Peat bogs’ astonishing ability to resist climate change gives scientists reason to cheer.
EPFL scientists working with a team of researchers from across Europe have found that peat bogs, despite their low biodiversity, can effectively withstand both moderate and glacial climates. That finding stands to change the way we look at biodiversity. Alexandre Buttler, head of EPFL's Ecological Systems Laboratory (ECOS), and Luca Bragazza, a scientist at both ECOS and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), along with a team of European researchers including two former EPFL post-docs, analyzed 560 intact peat bog samples from 56 European countries to study how peat bog ecosystems respond to different temperatures, precipitation levels and air pollution levels. They found that peat bog properties remained the same across the board, demonstrating a surprising ability to adapt to climatic variation. This is because species that were suited to a certain climate were replaced elsewhere by other species that were better suited to the new climate yet serve the same function within the ecosystem. The research has just been published . Peat bogs play an essential role on our planet.
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