Most carbon-dense ecosystem in Amazonia mapped for first time

The highest concentration of carbon in parts of Amazonia is not stored in trees, but below the ground as peat, according to new University of Leeds research. Mapping and quantifying carbon stored in the largest area of peatland forest in Amazonia, a geological basin almost the size of England, the researchers estimated that more than three billion tonnes of carbon is stored within this ecosystem. While Amazonian forests are known to harbour large stores of carbon in their trees, the findings revealed that 90% of carbon in this area is actually stored below the ground as peat. The researchers now say that by understanding where the carbon is stored, policies can be developed to protect these ecosystems and play an important part in helping reduce carbon emissions. Lead author Freddie Draper, a PhD student at the University of Leeds, explained the mapping process. He said: “Combining satellite data with extensive field data, we have been able to provide spatially explicit estimates of the amount of carbon stored in these ecosystems for the first time. “Ordinarily in tropical forests, the vast majority of carbon is emitted back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, as trees die and decompose.