Tag: Peatland

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Russian Peat Corer by Mack Baysinger

But seriously
How to get soil in a tube
Give us strength, peat gods

by Mack Baysinger

In the first field campaign of my PhD thesis work, myself and another PhD student spent six weeks in Finland at the Hyytiälä Forest Research Station to collect daily (well, near-daily) gas and water samples from a nearby peatland.

Peatland soils are interesting to climate researchers because they are absolutely chock-full of carbon. The waterlogged and acidic conditions of peatlands means that at the end of the growing season the plants die, but they do not fully decompose. Unless they are disturbed, peatlands will continue to layer new plant growth in the summer on top of what’s left of the previous years growing seasons. All this layering adds up; peat currently represents approximately a third of the world’s soil carbon, despite peatlands only covering 3% of the world’s surface.

In addition to the gas and water samples, we had also planned a full day of work to collect soil cores from the peatland that would later be used for incubation experiments. In the sterile conditions of the lab, I would be able to test which environmental factors (such as temperature) drive the rate of anaerobic carbon dioxide production in peatland soils.

This ‘full-day’ of work we had planned for stretched to almost a full week as weather delays, missing or broken soil coring equipment, other time-sensitive measurements, and the ooey gooey nature of wetland soils tested our resolve.

Nevertheless, with a Russian Peat Corer we had found at the very back of the research station’s equipment room, we were able to collect a full set of precious peat cores.

Further reading:

The field work behind this sciku resulted in a publication in Boreal Environment Research. The main finding of this paper is that one type of vegetation that is key to peat formation (Sphagnum moss) had the highest anaerobic CO2 potential production at mid-to-low temperatures:

Baysinger, Mackenzie R., et al. “Warmer Sphagnum moss, less soil carbon loss: Anaerobic respiration and temperature response along a boreal forest-peatland ecotone.” Boreal Environment Research 30 (2025): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.58013/ber2025.1eyn-rn68

Our field site, Siikaneva bog, is the site of many ongoing scientific efforts from research groups all over the world. Linked here are short videos of our lab group giving ‘tours’ of the bog: https://www.awi.de/en/science/geosciences/permafrost-research/research-focus/energy-and-waterbalance/galleries/finland-2022.html

The type of corer in this Sci-ku is a ‘peat corer’. Here is a ‘how-to’ video from the WWF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfO0gtP8ru4

Or a slightly more realistic ‘how-to’ video (ankle deep in wet soil, wearing a hi-visibility vest):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeOjbfzyNtc

Author bio:

Mack Baysinger (she/they) is a PhD student with the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, Germany. Her thesis work explores high-latitude biogeochemical cycling, with a focus on peatland and permafrost systems. She can be found on Bluesky @mack-baysinger.bsky.social

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Peat-based Haiku for COP26 by Abby McSherry and The CANN Project

The CANN project (Collaborative Action for the Natura Network) is a cross-border environment project which aims to improve the condition of protected bog and wetland habitats found within Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland and Scotland, allowing the region to meet key EU biodiversity targets and ensuring the future of these internationally important habitats and species. The CANN project is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). It is led by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

The CANN project focuses on the conservation and restoration of seven habitat types which are protected as Special Areas of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive: Alkaline Fens, Blanket Bog, Active Raised Bog, Marl Lakes, Calcareous Fens, Transition Mire & Quaking Bogs. These habitats are identified as being important in ensuring the survival of at risk plants and wildlife, and for promoting and sustaining biodiversity from a local to an international scale.

The CANN project – led by Abby McSherry, the project’s Communications and Outreach Officer – decided to celebrate COP26 by tweeting a Haiku-a-day on the subject of peat’s role in combatting climate change in the run-up to the meeting in November 2021. Below is a small sample of these fantastic haiku. The entire collection has been compiled in a booklet freely available on the CANN project website here.

Day 5

Sphagnum naturally produces phenolic compounds that slow the decomposition of the plants that make up peat. Preventing peat decomposition will help keep the carbon it holds locked away.

Day 10

A raised bog often has a water table perched higher than the surrounding land, which can be hard to understand unless you visualise it as a water droplet perched on the land. It is delicately balanced, and that balance can shift.

Day 20

Carbon is locked up effectively in other habitats too. Lowland fens and mires are significant sinks too and are under even greater threat from damage as they are often surrounded by valuable arable land.

Day 25

Across the world, peat covers just 3% of the land’s surface, but stores one-third of the Earth’s soil carbon, not just a sticking plaster, but potentially a cure for what ails us. If we care for it, it will care for us.

Further Reading:

All 31 haiku (plus some bonuses!) are freely available here, in pdf and flipbook form: https://thecannproject.org/publications/booklet-of-peat-based-haiku-sci-cu-poems/

Find out more about the CANN project and the brilliant work the team are doing here: https://thecannproject.org/

You can also follow the CANN project on Twitter here: @theCANNproject

About Abby McSherry: I have worked in practical conservation and waste management since I gained my BSc in Physical Geography, and discovered early on that I had a talent for translating geek-speak into language that non-scientists could understand and enjoy so I moved more towards the communication side of various conservation projects. I use creative tools garnered from my personal life to find different ways to communicate my science, so poetry, painting, photography and even crochet are as likely to feature as piezometer readings.