06 Suolijärvi nature trail information board

How does peatland differ from the surrounding forest?

A bog is formed when plant decomposition slows down and undecomposed plant matter accumulates as peat. Peatlands are a poor growing medium for other plants due to its acidity and low oxygen content, among other things. For this reason, peatlands have fewer species than the surrounding forest. Peatlands are home to their own adapted species, however. Due to the composition of its species, this peatland is classified as a bog.

Butterflies and their larvae often specialise in a particular food plant type in which they lay their eggs and cocoon. As adults many butterflies feed on flowers by drinking their nectar, while some species do not feed at all.

Why do many butterflies thrive in peatlands?

Some butterflies such as the butterfly moth are patch-loving. Patch-sensitive marsh species have declined as a result of marshland conversion. As the climate continues to warm up, many more southerly species are spreading into Finland and nearly 150 new species have been discovered in Pirkanmaa during the 2000s. There are currently around 2,600 species of butterflies in Finland.

How do peatlands affect the climate?

Combating climate change requires capturing and keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Peatlands are naturally very good at this, with large amounts of carbon stored in the undegradable plant matter of peat. According to some estimates, peat as little as 10 cm thick contains as much carbon as a mature forest.

Drainage of peatlands for agriculture, peat harvesting and construction is leaching carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. Half of Finland's peatlands have been drained. Restoring peatlands to their natural state is therefore an important climate action in Finland, where it is estimated that up to one third of the country's land area was originally peatland. 

Why does draining a peatland release the carbon that is sequestered there?