A new study reveals an unprecedented increase in wildfires in tropical peatlands during the 20th century.
A new study reveals an unprecedented increase in wildfires in tropical peatlands during the 20th century.
Peatlands store vast quantities of carbon below the Earth’s surface – more than all the world’s forest biomass combined – but when they catch fire large amounts of the stored carbon is released into the atmosphere.
Wildfires in tropical regions have been on the rise in recent decades, but the history and characteristics of wildfires in tropical peatlands remain largely unknown.
Read More: University of Exeter
Tropical peat swamp forest carbon monitoring, Central Kalimantan. (Photo Credit: Sigit Deni Sasmito/CIFOR)
