UK peatlands are being destroyed to grow mushrooms, lettuce and houseplants – here’s how to stop it

Hidden Peat, a new campaign from The Wildlife Trusts, encourages people to look out for peat-free alternatives and support their wider use.

Casey Bryce, Senior Lecturer, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol • conversation
Feb. 7, 2024 • ~7 min

Ecosystem restoration in the Scottish Highlands isn’t going to plan – here’s why

Crofters who have managed the land for centuries are being offered dubious rewards to risk their rights.

Ewan Gordon Jenkins, PhD in Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews • conversation
Feb. 5, 2024 • ~8 min

Despite the climate crisis, Scotland is burning as much carbon-rich peatland as it did in the 1980s

Nearly a third of all moorland burning in Scotland occurs on peat soil – a vital carbon sink.

Dominick Spracklen, Professor of Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions, University of Leeds • conversation
Jan. 22, 2024 • ~7 min

'Zombie fires' in the Arctic: Canada's extreme wildfire season offers a glimpse of new risks in a warmer, drier future

Large stretches of the Arctic are carbon-rich peat bogs. As the region warms and dries, lightning strikes can spark underground fires that can burn for years.

Patrick Louchouarn, Professor of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University • conversation
July 18, 2023 • ~9 min

To see how smoke affects endangered orangutans, we studied their voices during and after massive Indonesian wildfires

Orangutans are vocal animals, so analyzing their calls during events like wildfires can indicate how smoke is affecting their health.

Wendy M. Erb, Postdoctoral Associate in Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell University • conversation
June 22, 2023 • ~10 min

Congo peat swamps store three years of global carbon emissions – imminent oil drilling could release it

Peat is partially decomposed plant matter that has accumulated over thousands of years.

Simon Lewis, Professor of Global Change Science at University of Leeds and, UCL • conversation
July 21, 2022 • ~9 min

Britain's first wetland 'super reserve' offers boost to nature-based solutions to climate change

Somerset Wetlands national nature reserve merges and extends six existing protected sites.

Christian Dunn, Senior Lecturer in Natural Sciences, Bangor University • conversation
June 7, 2022 • ~6 min

How climate change is washing away precious evidence of our distant past

Increasing rainfall and degrading peatland are threatening archaeological artefacts buried in UK land.

Rosie Everett, Lecturer in Forensic Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle • conversation
Feb. 1, 2022 • ~6 min

Four ways to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises simultaneously

Solve the climate and extinction crises together, or solve neither.

Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science, UCL • conversation
June 30, 2021 • ~8 min

Peat compost to be banned – luckily, green alternatives are just as good for your garden

What can gardeners use that isn't so bad for the climate?

Margi Lennartsson Turner, Associate Professor of Horticulture, Coventry University • conversation
May 19, 2021 • ~6 min

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