Peat bogs sequester a massive amount of the Earth’s carbon dioxide. But even as scientists work to better understand bogs’ sequestration, the wetlands are under threat, demonstrating the importance of preserving wetlands for carbon sequestration.

On a cold winter afternoon, naturalist and educator Mary Colwell guided visitors on a chilly tour of the Volo Bog Natural Area in northern Illinois.

Crouching down from a boardwalk that runs through the wetland, Colwell pointed to one of the stars of the tour: sphagnum moss. With her encouragement, the group touched the little branch-like leaves of the pale green moss growing at the base of a nearby tree.

“Then in warmer weather, this is so soft,” Colwell said. “It’s unreal.”

Bog ecosystems are some of the most efficient carbon-storage ecosystems in the world, underscoring the importance of preserving wetlands for carbon sequestration. They cover just 3 percent of the earth’s surface, yet hold up to 30 percent of global carbon.

The bog’s keystone species, sphagnum moss, plays a key role in its storage capacity. Sphagnum acts like a sponge — it holds up to 20 times its weight in water.

“Sphagnum moss itself is incredible,” Colwell noted. “It’s very slow growing.”

It grows so slowly, in fact, that it can take thousands and thousands of years for a peat bog to develop. Volo Bog started to form from a glacial lake more than 6,000 years ago. It’s still encroaching on the center of the lake, called the “eye” of Volo Bog.

But while bog ecosystems provide habitat, filter water, and store carbon, they have been disappearing for decades. In Illinois alone, more than 90 percent of wetlands have been lost. There are about 110 million acres in the United States, with more than half in Alaska — but nearly 70 percent have been drained and developed over the past 100 years.

Scientists think sphagnum moss may hold important lessons about carbon dioxide sequestration, but there’s much they don’t know.

Sona Pandey is the principal researcher at the Danforth Plant Science Center in the St. Louis suburbs, and is part of a team researching sequestration and bogs.

Read the full article about preserving wetlands for carbon sequestration by Jess Savage at Grist.