peatland
noun
peat·land
ˈpēt-ˌland 
plural peatlands
: land rich in peat (see peat entry 1 sense 1a)
For hundreds of years, dark brown peat from some of the most unspoiled peatlands in Scotland has provided the people … with their annual supply of fuel for heating and cooking.—
Alan Simpson
Alan SimpsonPeatlands have also come into sharp focus over the past 20 years because they are the largest and most concentrated global store of carbon of all terrestrial ecosystems, containing twice the carbon of the forest biomass.—Anja Murray
Anja MurrayEstates in the Highlands are often not fertile enough for profitable farming and the properties are large, making it easier to do tree-planting or peatland restoration that sequesters carbon at scale.—The Economist
The EconomistExamples of peatland in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The fires burn various fuels, from live and dead vegetation to peatlands and scrub, producing different fire behaviors such as surface or crown fires, which vary in intensity, spread, and impact.
—Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
The remote peatland landscape wasn’t entirely peaceful, despite its isolation, however.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 15 Nov. 2024
However this type of action has no direct effects on increasing the country’s carbon sink for which logging and peatland degradation reduced the possibility for trees and peat so absorb carbon.
—Daniela De Lorenzo, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Rocha explains that studying peatlands is fundamental to understanding their potential for climate change mitigation, especially in the Global South: for example, large cities such as Quito, Ecuador and Bogota, Colombia depend directly on these ecosystems for their water supply.
—Andrew Wight, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
The finding had huge implications for the protection of the DRC’s tropical peatlands, which span 145,500 square kilometers, and sparked a campaign to stop the Congolese government from opening up the jungle to oil drilling.
—Byemmet Livingstone, science.org, 3 Oct. 2024
All told, bogs and other peatlands occupy around 3% of Earth’s land.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 May 2024
To stop the bleeding, advocates have proposed paying countries to preserve undisturbed peatlands.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 May 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
The remote peatland landscape wasn’t entirely peaceful, despite its isolation, however.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 15 Nov. 2024
However this type of action has no direct effects on increasing the country’s carbon sink for which logging and peatland degradation reduced the possibility for trees and peat so absorb carbon.
—Daniela De Lorenzo, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Rocha explains that studying peatlands is fundamental to understanding their potential for climate change mitigation, especially in the Global South: for example, large cities such as Quito, Ecuador and Bogota, Colombia depend directly on these ecosystems for their water supply.
—Andrew Wight, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
The finding had huge implications for the protection of the DRC’s tropical peatlands, which span 145,500 square kilometers, and sparked a campaign to stop the Congolese government from opening up the jungle to oil drilling.
—Byemmet Livingstone, science.org, 3 Oct. 2024
All told, bogs and other peatlands occupy around 3% of Earth’s land.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 May 2024
To stop the bleeding, advocates have proposed paying countries to preserve undisturbed peatlands.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 May 2024
Dictionary Entries Near peatland
Cite this Entry
“Peatland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peatland. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share