North Carolina Peatland Restoration Project Aims to Curb Carbon Emissions
Investors and scientists are undertaking a significant project to restore a 23-square-mile tract of peatland in North Carolina's Inner Banks. This initiative aims to reduce climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions and regenerate native habitats. Decades ago, 50 miles of ditches were dug for an abandoned farming venture, which drained much of the water from thousands of years of accumulated peat. This drainage left the site vulnerable to drought and wildfires, altered native habitats, and caused it to emit 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Colorado-based Pantheon Regeneration plans to restore its property by blocking off ditches to control the water table, which is expected to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Following this, invasive species will be culled, and native grasses, flowers, and other plants will be replanted. Peatlands, though only accounting for 3% of the global land surface, store about one-third of the Earth’s carbon dioxide, more than all forests combined. However, when ...
