Peatlands Flashcards
Why do peatlands need a high water table
Water logs the soil
Creates anaerobic conditions
Decomposers can’t decompose organic matter
Is it a sink or source
Sink
What does microbial respiration produce
CH4
How does water enter the peatlands
Frontal rain
How is water lost from the peatlands
Évapotranspiration
How is a high water table created
Flat land Impermeable rock (gritstone)
What is a carbon sink
The rate of atmospheric carbon being fixed is much higher than it being released into the atm
How much area does peatland cover in wales
5%
What % do peatlands contribute to Wales’s carbon store
30%
How much do peatlands store globally
250gt
How is carbon lost from peatlands
Dissolved organic carbon
Weathering
Particulate organic carbon
How much of Peat is carbon
50%
What bacteria decomposes peat
Méthanotrophic
How deep is peat in the uk
4m
What organisms live in peatlands
Sphagnum Moss
Red grouse
Heather
How does the water cycle maintain a carbon sink in the peatlands
Precipitation> surface run off and évapotranspiration = high water table and water logged
How does the carbon cycle maintain the carbon sink in the peatlands
Photosynthesis>respiration (bacteria and plants) doc and poc > decomposition
Why is peat extracted
Good fuel source
Ireland has 2 peat powered stations
Added to soil in garden centres
Why are peat bogs drained
Agriculture
How does peat get eroded
Air pollution from Sheffield and Manchester
Vegetation died
Exposing bare peat
Surface run off rapidly erodes peat
Forming gullies
Water table lowers and water drains into gullies
How much of the uks peat is damaged
80%
What does a loss of 5% uks peatland equate to
UKs Annual c emissions
How are peatlands restored
1. Re vegetation Stabilises peat Less vulnerable to surface run off erosion Raises water table Slows flow of water over the land
- Dams
Blocks gullies
Slow flor of surface run off overland flow
Trap sediment for revegetation
Trap water to create anaerobic conditions
Where was revegetation successul
Bleak low south
How much of gully blocking showed signs of being revegetated
94%