University measuring extreme weather effects on peatlands GHG emissions

Extreme weather events are often explained by climate change, but a team of researchers at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom is examining if extreme weather could have an impact on climate change, according to a release from the university.

A new monitoring station will record carbon emissions from cultivated peatlands in the East Anglian Fens over an extended period of time. Monitoring carbon dioxide emissions from peatlands is an important measurement because the soil is a valuable resource to the region, but greenhouse emissions from degraded peat soils is recognized as one of the largest land-use related sources in the UK. The amount of carbon dioxide released from the peatlands changes with extreme weather.

The project aims to give a greater understanding to how weather affects the amount of carbon dioxide released, while providing sustainable ways to use the farmland productively.

Image: The monitoring station situated in Norfolk. (Credit: Ross Morrison)