Example
Waterlogged conditions can slow decomposition and maintain large carbon stores.
The catch
Draining peat can expose stored material to oxidation and fire.
Related terms
Ecosystem, Afforestation, Biodiversity, Blue carbon, Carbon sink, Carbon stock
In more depth
Peatland, explained.
Peatlands hold more carbon than the world's forests combined while covering a small share of the land, so keeping peat wet protects an unusually dense carbon stock. Peat accumulates slowly, and carbon lost in decades of drainage takes far longer to rebuild.
Restoration usually means blocking drainage ditches to raise the water table. Rewetting stops most of the CO₂ loss but can raise methane emissions, because waterlogged peat behaves like a wetland again. Studies generally find the trade worthwhile, since the avoided CO₂ outweighs the added methane over time. When a project reports peatland gains, water-table records matter more than any planting count, because the level of the water decides most of the outcome.