1. CARBON CYCLE 3: peatlands
Image details -
WJEC Focus Box 3.1.8
Eduqas Focus Box 2.1.8

2. Carbon Cycle 3 Peat formation
Peat is a thick layer of black or dark brown sticky and wet soil material containing very high levels of partially decomposed vegetation (mosses, rushes, sedges and bracken)
The carbon-rich plant remains are slowly compressed as more material is added each year until; in the UK, peat is sometimes 2-4 metres deep
Class discussion
Have you ever visited a peatland environment? Have you heard of peat being used for gardening or food production?
Inquiry question: How is peat formed and why does this lead to increased carbon storage?
Group/pair research work exploring the formation and significance of peat / peatlands / peat moorlands. Different groups of students could investigate a different peat area within the UK prior to sharing findings with the rest of class. Useful websites include:
Wales:
Scotland:
England:
Image Credit: Antonio Jordán (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

3. Carbon Cycle 3 Anaerobic conditions
Decomposition is prevented by waterlogging, which creates oxygen-deficient anaerobic conditions
This limits microbial decomposition of organic matter, especially in cooler upland sites
Occasionally, recognisable animal remains from thousands of years ago are found preserved in peat. In 1984, a 2,000-year-old well-preserved human body was found buried in Wilmslow, Cheshire (the media named him ‘Pete Marsh’)
Inquiry question: How is peat formed and why does this lead to increased carbon storage?
This topic is also supported by Teaching Geography 42(1) (Spring 2017) pages
Students can independently investigate peat formation using:
‘Bog bodies’ are widely resourced online e.g. Timewatch -
Class research task
Find out more about ‘Pete Marsh’

4. Carbon Cycle 3 Differing types of peat
Peatlands are landscapes where layers of peat have accumulated. Globally, peatlands cover many hundreds of square kilometres, with thicknesses of 10 metres or more
Fen peatlands form where groundwater meets the surface – at springs or the edge of open water Blanket peatlands occur on flat hill tops where rainfall is high
Raised bogs occur in valley bottoms where soils are saturated, due to the frequent arrival of throughflow and overland flow from the slopes above 
Inquiry question: How is peat formed and why does this lead to increased carbon storage? How are the carbon and water cycle linked?
Class activity
Think about topic linkages between the water cycle and the formation of peat (and carbon storage)

5. Carbon Cycle 3 Carbon storage in peat
There is a net accumulation of carbon over time in undisturbed peatland: the rate at which atmospheric carbon is fixed in new peatland plants by photosynthesis greatly exceeds the loss of carbon through decomposition
Despite only covering 5 per cent of the land area of Wales, deep peatland soils represent 30 per cent of the country’s total soil carbon storage
Globally, peatlands store 550 billion tonnes of carbon
Inquiry question: How is peat formed and why does this lead to increased carbon storage?
Alternative research:
Scotland:
England:
Class activity
Research peat resources in Wales: or

6. Carbon Cycle 3 Peat extraction: carbon storage loss
Only 20 per cent of UK peatlands are not degraded and remain in a pristine state
Rates of carbon sequestration in degraded peatlands are reduced; they may even become sources of carbon emissions instead
Peat has been dried and burned traditionally in many rural areas as a fuel source
Peat is extracted for use in garden centres, and food and drink industries (smoked food)
Inquiry question: How does peat extraction and land drainage lead to a reduction in carbon storage?
Group/pair research work exploring the human uses of peat / peatlands / peat moorlands, and ways in which this leads to degradation and the loss of carbon storage. Different groups of students could investigate a different peat uses. Useful websites include: section 1, pages of
Class activity
Find out how peat is used in whisky production:

7. Carbon Cycle 3 Peat extraction: carbon storage loss
This historical image shows peat extraction in Somerset in 1905
Class activity
Think about topic linkages between studies of peat extraction and Changing Places (unit/component 1)

8. Carbon Cycle 3 Peat drainage and land use change
Around one quarter of English peatland is under cultivation; from 1640 onwards the East Anglian fens, were drained for farming. This produced good agricultural land but degraded the peat
Pollution
Peatlands in Yorkshire have been subjected to decades of pollution from Manchester and Sheffield, harming peat-forming plant species
Burning
Large areas of peatlands throughout the UK are affected by moorland burning. This is a widespread land management practice in upland areas for the management of game, such as grouse
Forestry
Peatlands drained by the Forest Commission will begin to emit CO2 and lose some soil carbon via leaching and erosion, but this may be offset over time by the CO2 captured by the growing trees
Inquiry question: How does peat extraction and land drainage lead to a reduction in carbon storage?
A quantitative analysis of peat removal and carbon storage loss can be carried out using data from section 5 of
Class activity
Research these activities further and discuss the relative severity of their impacts on carbon storage

9. Carbon Cycle 3 Carbon storage loss
The table shows how different human activities affect carbon capture and release in peat environments
Land use (in peatland areas)
Net carbon flux (tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year)
Cultivated & temporary grass
22.4 net loss
Improved grassland
8.7 net loss
Rotationally burnt
2.6 net loss
Afforested
2.5 net loss
Bare peat
0.1 net loss
Overgrazed
Undamaged
4.1 net storage
Inquiry question: How does peat extraction and land drainage lead to a reduction in carbon storage?
Group/pair research work exploring the human uses of peat / peatlands / peat moorlands, and ways in which this leads to degradation and the loss of carbon storage.
Class activity
Discuss reasons for the changes shown in the table above

10. Carbon Cycle 3 Peatland restoration (1)
Peatland restoration could help the UK meet reduction targets for long-term greenhouse gas emissions - by offsetting emissions produced by economic activity
Restoration efforts usually include:
the re-establishment of a plant cover dominated by peatland species including sphagnum mosses
the re-wetting of drained peatlands by raising and stabilizing the local water table
Inquiry question: What strategies are there for the restoration of peatlands?
This topic is also supported by Teaching Geography 42(1) (Spring 2017) pages 26-29
Class activity
Research examples of peatland restoration in England or Wales:

11. Carbon Cycle 3 Peatland restoration
Southern Pennines peatlands in Yorkshire were extensively drained and eroded in the past
Recently, erosional gullies have been blocked with stone dams to raise the water table and restore anaerobic conditions
New seeds and fertilizer are scattered using helicopters
Inquiry question: What strategies are there for the restoration of peatlands?
This topic is also supported by Teaching Geography 42(1) (Spring 2017) pages 26-29
Image courtesy of Martin Evans
Photograph shows gullies which have been blocked deliberately in order to promote water retention

12. Carbon Cycle 3 Plenary
Peat formation takes thousands of years. Peatlands are located in poorly-drained sites throughout the UK
Undisturbed peatlands serve as a carbon sink but land-use changes and peat cutting have led to the degradation of the majority of UK peatlands: most no longer function effectively as carbon stores and have become carbon sources instead
Peatland restoration in the UK and elsewhere can be a valuable way of reducing net carbon emissions
Management strategies for peatland restoration include re-wetting and the reintroduction of wetland species