Beyond the Forests: Peatlands as Dominant Carbon Stores in Coastal British Columbia

Peatlands are significant carbon sinks, and yet their carbon stocks and extents in coastal British Columbia, Canada, remain largely unquantified. We conducted a field assessment to estimate above- and belowground carbon stocks at six peatland sites across the coast of British Columbia. These values were compared with regional aboveground carbon stock estimates. We found that coastal peatlands store approximately three times more carbon than adjacent temperate rainforests. These results underscore the importance of peatlands, and highlight a need for improved mapping and assessment. In particular, our results demonstrate a substantial gap in our understanding of the carbon stocks and spatial extent of peat-forming swamps in this region.