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Category FAQs Search : Ecosystem

Question: The benefits provided by intact peatlands.

Answer: Peat swamp forests are significant carbon stores and sinks. They are one of the few ecosystems which, in
their natural state, accumulate carbon. If peatlands are maintained in their natural state, CO2 is
sequestered as organic carbon in dead organic matter stored in the peat, moderating greenhouse gas
emissions. When disturbed either by drainage and burning or both, carbon accumulated over centuries or
millennia is rapidly released to the atmosphere contributing to the greenhouse effect and climate change.

(Source: A Quick Scan of Peatlands in Malaysia: Wetlands International - Malaysia March 2010, 01 Feb 2021)

Source Link: http://www.aseanpeat.net