Peatlands, especially at our latitudes, don't have the vastness or the "fame" of alpine meadows or glaciers, but that doesn't make them any less important. Incredibly, they store more carbon dioxide than all the world's forests combined, despite covering only around 3 per cent of the Earth's surface. But if damaged, they can quickly become emitters of greenhouse gases.

What peatlands are

They often appear as carpets of soft, colourful mosses, inhabited by white tufts known as cottongrass, orchids and carnivorous plants such as Drosera. Peatlands are wetland ecosystems with waterlogged, poorly oxygenated soil. Under these conditions, decomposing microorganisms are severely limited and, as a result, the remains of plants and animals break down very slowly. Over the course of centuries and millennia, these conditions lead to an accumulation of peat: a soil extremely rich in carbon that acts as a natural CO2 reservoir.

When one thinks of peatlands, the mind usually turns to the vast expanses of Scotland, Ireland, and Siberia. But Italy too is home to many of them, above all in the Alps and northern Apennines, which are among the southernmost areas in Europe where these ecosystems manage to survive. Here, peatlands are particularly rare, fragmented and fragile because they require very specific climatic conditions: a cold and humid environment in order to form and be maintained. Alpine peatlands are also treasure troves of biodiversity of extraordinary ecological value. They serve as glacial refugia, providing a home for rare, specialised species that, following the ice ages, survived only here in cool, damp corners.

These ecosystems are also true natural water reserves: they can rapidly absorb rainfall and release it gradually, thereby helping to reduce the risk of floods and droughts.

Peatlands are not only reservoirs of water and carbon dioxide, but are also natural archives of the Planet's history. Thanks to their unique conditions, they are able to preserve the remains of plants and animals for thousands of years. The most famous case is that of the Tollund Man, discovered in 1950 in a Danish peatland: a naturally mummified body, preserved intact from the Iron Age, around 400 BC.

Peatlands therefore provide us with ecosystem services that are often unknown, yet vital:

• CO2 storage
• regulation of water quality and quantity
• support for biodiversity
• the function of historical archive

For this reason too, many peatland habitats are listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive and are therefore protected at European level.

Peatlands under threat

For several decades, peatlands have been facing increasing degradation. Today, at a European level, they are among the habitats most vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures. In particular, due to activities such as peat extraction, drainage for agricultural and forestry purposes, overgrazing, and climate change.

These degradation trends are especially evident in the Alps. As early as 2006, Professor Luca Bragazza had highlighted how peatland mosses were particularly sensitive to climate. A 2022 study conducted by Professor Lisa Brancaleoni subsequently confirmed how prolonged drought periods combined with high summer temperatures could exert a strong impact on peatlands, leading to significant changes in vegetation. Recent field observations conducted by the University of Turin, in collaboration with Arpa Piemonte, confirm this worrying picture: many alpine peatlands are becoming increasingly dry and are showing the disappearance or decline of several typical species.

In addition to the loss of the habitats themselves and their species, there is the added risk that peatlands become sources of CO2 emissions. Indeed, when degraded, they not only cease to store carbon dioxide, but begin to emit it.

Restoring these ecosystems can significantly reduce negative trends and the related feedback loops. Fortunately, there are many initiatives, including in Italy, aimed at conserving them. For example, there are numerous scientific efforts to better map alpine peatlands, in order to enable improved management. In some protected areas, such as the Alpi Marittime, the Alpi Cozie and the Gran Paradiso national park, fencing has been erected to prevent excessive grazing pressure, with the aim of preserving the delicate balance of these habitats. At an institutional level, moreover, the Alpine Convention has included the protection of peatlands within the "Soil Conservation" protocol, inviting member states to maintain and restore wetlands and peat bogs, as natural habitats that are particularly sensitive and important for the conservation of biodiversity and for the regulation of water resources.

Alpine peatlands are silent allies of alpine nature's health. Without them, climate change would be even more rapid and biodiversity even poorer. Protecting them today is a priority, if we are to safeguard the precious jewels of our natural heritage and the services they provide us.