Melting wetlands – How can nature slow down climate change? | DW Documentary

Melting wetlands – How can nature slow down climate change? | DW Documentary

[Music] Finland is home to tens of thousands of wetlands proportional to land mass the country has more Wetlands than any other on the planet berries and a myriad of plants Thrive here and the wetlands Rich natural beauty draws many [Music] visitors but the wetlands are also important for our [Music] climate enormous amounts of carbon are stored here some is locked in [Music] permafrost were the permafrost to melt massive amounts of of carbon would likely be released into the atmosphere accelerating climate change but it’s not too late yet recent studies suggest that while these Northern Wetlands May pose threats they are also Rife with [Music] opportunity how might humankind work with the wetlands to curb global climate change [Music] a research group from the University of Helsinki has arrived in kipus yve Lapland in the far north of Finland they’re hoping to discover whether the permafrost here is already melting and what effects that could [Music] have I want to be slit Hammer see that’ll do that’s better exciting this is from 1 and a half meters down it’s just ice yes we can use it for long drinks not when it smells like that this long-term project is concentrated on permafrost we want to find out what processes are set off when it melts permafrost contains huge amounts of mercury and other toxins as well as various organic compounds and gases we want to know what could be released and what effect that would have on climate change some components could curb it but we have to assume the most will accelerate it Northern permafrost may contain hazards that are as yet unknown to us [Music] in the summer of 2016 alarming news came from the yamal peninsula in Northwestern cyberia a young man had died of Anthrax a disease that had been eradicated from the region 75 years earlier [Music] over 2,000 reindeer died from the disease an additional five adults and two children were [Music] infected anthrax was suspected to have spread from a contaminated reindeer carcass which had Lain Frozen in the permafrost for decades subsequent studies revealed that an exceptionally warm summer had melted large sections of permafrost the Thor had apparently revived the anthrax bacterium which first infected animals then the reindeer [Music] herders since 2016 no new Anthrax outbreaks have been detected in [Music] yamal the melting of the permafrost has however caused damage to buildings it also releases carbon dioxide and methane both known accelerators of climate change the Arctic Circle surrounds the North Pole the ground here contains twice the amount of carbon that is found in the atmosphere much of it is stored in the Arctic Wetlands permafrost carbon a blessing and a curse without it there would be no life on Earth at the same time it’s the cause of global warming two greenhouse gases contain carbon carbon dioxide and methane it’s these two gases that contribute the most to atmospheric warming in nature carbon is in constant circulation the wetlands in northern Europe play a key role in the carbon cycle yes oh my back we want to understand how carbon Cycles work in these Landscapes the Arctic is a mosaic there’s permafrost there are small wetlands and larger Wetlands we want to study all their interactions what form does the carbon take when it moves from one place to another how old is it where are the carbon storehouses and what are its sources how does it end up in the atmosphere or in the ocean Wetlands play an important role not just here in the north but also in the tropics they’re vital for regulating Earth’s carbon balance which affects our climate more carbon is stored in Wetlands than in the entire planet’s vegetation after the oceans wetlands are the Earth’s largest carbon reservoirs so as ecosystems Wetlands absorb carbon from the atmosphere after the Ice Age it was continuously drawn from the air if there weren’t any Wetlands the atmosphere would today be much richer in carbon and with every Wetland that’s destroyed carbon gets released into the atmosphere thus far little study has been made of wetland permafrost so the possible effects of permafrost melt are largely unknown there’s hardly any data from northern regions like this one gas measurements like these have only been undertaken in a very few places around the world our research thus far has been largely based on assumptions one hypothesis as the climate warms the ground becomes water logged if the permafrost inside these Mounds melts it becomes a puddle like this one here these release a lot of methane which is a potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere that’s one possible scenario that we wind up with these expansive wet areas leaking methane into the [Music] atmosphere the per Frost in Siberia has apparently begun to melt the ancient Frozen soil is thawing for the first time in 10,000 years it effects pose a traumatic threat for global warming [Music] signs of the Perma Frost’s melting have been observable for some 20 years now the images of siberia’s collapsing permafrost Mounds stoked fears as early as 2014 scientists concluded that the Mounds were filled with methane which was being released from the melting [Music] permafrost the pressure inside them had grown so great that it burst open the [Music] Mounds these methane craters are a bit like sink holes which can be found around the world in the permafrost they form ice plugs and a thick layer of Frozen soil when that melts it’s a bit like pulling the stopper out of a sink everything from the top rushes out leaving a crater behind ever more Studies have confirmed the melting of the Siberian permafrost over the years initial assumptions have become increasingly concrete B methane emissions can be locally quite high at times and they can increase but the effect is apparently not globally significant for now like this let me see yeah nice nice nice a macro fossil what have you found a seed it looks like B Bean how does it look in the middle menes right so bog Bean thought so I’d also say it’s Min a bog bean seed for sure that means that it used to be very damp here soft ground not much undergrowth the seed the scientists have just found is several thousand years old it indicates that the landscape around this bog must have once looked very