In drier conditions, when plants or trees die, oxygen helps break them down. That releases their stored carbon back into the atmosphere. But that doesn't happen in peat bogs. Instead, the carbon stays locked up in the peat.
That makes peat an unsung “climate change superhero,” said Chris Lenhart, a University of Minnesota professor and researcher for the department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering and The Nature Conservancy.
Peatlands cover only about three percent of the earth’s surface (nearly 10 percent of Minnesota’s acreage), but they store about 30 percent of the earth’s soil carbon. Read the full story on MPRNews.com.
Interested in studying topics like this? Check out our Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Major and explore the Environmental and Ecological Engineering Specialization.