Scientists have been awarded funding to investigate the role of tropical wetlands as major nitrous oxide sources and understand how they may respond to future climate change.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham's School of Biosciences have been awarded just under £950,000 by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for the study that will investigate what controls N2O emissions from tropical peatlands in the Peruvian Amazon, one of the world's largest and most diverse peatland regions.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a powerful and long-lived greenhouse gas that is responsible for around 10% of human-driven global warming to date. Atmospheric levels of N2O are increasing rapidly, yet important natural sources of this gas remain poorly understood. Tropical peatlands are one such source. These water-rich ecosystems cover a relatively small area of the planet but store enormous amounts of carbon and nitrogen. Under certain conditions, they can release substantial amounts of N2O, with recent research showing that some intact tropical peatlands can produce emissions comparable to intensively managed agricultural systems.
The researchers will combine long-term field measurements with studies of peat chemistry, water levels, vegetation and microbial communities to understand when and why these ecosystems release N2O. Innovative approaches, including natural stable isotope tracing, will allow them to follow how nitrogen moves through peatlands and identify the processes responsible for greenhouse gas production.
The research is led by experts from the University of Nottingham who will work in collaboration with the University of Bristol, University of Aberdeen, and the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), creating a UK–Peru partnership to advance understanding of these globally important ecosystems.
Dr Nicholas Girkin, Associate Professor in Environmental Science at the University of Nottingham is leading the project, he said: "Tropical peatlands are important nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation because they store vast quantities of carbon accumulated over thousands of years. However, climate change is altering the conditions that maintain these ecosystems, with rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns increasing the risk of disruption to their natural functioning. At present, we cannot accurately predict how tropical peatland N2O emissions will respond to future environmental change because measurements from intact tropical peatlands remain extremely limited. Most existing research has focused on degraded peatlands in Southeast Asia, leaving major regions such as the Amazon and Central Africa poorly represented."
By identifying the environmental and biological processes that control N2O emissions, this project will improve global climate models, strengthen predictions of future greenhouse gas emissions, and provide evidence to support policies that protect tropical peatlands. With climate change accelerating, understanding these vulnerable ecosystems before major changes occur is increasingly urgent.