different the last bit that we drilled was mineral matter not bog sediment at all there used to be some kind of a lake or puddle which was later filled and then formed a bog this is the way nature works nothing is forever this environment looked very different after the last ice age permafrost bogs are like time capsules they help us study environmental and climate changes over hundreds and thousands of years year by year Pete accumulates in the swamp in southern Finland the P layer can be several meters deep and in Lapland we only have 2 me of the layers are a kind of Time Machine a stratum that records the whole history of the Wetland scientist search through the layers of stratification for signs of temperature and humidity changes it’s easy to see in the terrain that something happened there often the changes appear as differences in color when we bring the samples to the lab we can see in more detail how the vegetation has changed across history over the course of 10,000 years there have been at least a couple of changes to the vegetation which tells us about changes in the environment here we have a sample of about 50 cm from a bog and Lapland we can clearly see changes in the composition of the Pete this layer is perhaps a thousand years old down here we have a sour grass vegetation which grows in humid conditions [Music] here we see a clear change in the 18th century at that point during the little Ice Age permafrost began developing in fenos Scandia the surface of the bog dried out changing the vegetation completely shrubs began to spread out during that period here on the far left the vegetation has changed once again this layer reflects the situ at the extraction Point conditions we still have today Moss is growing there an indication that the environment has become more humid Again by observing the various layers it is possible to make a rough initial prediction of changes ahead we can see how the layer in the Bog behaved at various times in general carbon dioxide along with warmer temperatures promotes the growth of Pete and the accumulation of carbon but these forecasts do not take into account other aspects related to Wetlands extensive changes in vegetation things like raised bogs opam Myers bog growth fires aren’t considered in these models much more research is needed for that [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] Finland is a great place to study the wetlands effects on the climate after all Wetlands cover a third of Finland an area the size of Portugal [Music] bogs and swamps have always been important to the fins they’ve provided food for humans and animals as well as fuel for heating Finn folklore is filled with Tales of spirits elves and deities living in the wetlands it’s no wonder then that Finnish has dozens of words for different kinds of wetland Wetlands were once feared as unpredictable environments a space between Earth and water being and [Music] Beyond in the past people were buried in the swamp later waste was dumped there [Music] no two bogs are alike though some types store carbon efficiently While others release it there are over 100 different types of wetland in Finland alone each is different in the way it accumulates or emits carbon these wetter kinds of B release methane into the atmosphere dryer bogs and mounds though accumulate and store carbon very efficiently over half of finland’s wetlands have been drained the goal was to dry out the Wetland soil making it more suitable for forestry and agriculture one such Wetland is ranscan Cori in southern fin [Music] this dense Spruce forest was originally a woodland bog decades ago the wetlands were drained to support tree growth the groundwater table was lowered considerably we’re in a well drained Wetland which become common for Finland according to the latest findings this type of Pete Heath is a major source of emissions the soil of a drained Wetland Forest produces greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane at the same time the forest trees take in carbon dioxide from the air that means a Petland Forest serves as both a source of emissions and as a carbon sink drained Pete forests and Pete fields are nonetheless a significant source of worldwide emissions they produce almost as much greenhouse gas emissions as deforestation does in the effort to curb climate change the wetlands have emerged as a point of focus the draining of wetlands reduces biodiversity worsens water quality and increases the risk of Fire carbon released from Wetlands is bad for the climate human intervention can however impact just how much carbon is released into the atmosphere one goal could be to strengthen the role of wetlands as carbon sinks one option could be Wetland Restoration in Finland for instance countless wetlands have been drained but drying them up failed in 15 to 30% of cases no Forest has been able to grow on them instead draining the wetlands just ruined their positive natural qualities with restoration the wetlands can begin to function naturally again they can once more start absorbing carbon from the atmosphere restoring a wetland means returning it to a state as close as possible to its natural one the ditches are filled the water level rises once the water has returned to the correct level Pete begins to form again carbon is removed from the atmosphere and absorbed into the soil here it comes 75 and then we subtract this pretty deep and that’s only now in Spring if it’s a dry summer we’ll be around 12 the will suffer of course when the water level’s so low in ranscan Cori the effects of the various deforestation models on Wetlands emissions are being investigated the aim is to raise the water level in a controlled manner so that the forest remains viable as a result carbon dioxide emissions will also decrease however the water level must not rise too high if water rose right to the surface methane would be released the goal is to maintain groundwater at a depth of about 20 to 30 cmers where it doesn’t release methane a sufficient aerobic surface layer can prevent methane emissions the researchers measure the carbon dioxide in the air the methane present in the soil changes in vegetation the groundwater levels and the circulation of liquids in the trees they track the liquid flowing through the trees to find out how they react to felling and to fluctuations in the groundwater levels we have two sensors here