Ardennes restoration reclaims peatlands for climate resilience
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In the Ardennes region of Belgium, Natagora and the Department of Nature and Forests are working to restore peatlands drained about a century ago for spruce plantations.
Biologist Sébastien Quennery explains that these areas, once covered in water, now show signs of damage like ditches and decaying trees. The restoration involves filling these drainage ditches with clay and wood to allow water to accumulate. Peatlands are valuable because they slowly accumulate plant matter without oxygen, becoming excellent carbon storage sites.
Draining them releases carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change, while healthy peatlands can hold immense amounts of carbon. The project aims to recreate the conditions for peat formation, which happens at a rate of about one millimeter per year. Restoring the peatlands also benefits biodiversity, bringing back specialized plants like sphagnum moss and orchids, as well as providing habitat for birds and other wildlife.
These ecosystems act as buffers against both drought and floods, absorbing excess water during heavy rains and releasing it slowly during dry periods. While water regulation can happen relatively quickly, rebuilding the peat itself, and its carbon storage capacity, will take centuries.
