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Peatlands and Windfarms: Conflicting Carbon Targets and Environmental Impacts

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The Wetland Book

Abstract

A combination of landform and climate suitable for both blanket mire formation and windfarm construction means that many windfarms have been, and continue to be, constructed on peat soils. Renewable energy sources are increasingly being adopted in order to reduce carbon emissions. Meanwhile peatlands are becoming increasingly recognised globally as some of the most carbon-rich of all terrestrial habitats. When a windfarm is constructed on peat it is inevitable that some of the carbon stored in the peat will be lost through oxidation of the peat. The main source of such disturbance is the network of access roads built for construction and maintenance. The most recent research suggests that potential carbon losses resulting from windfarm construction within a natural peat bog mean that there may be no net carbon benefit from the windfarm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainability Research Institute, University of East London, University Way, E16 2RD, London, UK

    Richard Lindsay

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  1. Richard Lindsay
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Correspondence to Richard Lindsay .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Ecology and Biodiversity, Charles Sturt University Inst. for Land, Water and Society, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. Dept. of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada

    G. Randy Milton

  3. Nature Management Services, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

    R. Crawford Prentice

  4. Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Lindsay, R. (2016). Peatlands and Windfarms: Conflicting Carbon Targets and Environmental Impacts. In: Finlayson, C., Milton, G., Prentice, R., Davidson, N. (eds) The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6173-5_50-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6173-5_50-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6173-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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