Follow the links from the 2 papers below:
Melton et al. (2022) - global peatlands
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
Hugelius et al. (2021) - northern peatlands
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Melton et al. (2022) - global peatlands
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
Hugelius et al. (2021) - northern peatlands
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
How did no one notice this quite significant error?! We have maps and aerial images readily available on our phones and laptops everyday, but this shows how important it is to use them carefully. Putting Sunderland instead of Newcastle on the GNR medal... yikes!
September 8, 2025 at 1:12 PM
How did no one notice this quite significant error?! We have maps and aerial images readily available on our phones and laptops everyday, but this shows how important it is to use them carefully. Putting Sunderland instead of Newcastle on the GNR medal... yikes!