Peatland loss and restoration potential in Lithuania

Abstract

Peatlands cover only 3% of the world’s land surface but have a significant role in the global processes. They provide many ecosystem services, such as water sources, waste treatment, water flow regulation, biodiversity, and recreation. Relative to their size, peatlands also play a critical role in climate regulation acting as carbon sinks. Despite their importance, peatlands are under threat due to land use change and climate change. Since 1900, Lithuania has lost around 75% of its peatlands, making their protection and/or restoration an important goal in the future. The latest and historical data on peatlands in Lithuania was used in this study, as well as studies evaluating ecosystem services provided by peatlands. Data analysis was done with R to find the patterns of change in peatlands such as land use conversion and ecosystem service provision. Of the 3 peatland types (fen, transitional, bog), 74% of fen area has been drained while around 65% of the raised bog area is non-drained. Most of the drained peatlands have been converted into forest (44%), grassland (24%), and cropland (16%). 40% of all non-drained peatlands are in protected areas, ensuring their stability. Currently, the remaining non-drained peatlands covering 210 000 ha provide $1 336 million/year of ecosystem services. 444 000 ha of drained peatlands currently provide $1 206 million/year in ecosystem services. If restored, these drained peatlands would provide an additional $2 833 million/year. Restoration would especially benefit the carbon balance, as it would increase climate regulation services by $824 million/year. The estimated rewetting cost of peatlands is $351 million which makes up a fraction of their potential ecosystem service value and would greatly benefit the total value of ESV in Lithuania.