Description: The International Tropical Peatland Center focuses on efforts to conserve and sustainably manage peatlands throughout Southeast Asia, the Congo Basin and Peru.
International Tropical Peatlands Center
The International Tropical Peatlands Center focuses on efforts to converse and sustainably manage peatlands throughout Southeast Asia, the Congo Basin and Peru
Peat is formed over many centuries by the partial decomposition of vegetation and organic matter in anaerobic, waterlogged conditions. The carbon contained in the vegetation is locked into the peat as it forms. It is estimated that peatlands currently store around 3000 GtC. Studies on temperate peatlands show that they also store large stocks of nitrogen, but this has yet to be quantified for tropical systems.