Arctic peatlands expanding as climate warms - University of Exeter
Peatlands across the Arctic are expanding as the climate warms, new research shows.
Scientists used satellite data, drones and on-the-ground observations to assess the edges of existing peatlands (waterlogged ecosystems that store vast amounts of carbon).
The study – led by the University of Exeter – found peatlands in the European and Canadian Arctic have expanded outwards in the last 40 years.
While this could slow climate change by storing carbon, the researchers warn that extreme future warming could cause widespread loss of peatlands – releasing that carbon and further accelerating the climate crisis.
“The Arctic has warmed faster than the rest of the planet, with average temperatures increasing by about 4°C in the last four decades,” said Dr Katherine Crichton. “This has improved growing conditions for plants, causing ‘greening’ of the Arctic. We wanted to identify if this greening could be from peatland plant communities. We know from paleo records that warmer periods in Earth’s history led to more carbon being stored in peatlands. Our new study puts these pieces together to examine whether our warming climate is causing peatland expansion – and we find strong evidence that it is.”
Peatlands cover just 3% of Earth’s surface but they store about 600 billion tons of carbon – more than all the world’s forest biomass combined.
The Arctic has large peatland areas but these peter out in the far north, where harsh conditions limit plant growth.
In the new study, researchers examined 16 sites – a range of peatlands in both the low and high Arctic – and compared data from 1985-95 with the last 15-20 years.
They found strong evidence of expansion at more than two thirds of sites (measured by “peak-summer greening” – increased growth of peatland-forming plants at the edges of existing peatlands).
The largest changes were found in places with the highest increases in summer temperature, such as the Norwegian islands of Svalbard.
Posted On: 19/06/2025
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