Zürcher Nachrichten - Mapping Ireland's peatlands to help cut carbon emissions

EUR -
AED 4.214994
AFN 81.487427
ALL 97.268928
AMD 441.228466
ANG 2.05398
AOA 1051.308202
ARS 1310.992228
AUD 1.763295
AWG 2.06589
AZN 1.956499
BAM 1.951739
BBD 2.316351
BDT 140.298077
BGN 1.955365
BHD 0.432852
BIF 3375.435415
BMD 1.147717
BND 1.474133
BOB 7.944401
BRL 6.299249
BSD 1.147248
BTN 99.145727
BWP 15.482258
BYN 3.754403
BYR 22495.251321
BZD 2.304475
CAD 1.572085
CDF 3301.981355
CHF 0.940097
CLF 0.028211
CLP 1082.595435
CNY 8.251398
CNH 8.255952
COP 4671.460298
CRC 579.095056
CUC 1.147717
CUP 30.414498
CVE 110.324324
CZK 24.814753
DJF 203.971618
DKK 7.458851
DOP 68.116707
DZD 149.483201
EGP 57.985069
ERN 17.215754
ETB 154.712558
FJD 2.581502
FKP 0.849347
GBP 0.855514
GEL 3.122301
GGP 0.849347
GHS 11.821706
GIP 0.849347
GMD 82.058829
GNF 9934.637242
GTQ 8.810591
GYD 239.928681
HKD 9.009131
HNL 30.012649
HRK 7.534422
HTG 150.456939
HUF 403.353328
IDR 18764.884454
ILS 3.997917
IMP 0.849347
INR 99.408409
IQD 1503.509144
IRR 48347.574528
ISK 143.383992
JEP 0.849347
JMD 182.410452
JOD 0.813747
JPY 166.293279
KES 148.616138
KGS 100.367919
KHR 4613.821752
KMF 490.590736
KPW 1032.903446
KRW 1577.370486
KWD 0.351683
KYD 0.956111
KZT 596.01984
LAK 24761.992024
LBP 102835.434435
LKR 344.665844
LRD 229.141481
LSL 20.566731
LTL 3.38891
LVL 0.694243
LYD 6.220543
MAD 10.511369
MDL 19.646719
MGA 5078.647292
MKD 61.520278
MMK 2409.457157
MNT 4111.573307
MOP 9.274103
MRU 45.587009
MUR 52.164045
MVR 17.6806
MWK 1992.436815
MXN 21.835641
MYR 4.877687
MZN 73.3963
NAD 20.566803
NGN 1773.448511
NIO 42.178651
NOK 11.448993
NPR 158.627937
NZD 1.903297
OMR 0.4413
PAB 1.147223
PEN 4.127766
PGK 4.730029
PHP 65.604068
PKR 325.435061
PLN 4.274499
PYG 9156.22753
QAR 4.178262
RON 5.031827
RSD 117.220885
RUB 90.097409
RWF 1635.496588
SAR 4.306557
SBD 9.588446
SCR 16.269278
SDG 689.196624
SEK 11.070298
SGD 1.474862
SHP 0.901925
SLE 25.833337
SLL 24067.053827
SOS 655.917291
SRD 44.589045
STD 23755.422685
SVC 10.038113
SYP 14922.203035
SZL 20.589644
THB 37.518756
TJS 11.529311
TMT 4.017009
TND 3.369128
TOP 2.688064
TRY 45.380548
TTD 7.778053
TWD 33.921581
TZS 3001.279312
UAH 47.831874
UGX 4131.367718
USD 1.147717
UYU 46.872878
UZS 14587.48205
VES 117.706057
VND 29957.132774
VUV 137.572569
WST 3.018068
XAF 654.594961
XAG 0.031228
XAU 0.00034
XCD 3.101762
XDR 0.814106
XOF 651.376712
XPF 119.331742
YER 278.547565
ZAR 20.692194
ZMK 10330.830329
ZMW 27.504609
ZWL 369.564375
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Mapping Ireland's peatlands to help cut carbon emissions
Mapping Ireland's peatlands to help cut carbon emissions / Photo: Justin TALLIS - AFP

Mapping Ireland's peatlands to help cut carbon emissions

Mapping more accurately than ever Ireland's peatlands, which are vital as carbon sinks but whose boundaries can be hard to determine, could help fight global warming, researchers say.

Text size:

Ireland is pockmarked with patches of dark brown peat soil that make up at least 20 percent of the land cover, according to Eve Daly, a geophysicist at the University of Galway, who co-led a groundbreaking project on finding peat.

"Peatland soils contain comparable amounts of carbon to the likes of rainforests so a more accurate map can lead to better land management decisions and mitigate against greenhouse gas emissions," Daly told AFP.

Her research team developed a new mapping approach using gamma radiation measurements to identify for the first time "transition zones" -- typically hidden under forests and grasslands -- where the soil changes from being peat to mineral-based.

Daly says the area of soil in Ireland considered "peaty" has increased thanks to a new colour-coded "peat/non-peat" map produced by the researchers.

"Improved mapping at higher resolution and locating where hidden organic peat soils are and their extent are key inputs into working out carbon emission factors," she said.

Her project co-leader Dave O'Leary told AFP about 80 percent of Ireland had now been mapped out in patches of "peat" brown or "non-peat" green.

"Few countries have invested in such an incredible data set, which puts Ireland at the forefront of peatland mapping research," he said.

- 'New lens' -

Land use, including farming and peatland draining, is a major source of Ireland's carbon emissions which could see the country failing to meet an EU-agreed climate target to cut emissions by over 50 percent by 2030.

A recent report said Ireland risks an EU fine of almost 30 billion euros if it fails to reach the target and recommended the restoring -- and rewetting -- of thousands of hectares of peatlands to help deliver "massive" cuts in emissions.

"We need to use more modern technologies or use old technologies with new lenses to try and find these hidden peat soils," Daly said.

Ireland's boggy areas are typically located in the middle of the bowl-shaped country which is ringed with hills and low mountains around the coastal areas.

Triven Koganti, an agroecology expert at Denmark's Aarhus University, told AFP that five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions came from cultivated peatlands.

"Historical agricultural draining of peatlands... or to use them as a fuel source has led to significant greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

So "an accurate accounting" of peatland boundaries is needed to achieve "current global initiatives to restore peatlands", he said, adding the Irish research "plays an important role in establishing this".

- 'Bird's eye' technique -

The mapping technique -- described as "bird's eye" by Daly -- is based on gamma-ray data measured by a sensor onboard a plane that has been flown low over Ireland for a decade in a state-funded geophysical survey.

"All rocks and different amounts of soils give off a certain amount of natural radiation but peat doesn't as it's full of organic material," Daly said.

Soils are usually a mixture of broken bits of rock, water and air, but peat soils are distinct from mineral soils as they are formed from decaying plant material, water and air, and contain a very high amount of carbon.

When waterlogged, this carbon is stored in the soil but when water is removed, for example via drainage, peat soils then emit carbon dioxide as the decay process restarts, Daly said.

The state-funded "Tellus" survey began in 2011 and is expected to be completed later this year.

I.Widmer--NZN