Peatlands, like seas and oceans, sequester carbon from the atmosphere. They are considered to contain the largest terrestrial carbon stores. Plant remains, and thus carbon, that break down in areas covered with water are stored under oxygen-poor conditions as long as the peat remains covered with water. Peatlands, therefore, can only function as a carbon sink if the swamps do not dry out, for example, as a result of climate change or due to human activities such as agriculture, peat mining or road construction.
Click here for original story, Researchers decipher the history and sensitivity of the largest tropical peatland in the Congo
Source: Phys.org