<
https://theconversation.com/feral-horses-in-australias-high-country-are-damaging-peatlands-decreasing-carbon-stores-228990>
"Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on
Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their
ability to act as carbon reservoirs.
Under the right conditions, peat soils accumulate from carbon-rich,
semi-decomposed plants. But if things go wrong, the carbon balance can be
tipped in the other direction, releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
We wanted to know if feral horse grazing and trampling is reducing the amount
of carbon Australia’s alpine peatlands can store. These peatlands are found in
alpine and mountainous regions of Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and the
Australian Capital Territory. But they’re quite rare on the mainland,
restricted to areas such as those frequented by feral horses in the Snowy
Mountains.
In our new research, we sampled peat soils from areas with and without feral
horses in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW. We found peatlands untouched by feral
horses store almost 50% more carbon. In degraded peatlands, where horses had
trampled all of the plants leaving bare soils at the surface, carbon storage
was even lower."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
