Page 6 - Tallinna Ülikool

1.
By restoring mires we reduce greenhouse gas emissions causing climate changes
We have a duty to return at least part of our mire resource to nature; at least the part we no longer use. Before leaving, however, you must create conditions for Nature to take it back.
Mires are important in the Earth’s carbon cycle. e concentration of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere is decreased by uptake through plant photosynthesis and depositing it into peat in mires. is is a guarantee of our climate stability. Peatlands cover about 3% of the Earth’s land but they accumulate 30% of the Earth’s carbon. is is much more than in all the world’s forests.
Over the last centuries, there has been an increasing emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the use of peat and peat- lands. is gives a great contribution to cur- rent rapid climate changes.
In Estonia, mires are drained for peat use, agriculture and forestry. From the 17th cen- tury until the beginning of the 21st century, the area of drained areas and drainage inten- sity (size of areas, depth of ditches) has been constantly increasing.
Now, three quarters of peatlands are drained in Estonia and there is no more peat formation in this land. ese areas are no longer “living mi- res”. Todays mires cover about 6-7% of Estonia and additionally, 16% of the land is paludi ed (with thinner peat than in real mires).
In total, ca 610,000-650,000 ha or some 65% of the total area of Estonian mires has been destroyed or negatively impacted by human activities. e whole area a ected by drainage is a source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon dioxide emissions from drained peat- lands are large but based on various calcula- tions emission values vary greatly – from 0.3 Mt to 7.7 Mt per year.
Mire restoration experiment on peat eld in the Viru bog. On the experimental plot, there are di erent bog mosses, heather, and single birch and pine trees; in the ditch there are tussocks of cottongrass. ere is still a bare, decaying turf surface around the experimental plot.
Drone photo. / R. Pajula
6
TEN REASONS TO RESTORE ESTONIAN MIRES / 2019