Wetlands in a warming world: Bridging past perspectives to inform future outcomes

Organizer: IKS Environmental Humanities Research Program in collaboration with AU Initiative for Sustainable Interdisciplinarity

In the second conversation-session this Fall, the AU Initiative for Sustainable Interdisciplinarity invites environmentally concerned scholars from AU Faculty of Arts and others interested to join in a conversation with Professor Claire Treat from the Pioneer Center Land-CRAFT, Department of Agroecology, AU. The theme of the conversation is ‘Wetlands’ and through the conversation, Professor Treat will explore the crucial ecological importance of these specific ecosystems in relation to a changing climate, past and future, as well as their societal relations and implications. The session is an invitation to nurture mutual curiosities and collaboration on a contemporary ‘green’ issue across disciplines and faculties in Aarhus University.

Abstract: Wetland ecosystems provide many important ecosystem services related to water, biodiversity, and as sources of food and materials. Wetlands are also important for nutrient retention and carbon sequestration, storing more carbon than is found in the Amazon rainforest. My research has largely focused on the interactions between wetlands and the global climate system through carbon-cycle feedbacks. More specifically, I will focus on environmental records from peat-accumulating wetlands that preserve information about vegetation, environmental changes, and the occasional bog body. I will discuss the development of wetlands globally from the last interglacial period 140,000 years ago to present.  What controlled wetland development and persistence? What can they say about past climate and land use change? How does that vary across different regions of the world? Where do we still have blind spots in the peatland environmental records? 

Peatlands also face pressures in the present day due to land use pressures and climate change. How can records from peatlands be used to understand or predict future climate responses? What will we lose and what have we lost by draining peatlands extensively globally? Restoration of wetlands is a major initiative in Denmark and the EU. Can prior peatlands be used to inform this process? Finally, how can we integrate people living in the landscape in our understanding of future wetlands?

Sign-up: Please send an email to Daniel Kardyb at dfsk@edu.au.dk