Carbon Credits from Peatland Rewetting


Book Description

"Drained peatlands account for only 0.3% of the global land area. At the same time, drained peatlands are the source of a disproportional 6% of total anthropogenic CO2-emissions; a problem that needs to be addressed. The 'hotspots' are well known: Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, parts of the United States and Northeast China. The solution is obvious: Restore high water levels in peatlands. But many questions remain. How does rewetting affect greenhouse gas fluxes? What about methane? Are the emissions measurable, reportable and verifiable? Are emission reductions from peatland rewetting creditable towards Kyoto Protocol commitments? Can they be sold on the voluntary carbon market? How does rewetting influence biodiversity? And, may rewetted peatlands still be used productively? Belarus ranks 8th among the world's countries in terms of peatland CO2 emissions and occupies 3rd place in CO2-emissions per unit land area. In recent years, tens of thousands of hectares of drained peatlands in Belarus have been rewetted. This volume provides a synthesis of the challenges encountered and solutions adopted in a pilot project conducted in Belarus between 2008 and 2011. It presents data and conclusions from the project and relates basic principles to advanced applications, integrating science and politics, ecology and economy. The experiences and recommendations for peatland restoration set forth in this volume will inspire practitioners, land-use planners, scientists and politicians alike."--Publisher's description.




Peatland Restoration and Ecosystem Services


Book Description

An interdisciplinary book tackling the challenges of managing peatlands and their ecosystem services in the face of climate change.




Drawdown


Book Description

• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.




Peatlands and Climate Change


Book Description

The International Peat Society IPS established a joint IPS Working Group on Peatlands and Climate Change in the end of the year 2005. The Working Group's task was to compile information into a summary of available knowledge to help the IPS and other actors to understand the role of peatlands and peat within the current context of global climate change.




The Peatlands of Britain and Ireland


Book Description

Completing his trilogy, with this look at the Peatlands of Britain and Ireland, Clifton Bain explores their social history and the value of protecting this natural resource.




Wetland Carbon and Environmental Management


Book Description

Explores how the management of wetlands can influence carbon storage and fluxes. Wetlands are vital natural assets, including their ability to take-up atmospheric carbon and restrict subsequent carbon loss to facilitate long-term storage. They can be deliberately managed to provide a natural solution to mitigate climate change, as well as to help offset direct losses of wetlands from various land-use changes and natural drivers. Wetland Carbon and Environmental Management presents a collection of wetland research studies from around the world to demonstrate how environmental management can improve carbon sequestration while enhancing wetland health and function. Volume highlights include: Overview of carbon storage in the landscape Introduction to wetland management practices Comparisons of natural, managed, and converted wetlands Impact of wetland management on carbon storage or loss Techniques for scientific assessment of wetland carbon processes Case studies covering tropical, coastal, inland, and northern wetlands Primer for carbon offset trading programs and how wetlands might contribute The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity.Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.




Biochar for Environmental Management


Book Description

"Biochar is the carbon-rich product when biomass (such as wood, manure, or crop residues) is heated in a closed container with little or no available air. It can be used to improve agriculture and the environment in several ways, and its stability in soil and superior nutrient-retention properties make it an ideal soil amendment to increase crop yields. In addition to this, biochar sequestration, in combination with sustainable biomass production, can be carbon-negative and therefore used to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, with major implications for mitigation of climate change. Biochar production can also be combined with bioenergy production through the use of the gases that are given off in the pyrolysis process.This book is the first to synthesize the expanding research literature on this topic. The book's interdisciplinary approach, which covers engineering, environmental sciences, agricultural sciences, economics and policy, is a vital tool at this stage of biochar technology development. This comprehensive overview of current knowledge will be of interest to advanced students, researchers and professionals in a wide range of disciplines"--Provided by publisher.