measuring two different things the front sensor shows us the degree of evaporation in the wood the measurement isn’t very accurate but it’s better than nothing this sensor on the left gives us information about photosynthesis and how sugar is transported via the flam to the places where the tree needs it for growth the roots and the trunk this one is well placed too maybe even a bit better yes the Plate’s fixed on straight the Plate’s good you drilled it well thanks in photosynthesis trees extract carbon dioxide from the air but changes in the water table can disrupt the process these bog ecosystems and Pete forests are controlled by water to a certain extent the greenhouse gas emissions depend largely on the water table as well as on how much carbon dioxide is absorbed by the trees if the groundwater level is especially High the trees run into problems with their water intake they can struggle when it’s too wet the movement and circulation of greenhouse gases are tracked using automatically operated Chambers and measuring devices attached to masts the box is placed slowly over the ground then the chamber is sealed it then measures whether there’s a gas Source in the ground if there is the gas level inside the chamber gradually increases you extract the gases from the box and look for concentration increases from that we can calculate the flow speed lot of War yeah and also I think it will be valuable because then we have the here for example we have a Czech research team has come to ranscan Cory to investigate the impact of deforestation on Wetland emissions so it’s five we try to study the same kind of management the removal of all trees or uh removal of selected trees and how this affects carbon cycling and microbes in the soil we have the sites in British Colombia in Germany in Slovenia now and Finland is very well fitting because we need some setting with bogy lands and with a specific vegetation representative for large parts of the Boral forests so if we just look at the trees around our very spot and decide that half of them are taken and half of them are left I think for our for us it would be better to harvest slightly less because the other harvesting G are around 30% so maybe just around our side we can left a little bit more trees and around you can t as much as you as you like bacteria and fungi that decompose plant and animal material affect the production of carbon dioxide in methane in the soil when trees are cut down it has a detrimental effect on these microorganisms and on greenhouse gas emissions so we look at the microbes how they change during the life cycle of the forest and whether it makes more sense to cut just selected trees to maintain the microbes at the sides [Music] what if global warming continues and the permafrost melts what happens to the carbon stored in the Natural State Wetlands of the North [Music] that’s trapped here we’re looking at a very special component when that ice melts the water flows off somewhere else this carbon might end up in the Arctic Ocean or in some other body of water there are many different possibilities it’s almost impossible to predict what will really [Music] happen for the Northern permafrost bogs there are three possible scenarios in the first the wetlands get even wetter and for a Time become sources of methane themselves as the ice within them [Music] melts the second possibility is that the wetlands will dry out and release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere the third option is that the bogs could become even more efficient carbon sinks the production of biomass that’s to say plant growth increases in a warm climate that could accelerate the accumulation of Pete allowing plants to thrive and produce even more Pete through photosynthesis that Pete then binds a lot of carbon dioxide from the air which would have a cooling effect regardless of scenario Regional situations vary greatly according to climate forecasts rainfall in the northern latitudes will increase by around 20% over the course of this Century this could of course have a Major Impact but the regional differences are huge some regions could dry out while others might become even wetter how this in turn affects carbon levels will be really interesting to see there still a lot of research to be done in any case pands are incredibly important in the global carbon [Music] cycle a laboratory at the University of Helsinki here soil samples from inside permafrost Mounds are analyzed the and what is the temperature now inside um so now it’s let me check okay so now it’s 0 deg C then we saw that even at 0° is a kind of low temperature there are lots of stuff imitate from the uh soils these organic compounds so already even though there it’s zero the temperature zero and lot is coming out yes okay and later we will increase the temperature to 5° C and then 15° C and then at this higher temperature you will see that those uh less volatile compounds will be emited much more okay uh than at this low temperature the laboratory simulates the melting of per Frost as it warms it’s not just methane that’s released from the thousands of years old Pete soil volatile organic compounds are set free too some of the interesting things the samples you brought us last year um we saw a lot of methane coming out of those samples so that would be something that warms the atmosphere okay um and the interesting part is that at least to us it looked like the methane was old methane it was not not a new meth meane that’s formed when the soils become active again right but it looked as if the the that methane was frozen in the soil how do you know it or why did it look like old um because because it came out very suddenly so it was like a very sharp pulse like methane volatile organic compounds can warm the climate one way that they do this is by forming small particles and creating in a cloud the general effects on the climate of volatile organic compounds and methane being released from permafrost have not yet been fully researched it’s hard to say um if they have warming or cooling impact um because there is a balance between these two so we probably we will model this impacts later to know um if eventually they have cooling or warming impact on our climate no one can predict whether these gases will have a cooling or a warming effect because the processes in the atmosphere are so complex this is something