Presented by Charlotte Wheeler and Kristell Hergoualc'h, CIFOR-ICRAF, at EGU general Assembly 2022, 23rd-27th May 2022 Vienna, Austria

1. Peatlands of Amazonia
Dr Charlotte Wheeler & Dr Kristell Hergoual’ch
EGU General Meeting Vienna May 2022

2. Peatland Distribution in Amazonia
Country
Peatland
Area (km2
)
Brazil 230,105
Peru 66,463
Venezuela 34,557
Colombia 30,101
Bolivia 12,208
Guyana 8,198
Suriname 8,129
Ecuador 5,098
French Guiana 2,433
Total 397,291
CIFORTropicalWetlands map V3. Gumbricht et al. (2017) GBC

3. Peat Forming Ecosystems – Amazon Basin
M. flexuosa palm swamps
•Dominatedby palms
•Mean peat depth = 1.6m
•Commonest vegetation
type in Amazon peatlands
Pole Forest
•Dominatedby small woody
poles (<10cm DBH)
•Mean peat depth = 2.7m
Herbaceous swamps
•Herbaceous spp. with some
M.flexuosa
•Mean peat depth = 2.8m

4. Peat Forming Ecosystems – Amazon Basin
Hastieet al.(2021) Nature Geosciences
Honorio Coronado et al.(2021) ERL
Knowledge of peat distribution,depth and
vegetationtypes greatly in Peru over last 10
years
Peat Depth
Peat
Vegetation

5. Peat Forming Ecosystems – Amazon Basin
▪ Outside Peru much less is
known
▪ Brazilian vegetation maps
– peatland distribution
corresponds to water-
logged vegetation types
▪ BUT only 1 study that has
directly measured peat
depth across the Brazilian
Amazon

6. Peat Forming Ecosystems – Coastal
▪ Large belt of coastal
mangroves which can
have peat
▪ E.g Orinoco delta:
largest intact river delta
covers 42,000km2 with
extensive peat deposits
▪ Up to 9m
▪ Also along coast of
Guyanas – research is
very limited

7. Peat Forming Ecosystems – Coastal
▪ Vegetation transitions
from: mangrove forests –>
swamp forest -> palm
forest -> herbaceous
swamps
▪ Peat depth increases
moving inland
• M.flexuosa palm forest =
269cm (±26cm)
• Herbaceous swamps =
277cm (±11cm)
Taken from Vegas-Vilarrúbia et al (2010) Geoderma

8. Peat Forming Ecosystems –Savannahs
▪ Peatlands form in dry savannahs
called ‘Veredas’ or Morichales’–
e.g. Roraima savannah/ Gran
Sabana and in Brazilian Cerrado
▪ M.flexuosa palm swamps form
in isolated patches along
riverine strips and waterlogged
depressions
▪ Extent unknown due to patchy
distribution
▪ Important for maintaining water
flow during dry season and are
headwaters of several large
rivers in eastern Brazil
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Veredas.jpg
From: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.06.007

9. Peatland Threats - Fire
▪ Assessed where fires (2015-2020) overlap with peat
• Modis burnt area product

11. Peatland Threats - Fire
▪ Assessed where fires (2015-2020) overlap with peat
• Modis burnt area product
▪ Fires principally in arc of deforestation (Brazil) and Bolivia
▪ Fires not a major threat to the most extensive peat deposits
due to remoteness, but vital to estimate CO2 emissions
where fires occur on peat.

12. Peatland Threats – Forest Loss
▪ Assessed where forest loss (2015-2021) overlaps with peat
– using Hansen forest loss data

13. Emissions from Peat Loss

14. Peatland Threats – Forest Loss
▪ Assessed where forest loss (2015-2021) overlaps with peat
– using Hansen forest loss data
▪ Forest loss in peatland areas limited:
• Only accounts for forested peatlands, so loss of non-
forested peatlands (e.g. herbaceous swamps) may be
unaccounted for.
• Only looks at total forest loss, but degradation is likely a
bigger problem in Amazonian peatlands - e.g. cutting
M.flexuosa palms to harvest fruit in Peru & Gold mining.

15. Peatland Threats – Oil operations
& Hydroelectric power

16. Peatland Protection
▪ 65% of peatlands
found in protected
areas
IUCN
Category
Area (km2)
I-IV 50,037 (19%)
V-VI 115,713 (45%)
Indigenous
land
45,518 (18%)
NA 45,886 (18%)
IUCN Cat I-IV =Naturereserve/national park reserved for environmentalprotection (limited activities)
V-VI =protected area with sustainableresourceuse
NA = Not Available, Not Reported

17. Conclusions
▪ Extensive peatlands present across Amazonia but our
knowledge is lacking
• Exception is Peru
▪ More research needed to determine the extent and
distribution of Amazonian peatlands
• If we don’t know where peatlands are we can’t protect
them
▪ Large areas likely intact due to remoteness.
• BUT peatlands may be under threat in some localised
areas