Organization
This spring, hot temperatures and tinder-dry conditions have resulted in rampant wildfires, causing devastating property damage and smoky conditions across Canada. While wildfire is an integral part of the boreal ecosystem—in part, driving vegetation and soil dynamics—healthy peatlands can help mitigate some of the impacts.
Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that are found throughout Canada’s boreal region. They are characterized by deep, decaying vegetation deposits, or peat, built up below the ground surface. These deposits can be thousands of years old and are particularly good at holding water. For this reason, patches of peatland can remain unburned or burn at low severity and are often described as “fire refugia.”
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