of a pilot project [Music] trees were cut down at the ranscan corpy research site at the beginning of 2021 now in the summer the aim is to measure the effects has the deforestation here affected local greenhouse gas emissions one thing that’s clear from the outset less carbon accumulates in the soil of cleared areas that’s because there are no longer any trees to absorb the carbon through photosynthesis for photosynthesis there are only very few plants here meaning that the sink effect diminishes considerably at least at the beginning well there’s still no vegetation how the organic matter is the composed this will very likely also change because there will not be this easily decomposable carbon and the carbon will be less and less digestible for the microbes so this is what we expect in other words after complete deforestation the soil binds less carbon than it once did however in the partially cleared research area virtually no changes in greenhouse gas emissions can be observed fully understanding methane emissions will remain a challenge over the coming years for methane we don’t have answers from the last year sampling because the um bacteria that produce it and also that consume it reside in deeper parts of the profile so now we are adding the Deep PE sampling to see where they are how abundant they are and what amount of meane is Flowing out uh so however uh uh we expect that uh with the trees being cut the water table will rise and with Rising the water table the methanogenic bacteria will get closer to the surface so the mean will have smaller path to escape the research project in ranscan corpy will continue for several years only later will it be possible to say with any certainty whether planting new trees and establishing permanent forests are a good way to reduce emissions there the next 3 to 5 years will show whether permanent forests can be the solution here at this location empirical evidence gathered here will then show us whether emissions are changing as our models have predicted [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] spring 2021 the research team from the University of Helsinki is in for a surprise a pulser a Pete Mound typical of permafrost areas has burst open in the scal uara Bog near utsi should I use the stick yes good idea are we hitting ice no there’s none here no ice left at all yeah that’s already a meter deep it warming has occurred in the inner permafrost layers if we keep coming to measure it every year we may yet see it collapse completely it may be that the pulse’s lifespan has reached its end and it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with global warming it’s complicated because when cracks like this appear everything collapses and new ones simply form again how long 5 six years just now yes if we measure here again in 5 years time we’ll see completely different [Music] [Applause] [Music] things a report published in August of 2021 by the intergovernmental panel on climate change provides a cautious assessment of the relationship between Petland and global warming according to the report permafrost melt and emissions from Petland are likely to accelerate global [Music] warming the ipcc report concludes that the release of methane from the permafrost is a very gradual process so there are none of the So-Cal meth bombs that we’ve been hearing about however the process is significant it contributes to global warming because when permafrost melts methane is released you should perhaps be aware that it can also happen quite quickly if the Pulsa suddenly collapses then a huge amount of methane can be released all at once it takes a while for levels to normalize again whether that’s 1 or 2% or however much it is it doesn’t matter it definitely means an increase in the current amount [Music] everything that happens here will have an impact all over the world this isn’t a remote Corner in that sense changes happening here to not only affect this region they’re passed on Via the air and ocean currents and have an impact on the global [Music] situation humankind has accelerated global [Music] warming but it can also slow it down [Music] the top priority is Preservation these natural Wetlands shouldn’t be misused any longer quite the opposite more conservation programs should be set up to ensure they remain untouched infrastructure has no place in Wetland areas they are factors that allow us to utilize the potential of nature in combating climate change the message from science is clear it’s not too late it is still possible to support and strengthen the wetlands Nature’s carbon sinks it’s something that’s perhaps been neglected in the debate the concept of carbon sinks when it comes to this topic we tend to focus only on Forest but wetlands are also excellent carbon reservoirs and good carbon sinks human intervention here could turn Wetlands into more effective carbon sinks for the future [Music]

Bogs and swamps contain more carbon than all other ground vegetation. As the permafrost melts, greenhouse gases are released, which in turn accelerate global warming.

Peatlands and wetlands play an important role in global warming because they influence the greenhouse gas cycle. But not all bogs are the same. Some bind carbon, while others release it into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

The film follows the work of two research teams investigating the influence of moors and swamps on the climate. Greenhouse gases escape when permafrost moors melt. But swamp and mire areas that have been thrown out of balance, for example by plantation farming for the production of palm oil, can actually accelerate climate change.

The documentary explains what happens when carbon escapes from swamp and moorland areas into the atmosphere and how nature’s potential can be used to slow down climate change. “European peatlands contain five times more carbon than European forests. It is therefore very important that the carbon remains in the peatland,” says Dr. Minna Väliranta from the Environmental Research Centre at the University of Helsinki.
The researcher and her team are conducting field research to collect data on the effects of global warming on Arctic permafrost peatlands. Until now, there has been little data from the far north of Europe; many research findings from other regions have simply been generalized.

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