Peatland Mapping and Monitoring: Recommendations and Technical Overview

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FAO. 2020. Peatlands mapping and monitoring – Recommendations and technical overview. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8200en

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Contents

Foreword

Executive summary

Peatland mapping and monitoring at a glance

Contributors

Abbreviations and acronyms

1. Introduction: why map and monitor peatlands?

2. Peatland mapping

Background

Phase 1: collection and processing of input data

Phase 2: peatland mapping

Phase 3: intervention and restoration mapping

3. Peatland monitoring

Monitoring parameters

Taking decisions

4. Examples of monitoring tools and approaches

Observational tools available today

Analytical tools to estimate carbon balance and greenhouse gases

5. Existing frameworks for peatland reporting and verification

Integrated assessment frameworks

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Fire monitoring initiatives

The Convention on Biological Diversity

Forest and landscape restoration initiatives

6. Country case studies

Indonesia: new monitoring methods and challenges

The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Peru

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Lessons learned by diverse countries

7. Remaining questions and knowledge gaps

Groundwater level and soil moisture

Reliable soil moisture detection

Greenhouse gas emission estimations

8. Recommendations

Concluding remarks

Annexes

Annex 1. Impacts of peatland degradation on selected SDGs

References

Boxes

Box 1 How much soil organic carbon defines peat?

Box 2 Greenhouse gas emissions from peatland drainage and fires

Box 3 Definition of peat and peatland by the IPCC

Box 4 Peatland restoration and rehabilitation

Box 5 Central European vegetation as a proxy for greenhouse gas fluxes

Box 6 Landscape-scale observation of peat surface elevation change

Box 7 SEPAL — platform for land monitoring

Figures

Figure 1 Data needed for peatland monitoring — Case 1: Pristine peatlands — no ongoing drainage

Figure 2 Data needed for peatland monitoring — Case 2: Drained peatland with canals

Figure 3 Data needed for peatland monitoring — Case 3: Restoration monitoring

Figure 4 Volumetric carbon content vs carbon by dry weight in soils in percentages

Figure 5 Carbon dynamic in an undrained peatland

Figure 6 Carbon dynamic in a drained peatland

Figure 7 Manual auger used for peat sampling in the field

Figure 8 How to determine total peat thickness in a domed peatland

Figure 9 Decision-support tree for choosing whether rehabilitation through revegetation should be considered

Figure 10 Dipwells for water-table depth measurement

Figure 11 Automated groundwater level, rainfall and wind measurement point

Figure 12 Example of SAR data on flooded areas within a complex peat dome in Mawas area, Central Kalimantan and JERS-1 SAR multi-temporal composite image

Figure 13 JERS-1 SAR time series of the collapse of the peat dome in 1995—1998 in Kahiyu, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Figure 14 Illustration of radar backscatter from a typical forest element

Figure 15 The Sustainable Development Goals that require peatland monitoring

Figure 16 Peat landscape in Peru

Figure 17 Institutional setting and contribution to peatland monitoring and reporting

Maps

Map 1 The extent of peatlands in the Cuvette Centrale, Congo Basin

Map 2 Updated map of the extent of peat in the United Kingdom

Tables

Table 1 Remote sensing tools and their characteristics, useful for peatland mapping

Table 2 Examples of parameters for monitoring different types of peatlands, suggested minimum frequency and utility for climate reporting indicators

Table 3 Summary of tools for peatland monitoring

Table 4 Examples of SDG targets, definition of goals, indicators and potential monitoring parameters related to peatlands

Table 5 Peat-related components of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ roadmap

Table 6 Peat-related Aichi biodiversity targets and relevant indicators

Table 7 The impacts of peatland degradation and restoration on selected SDGs

Foreword

The world’s leading peatland experts have come to a collective conclusion – comprehensive peatland mapping and monitoring are urgently needed. Peatlands have a great potential to influence global greenhouse gas emissions, and in this decade we need to take urgent and innovative actions to limit global warming to a maximum of 2 °C. In most cases worldwide, peatlands have been drained and degraded due to the lack of knowledge about their location, extent, benefits and potential for climate change mitigation and risk reduction. Current estimates suggest 11–15 percent of peatlands on Earth have been drained, and another 5–10 percent are degraded due to other changes such as removal or alteration of vegetation. These degrading peatlands consequently emit huge amounts of greenhouse gases that persist for years if not decades.

The scientific basis for mapping and monitoring peatlands has developed rapidly in recent years. Countries must take advantage of and consider adopting practical and innovative approaches and tools for peatland mapping and monitoring into national monitoring and reporting frameworks. Mapping and monitoring can be used to inform climate and biodiversity policies and commitments, as well as to continuously adapt peatland restoration efforts.

Peatland mapping and monitoring are both highly complex endeavours, but are key to understanding the real extent and location of these huge carbon stores and guide the course of action for ecosystem conservation and restoration during this decade and beyond. It is part of FAO’s mandate to support developing countries with advancing the sustainable management of peatland landscapes, and develop national capacity for peatland mapping and monitoring, as well as to foster knowledge sharing and data generation. FAO’s peatland network consists of dozens of experts and organizations with the shared mandate to jointly find solutions to conserve the carbon in the soil while fostering sustainable livelihoods and development. We recognize the important advances already made in the subject in temperate and boreal regions and stress the need for continuing monitoring of peatland status in tropical as well as in temperate and boreal regions.

Peatlands mapping and monitoring: Recommendations and technical overview is the result of 35 contributors from 14 countries and different organizations working together to provide examples, tools, methodologies and solutions to peatland mapping and monitoring challenges, especially in developing countries. These recommendations are an important step forward in guiding the world on the best ways to integrate peatlands into land monitoring systems to further facilitate the conservation and restoration of these unique ecosystems. I encourage you to take full advantage of the information included in this publication.

Executive summary

Mapping peatlands is the basis for successful monitoring systems. Worldwide, innovative mapping approaches have facilitated the inclusion of peatland areas into sustainable land use management plans and conservation strategies. Monitoring changes in peatland ecosystems, be they natural, degraded, or in the process of restoration, is instrumental in maintaining peatland’s water, species richness and carbon. Robust mapping processes offer a solid baseline for monitoring and help establish management objectives for specific peatland areas.

This report presents the peatland mapping methodologies commonly used – based on ground and remotely sensed input data. It also offers an overview of advantages and limitations of different monitoring approaches as a practical