We want Moor!

Bogs, just like floodplains, swamp forests and marshes, are classified as wetlands and lie in the transitional zone between dry and permanently wet ecosystems. They are inextricably linked to water. This water comes either directly from precipitation or as groundwater from the soil. However, for a moor to persist in the long term, there must be a balance between water inflow and outflow. The constant supply of water ensures that moors do not dry out, even during dry periods.

The consistently high water level in the soil means that it receives very little oxygen. As a result, dying plant matter in the bog is not completely decomposed, but instead forms the characteristic metre-thick layer of peat over the course of millennia. This is a very slow process, which began after the last Ice Age, particularly in areas that were damp and cool. The peatlands in western Canada can therefore be up to 10,000 years old and grow by only about one millimetre per year.¹

Although only around 1–3 per cent of the Earth’s surface is now covered by peatlands, they store over 30 per cent of the world’s total soil carbon reserves.² This is because the carbon from dead plants cannot escape completely into the atmosphere; the water prevents the presence of the oxygen that the carbon needs to escape. Instead, it is stored in the peat. Intact peatlands, such as those in our protected areas, are therefore enormous carbon sinks. With a peat layer 6 metres thick, a raised bog could store³ around 550–1,100 kg CO₂/m² – in a forest, this would be ‘only’ around 60 kg CO₂/m².

To ensure that sphagnum moss can continue to grow, the water level in raised bogs must always be high enough. When a bog is drained, the water table drops and the peat dries out. This leads to the decomposition of the peat and releases the huge quantities of CO₂ that were previously stored. The loss of bogs through drainage therefore has catastrophic consequences for our climate!

Since the 17th century, more and more moors have been systematically drained. The reasons for this, as is so often the case, are forestry and agriculture, the construction of settlements and the extraction of peat – because peat burns almost as well as lignite. Furthermore, peat is ideal as potting compost, as it retains water well and, due to its low nutrient content, is largely free from weed seeds and pathogens.

Particularly in industrialised countries such as Germany, very few natural moors remain. Worldwide, the area of drained moorland is estimated at over 50 million hectares – that’s almost the entire land area of Spain! And the trend is rising. That is why it is absolutely essential to protect peatlands and the surrounding forests! Not only because of their vital importance to our climate, but also because of the enormous biodiversity and all the species that have adapted to this habitat and are found nowhere else. Due to their great age and the slow growth of the peat layer, peatlands are also very difficult to restore. We are therefore delighted that we have so many peatlands in our Canadian conservation areas!

In fact, bogs are not only found in Canada, but all over the world – in the mountains, on the plains, in the heart of vast forests (such as in our protected areas in Canada) and on the coast. There are various types of moorland, which differ in their characteristics, vegetation and inhabitants depending on the climate zone. 

Bogs are often found in climate zones characterised by high rainfall or cold temperatures – or both. This is the case around the equator, as well as in subarctic, boreal and oceanic temperate zones, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Our protected areas on the west coast of Canada are also part of the latter. The climatic conditions in these areas ensure that biomass decomposes very slowly, which promotes the formation of peatlands. In less humid, subtropical regions, peatlands are less common, but they do exist there too, for example in mountainous regions with high rainfall or near major rivers. Worldwide, the total area of all peatlands is estimated at 500 million hectares. However, this is only an approximate figure, as many large areas have not yet been accurately mapped and many smaller areas remain undiscovered.¹