Our Once and Future Planet


Book Description

The environmental movement is plagued by pessimism. And that’s not unreasonable: with so many complicated, seemingly intractable problems facing the planet, coupled with a need to convince people of the dangers we face, it’s hard not to focus on the negative But that paints an unbalanced—and overly disheartening—picture of what’s going on with environmental stewardship today. There are success stories, and Our Once and Future Planet delivers a fascinating account of one of the most impressive areas of current environmental experimentation and innovation: ecological restoration. Veteran investigative reporter Paddy Woodworth has spent years traveling the globe and talking with people—scientists, politicians, and ordinary citizens—who are working on the front lines of the battle against environmental degradation. At sites ranging from Mexico to New Zealand and Chicago to Cape Town, Woodworth shows us the striking successes (and a few humbling failures) of groups that are attempting to use cutting-edge science to restore blighted, polluted, and otherwise troubled landscapes to states of ecological health—and, in some of the most controversial cases, to particular moments in historical time, before widespread human intervention. His firsthand field reports and interviews with participants reveal the promise, power, and limitations of restoration. Ecological restoration alone won’t solve the myriad problems facing our environment. But Our Once and Future Planet demonstrates the role it can play, and the hope, inspiration, and new knowledge that can come from saving even one small patch of earth.




Tropical Peatlands


Book Description

Tropical peatlands are found mostly in South East Asia, but also in Africa and in Central and South America. They and peat-swamp forests store large amounts of carbon and their destruction, particularly through the development of plantations for oil palm and other forms of agriculture, releases large quantities of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. They are also complex and vulnerable ecosystems, home to great biodiversity and a number of endangered species such as the orang utan.The aim of this book is to introduce this little known but important and vulnerable ecosystem in a way that explains its long standing interaction with the global carbon cycle and how it is being destroyed by deforestation and inappropriate development. The authors describe the origin and formation of peat in the tropics, its current location, extent and amount of carbon stored in it, its biodiversity and natural resource functions and key ecological functions and processes. Appropriate hydrology is the key to the development and maintenance of peatlands and the unique aspects of tropical peatland water supply and management are also explored. In the same vein the nutrient dynamics and budgets of this ecosystem are explained in order to show how complex habitats can be maintained mainly by rainwater containing very low concentrations of essential chemical elements. Past and present impacts on tropical peatlands in SE Asia are discussed and the need for restoration and wise use highlighted. Finally, projections are made about the future of this ecosystem as a result of continuing human impacts and climate change.




Mires and Peatlands in Europe


Book Description

The European continent features an impressive variety of mires and peatlands. Polygon, palsa, and aapa mires, concentric and eccentric bogs, spring and percolation fens, coastal marshes, blanket bogs, saline fens, acid, alkaline, nutrient poor, nutrient rich: the peatlands of Europe represent unique ecosystem biodiversity and harbour a large treasure of flora and fauna typical of peat forming environments. Europe is also the continent with the longest history, the highest intensity, and the largest variety of peatland use, and as a consequence it has the highest proportion of degraded peatlands worldwide. Peatland science and technology developed in parallel to exploitation and it is therefore not surprising that almost all modern peatland terms and concepts originated and matured in Europe. Their massive degradation also kindled the desire to protect these beautiful landscapes, full of peculiar wildlife. In recent decades attention has widened to include additional vital ecosystem services that natural and restored peatlands provide. Already the first scientific book on peatlands (Schoockius 1658) contained a chapter on restoration. Yet, only now there is a rising awareness of the necessity to conserve and restore mires and peatlands in order to avoid adverse environmental and economic effects. This book provides - for the first time in history - a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of mires and peatlands in biogeographic Europe. Written by 134 authors, the book describes mire and peatland types, terms, extent, distribution, use, conservation, and restoration individually for each country and integrated for the entire continent. Complemented by a multitude of maps and photographs, the book offers an impressive and colourful journey, full of surprising historical context and fascinating details, while appreciating the core principles and unifying concepts of mire science.