A peatland in the Peruvian Amazon will be carbon neutral in 2022, according to a new study. (Image credit: Cavan Images/Getty Images)
A palm peat swamp in the Peruvian Amazon, which typically absorbs more carbon than it releases each year, has become carbon neutral, even without significant intervention from local people.
At first glance, the findings, published June 30 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, may seem alarming. However, experts say they are not definitive.
Peatlands play a critical role in the carbon cycle by absorbing carbon dioxide. In Peru, they cover an area of about 56,000 square kilometers (22,000 square miles) — less than 5 percent of the country’s total land area. The region holds about 5 gigatons of carbon underground, roughly the same as the total amount of carbon stored in Peru’s vegetation.
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