When peatlands burn in mega-fires, stored methane is rapidly released into the atmosphere. #EmissionsGap #ClimateAction @UNEP @MTUcfres

According to a report released on Tuesday by the United Nations Environment, Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown by 1.5 percent every year over the last decade. To stay within relatively safe limits, emissions must decline sharply, by 7.6 percent every year, between 2020 and 2030, the report warned.

Emissions sources are not limited to vehicles and utilities, however; natural systems both sequester and release greenhouse gases.

Evan Kane, associate professor in Michigan Technological University’s College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, is available to discuss how methane fluxes from peatlands contribute to and sequester greenhouse gas emissions. When peatlands burn in increasingly common mega-fires, such as in Alaska’s interior, or when humans use unsustainable livestock grazing practices on peatlands, stored methane is rapidly released into the atmosphere.

Peatlands cover just 3 percent of the Earth’s land, but store approximately 30 percent of the Earth’s soil carbon.

Contact:

Evan Kane
[email protected]

Original post https://alertarticles.info