A global study lead by geographers at the University of Tartu has revealed that drained nitrogen-rich peatlands produce laughing gas, which degrades the ozone layer and warms the climate. To avoid this, swamp forests, fens and bogs need to be conserved.
A global study lead by geographers at the University of Tartu has revealed that drained nitrogen-rich peatlands produce laughing gas, which degrades the ozone layer and warms the climate. To avoid this, swamp forests, fens and bogs need to be conserved.
Laughing gas (chemical formula N2O) lifts the mood and alleviates pain. An increase in the laughing-gas content of the atmosphere, however, is not a laughing matter. N2O is the main driver of stratospheric ozone depletion and one of the most significant greenhouse gases causing climate change. While the other main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide and methane – have been thoroughly studied, laughing gas is the product of many complex processes of the nitrogen cycle and reasons behind an increase in its amount are largely unknown. Scientists at the University of Tartu studied the processes related to laughing gas production and published their results in the reputable scientific journals Nature Communications and Scientific Reports.
Read more at Estonian Research Council
Image: The studied areas and their average measured laughing gas emission on the map of the world’s organic soils. CREDITS: Pärn et al., 2018.
