Peatlands or bogs are wetlands containing 90% water and 10% dead and decaying plants. Actively growing peatlands accumulate organic mass, and thereby sequester carbon due to excess vegetation production over decay. Carbon is taken in by peatland plants through the process of photosynthesis from carbon dioxide, largely from the
atmosphere. A persistently high water table is necessary for carbon storage. It is estimated that Irish peatlands contain 64% of Ireland’s soil organic carbon. Depending on how we manage our peatland resources they can strongly contribute to the climate crisis or they can support climate mitigation plans and international biodiversity targets (O’Connell, et al., 2021).Learn more about peatlands, carbon and climate by reading the Irish Peatland Conservation Council’s 7th Action Plan Peatlands and Climate Change Action Plan 2030 .
With a growing awareness of the value peatlands offer in terms of carbon storage and the positive impact rewetting peatlands can have on supporting Ireland reach its net zero economy by 2050 this project aimed to:
- Estimate the store of carbon on Lodge Bog, Co. Kildare.
- Share skills with peatland custodians and interested members of the public on the methods used to calculate stored carbon on raised bog habitat in the midlands.
Read the report: Estimating the volume of stored of carbon on Lodge Bog 2021
The Irish Peatland Conservation Council wish to acknowledge funding support for this project from the The Heritage Council through the Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021, the Community Foundation for Ireland – Biodiversity Fund 2020, Patagonia and the Irish Peatland Conservation Council Friends of the Bog
