Can-Peat: Peatlands as nature-based climate solutions 

New research project examines role of peatlands in climate change mitigation.

With their vast amounts of carbon storage, Canadian peatlands could be critical for preventing and mitigating the effects of climate change. Yet, despite peatland’s prominence and importance in Canada, there are large knowledge gaps surrounding these ecosystems and their ability to mitigate climate change. 

Can-Peat : Peatlands as nature-based climate solutions is a five-year project funded by the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Led by Maria Strack at the University of Waterloo, the project is working to identify and optimize opportunities to manage peatland ecosystems in Canada as nature-based solutions (NbS) to help protect these ecosystems and achieve Canada’s goal of net-zero emissions. 

Can-Peat’s research team consists of researchers from six Canadian universities (Carleton University, Memorial University, McGill University, Université de Montreal, Université Quebec à Montreal, and University of Alberta), and is supported by partners from the federal government, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous organizations, non-governmental organizations, and industry. This strong multisectoral commitment illustrates the importance of Can-Peat’s goals to a diverse set of partners across Canada. 

Together, the team is working towards a number of ambitious goals which include:

• Creating a Canadian peatland research network;
• Compiling a database on Canadian peatland C stocks, GHG exchange, and supporting data and maps of peatland vulnerability to disturbance, collecting new data at targeted study sites to fill key knowledge gaps;
• Advancing models of peatland C cycling from site to national-scale and use these models to evaluate future peatland GHG uptake or emission under changing climate and disturbance regimes;
• Investigating mechanisms to implement peatland nature-based solutions in Canada and develop a decision-support framework for peatland management; and
• Communicating findings to partners in governments, industries, and conservation organizations to provide the tools needed for climate-friendly peatland management and GHG emission reporting related to these activities findings

If you are interested in getting involved in any of these initiatives or learning more, please contact the research team.

Contributed by Nancy Goucher and Kimberly Kleinke (U. of Waterloo)