Peat fires could accelerate climate change

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/nsae-pfc021512.php

[font face=Times,Times New Roman,Serif]Public release date: 18-Feb-2012

Contact: Mike Flannigan
[e-mail]
587-987-1744
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
[font size=5]Peat fires could accelerate climate change[/font]

[font size=3]Vancouver, B.C. (Wednesday, February 15, 2012) – In 1997, a forest fire in Indonesia ignited an area of peatlands that smouldered for months. By the time it was over, the fire had released greenhouse gases equal to 20 to 40 percent of the total worldwide emissions that year from fossil fuels.

But that could be a drop in the bucket compared to future emissions from peat fires. Indonesian peatlands are dwarfed by Canada's. The total area of all peatland in Canada is estimated to be about twice the size of Saskatchewan.

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During a forest fire, especially in years of drought, peat can also ignite. When that happens, it produces a smoldering, smoky burn that is difficult to extinguish. Peat can grow several meters deep beneath the ground. In fact, some peat fires burn right through winter, beneath the snow, then pick up again in the spring.

A warming climate appears to be increasing the risk of peat fires in the North, according to Flannigan. For example, in 2007, Alaska's Anaktuvuk River region experienced a "tundra fire" fuelled by peat that covered 1,000 square kilometres. Until then, fire had largely been absent from the tundra since the Holocene epoch—12,000 years ago.

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[JDPriestly]

1. Not only is this bad for the environment, but it is a waste of peat

that can be used in farming and land preservation. How sad.