BELHAVEN, N.C. (AP) — Investors and scientists are restoring a 23-square-mile (60-square-kilometer) tract of peatland in North Carolina's Inner Banks to curb emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide and regenerate native habitat.
Fifty miles (80 kilometers) of ditches dug decades ago for an abandoned farming venture drained much of the water from thousands of years of accumulated peat — partially decayed organic matter up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) deep
— leaving the site vulnerable to drought and wildfires, altering native habitats and allowing it to emit 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year.
Here are key takeaways from The Associated Press’ reporting:
Though they account for just 3% of the global land surface, peatlands store about one-third of the Earth’s carbon dioxide, more than all forests combined. But when degraded, destroyed or burned they become part of the problem, releasing huge volumes of greenhouse gases, now about 6% of the annual global total from all sources.
When peatlands are intact, gases generated by decomposing plants are trapped in a waterlogged, oxygen-deprived environment, while surface vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, scientists say.
They also store about 10% of global fresh water, help control flooding and can help stem wildfires, as well as provide important habitat for many species.
Two-thirds of temperate peatlands — mostly in Europe and the U.S. — have been dewatered for farming, mining and other uses, while about 45% of tropical peatlands have been similarly disturbed, according to a 2025 study published by The Society for Conservation Biology.
Boreal peatlands, in colder climates in places like Canada and Russia, are about 90% intact, but face growing pressure from thawing permafrost and intense fires, both linked to climate change, as well as mining and critical minerals exploration.
Saturated peatlands are nearly fireproof: Just the surface vegetation and a few inches of peat burn, releasing nutrients, regenerating seed banks and creating beneficial biochar.
But when they’re dry, fire can burn underground for weeks or months — drying out and destroying even saturated layers — emitting enormous volumes of carbon dioxide and destroying thousands of years of accumulation.
In North Carolina, 11,000 miles (17,702 kilometers) of canals drain peatlands before the water empties into coastal estuaries. And the type of peatlands found there, and for hundreds of miles along the Eastern Seaboard, are among the most threatened in the world.
Colorado-based Pantheon Regeneration plans to restore its property by blocking off ditches to control the water table and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Then it will cull invasive species and replant native grasses, flowers and other plants.
Pantheon plans to sell carbon credits to tech companies and other corporations that want to compensate for their own greenhouse gas emissions, then use the money to restore and preserve a million acres of peatland from Virginia to northern Florida over the next decade.
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