Context
Permafrost peatlands — frozen, carbon-storing expanses of land — in Europe and western Siberia might be approaching their tipping point faster than expected, a new study warned.
What are Peatlands?
- Peatlands are a class of wetlands, which are ecosystems flooded with water.
- Waterlogged conditions limit microbial decay of dead plant materials rich in carbon dioxide.
- This prevents the reintroduction of the gas into the atmosphere.
- Peatlands, which occupy only 3 percent of the global land surface, store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests.
- Some peatlands are buried under frozen ground or permafrost and exist as permafrost peatlands.
- They are found in the northern parts of Alaska, Canada, Russia and parts of northern Europe.
What are Wetlands?
- The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”
- There are 49 Ramsar Sites in India, the highest for any country in South Asia.
- Wetlands in India
- Globally, wetlands cover 6.4 per cent of the geographical area of the world.
- In India, wetlands are spread over 1,52,600 square kilometres (sq km) which is 4.63 per cent of the total geographical area of the country. Of the 1,52,600 sq km
- inland-natural wetlands account for 43.4%
- coastal-natural wetlands- 24.3%
- Rivers/streams occupy 52,600 sq km
- reservoirs/barrages 24,800 sq km
- inter-tidal mudflats 24,100 sq km
- tanks/ponds 13,100 sq km
- lake/ponds 7300 sq km
- India has 19 types of wetlands.
- State-wise distribution: Gujarat is at the top with 34,700 sq km (17.56 percent of total geographical area of the state), or 22.7 percent of total wetlands areas of the country thanks to a long coastline.
- It is followed by Andhra Pradesh (14,500 sq km), Uttar Pradesh (12,400 sq km) and West Bengal (11,100 sq km).
|
