The study published by various authors and led by Stanford University shows that only 21 to 35 per cent of the world's wetlands have been lost since 1700, instead of 50 to 87 per cent as previously assumed.
"This study proves what we have always said about peatlands: in terms of area, the global loss is not as great as is often claimed. However, we must not allow ourselves to be deceived by what seems to be good news at first glance. About four million km2 of wetlands have disappeared across the world, including about 0.5 million km2 of wet peatlands. And yet, drained peatlands are responsible for four to five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions: they are relatively small areas, but with huge consequences! Wetlands, especially peatlands, continue to be threatened throughout the globe with major risks for climate, biodiversity and our livelihoods. The fact that the data from the local Global Peatland Database and our Peatland Library has helped to disseminate this knowledge through a publication in 'Nature' shows the international significance of the databases managed by the Greifswald Mire Centre and confirms: we are committed to the right thing - to peatland and climate protection," says Greifswald peatland scientist Hans Joosten, professor emeritus and co-author of the study.
For the recently published study, scientists combed through thousands of records of drainage and land-use change in 154 countries and compared them with the current distribution of drained and altered wetlands to gain a picture of how things have changed since 1700.
Researchers from the University of Maryland, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the University of Hong Kong, Utrecht University, the University of Göttingen, the Russian Institute of Forestry, Stockholm University, the University of Greifswald and the Greifswald Mire Centre, the Paris Observatory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nick Davidson Environmental, the Charles Sturt University, and McGill University collaborated on the project.
The study was financed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Further information
Extensive global wetland loss over the last three centuries DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05572-6
Greifswald Mire Centre
Global Peatland Database
Peatland and Nature Conservation International Library (PeNCIL)
Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans Joosten (retired)
Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology
joostenuni-greifswaldde