Welcome to Peatpod: Why Peatlands Matter

In this episode of Peatpod, Dr Lorna Harris chats with Professor Gerald Jurasinski about the state of peatlands in Germany and how decades of drainage for farming have made them a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Industrial development along with low public awareness continue to put peatlands across Germany at risk at the same time that considerable funding is being provided to restore damaged peatlands. Solutions such as rewetting policy, paludiculture (including a Royal connection!), and solar parks are discussed, with the long-term implications for GHG exchange, biodiversity, and water storage.About Peatpod: Stories, insights, and musings about the world’s beautiful bogs, fens, and swamps. Join Dr Lorna Harris for chats about our favourite squishy and carbon-rich wetland ecosystems, with peatland scientists, practitioners, and knowledge-holders from around the world.All episodes are presented, researched, edited, and produced by Dr Lorna Harris.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds. Hosted on Spotify - visit Peatpod show page.Subscribe for free to Peatpedia on Substack to receive news of new Peatpedia articles and Peatpod episodes - https://peatpedia.substack.com/.Peatpedia and Peatpod are reader and listener supported initatives. Consider upgrading to a paid subscription to Peatpedia on Substack to support the research, writing, and production work behind every article and podcast episode.

Peatlands are the UK's most important ecosystems for storing carbon and regulating water, yet most of them are degraded. In this episode of Peatpod, Dr Lorna Harris talks to Dr Emma Hinchliffe, the Director of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, to look at the types of peatlands in the UK and what state they are in. The conversation traces the causes of peatland loss and degradation in the UK, from pollution and drainage to moorland burning for grouse shooting, energy projects, and building on peatlands. The climate and water costs of degraded peatlands are covered as well as mitigation approaches such as floating roads, and the overall policy issues and advancements needed to improve outcomes for peatlands.About Peatpod: Stories, insights, and musings about the world’s beautiful bogs, fens, and swamps. Join Dr Lorna Harris for chats about our favourite squishy and carbon-rich wetland ecosystems, with peatland scientists, practitioners, and knowledge-holders from around the world.All episodes are presented, researched, edited, and produced by Dr Lorna Harris.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds. Hosted on Spotify.Subscribe for free to Peatpedia on Substack to receive news of new Peatpedia articles and Peatpod episodes - https://peatpedia.substack.com/.Peatpedia and Peatpod are reader and listener supported initatives. Consider upgrading to a paid subscription to Peatpedia on Substack to support the research, writing, and production work behind every article and podcast episode.

Peatlands store huge amounts of carbon, but what happens when they catch fire? In this episode of Peatpod, Dr Lorna Harris chats with Professor Sophie Wilkinson about peatland wildfires across Canada's boreal landscapes (with a small detour to Scotland), from how they start and why peat fires differ from forest fires, to 'zombie fires' that smoulder underground through winter. Climate and smoke impacts, and how roads, industry and peat extraction raise fire risk are also covered.About Peatpod: Stories, insights, and musings about the world’s beautiful bogs, fens, and swamps. Join Dr Lorna Harris for chats about our favourite squishy and carbon-rich wetland ecosystems, with peatland scientists, practitioners, and knowledge-holders from around the world.All episodes are presented, researched, edited, and produced by Dr Lorna Harris.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds. Hosted on Spotify.Subscribe for free to Peatpedia on Substack to receive news of new Peatpedia articles and Peatpod episodes - https://peatpedia.substack.com/.Peatpedia and Peatpod are reader and listener supported initatives. Consider upgrading to a paid subscription to Peatpedia on Substack to support the research, writing, and production work behind every article and podcast episode.

Peatlands cover only a small part of the planet, but they store huge amounts of carbon and hold thousands of years of environmental and human history. In this episode of Peatpod, Dr Lorna Harris chats with Professor Julie Loisel about how scientists take peat cores and use them to reconstruct past climates, measure carbon, and track how ecosystems change over time. The conversation travels across the Americas, from Alaska and Canada to Costa Rica, Peru, and the Caribbean, and on to Antarctica.Chapters:00:06 Opening the world of peatlands and what peat cores reveal02:10 How scientists core peatlands to reconstruct history and measure carbon08:27 What can peat cores tell us about past climates?11:27 Peatlands in Antarctica and what counts as a peatland19:17 Can new peatlands form as glaciers retreat?24:07 Into the tropics: coastal peatlands, swamp forests and mangroves34:44 Why tropical peatlands remain under-mapped39:29 Mountain bogs and Andean bofedalesAbout Peatpod: Stories, insights, and musings about the world’s beautiful bogs, fens, and swamps. Join Dr Lorna Harris for chats about our favourite squishy and carbon-rich wetland ecosystems, with peatland scientists, practitioners, and knowledge-holders from around the world.All episodes are presented, researched, edited, and produced by Dr Lorna Harris.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds. Hosted on Spotify - visit Peatpod show page.Subscribe for free to receive news of new Peatpedia articles and Peatpod episodes - https://peatpedia.substack.com/.Peatpedia and Peatpod are reader and listener supported initatives. Consider upgrading to a paid subscription to Peatpedia on Substack to support the research, writing, and production work behind every article and podcast episode.

Welcome to the very first episode of Peatpod! In this first mini introductory episode, host Dr. Lorna Harris opens up the world of peatlands: what they are, why they matter, and why they're far more diverse than they first look. Lorna also sets out the big questions Peatpod will explore in future episodes, with guests from around the world.