Explore every episode of the podcast Peatpod

Peatlands cover only a small part of the planet, but they store huge amounts of carbon and hold thousands of years of environmental and human history. In this episode of Peatpod, Dr Lorna Harris chats with Professor Julie Loisel about how scientists take peat cores and use them to reconstruct past climates, measure carbon, and track how ecosystems change over time. The conversation travels across the Americas, from Alaska and Canada to Costa Rica, Peru, and the Caribbean, and on to Antarctica.

Chapters:
00:06 Opening the world of peatlands and what peat cores reveal
02:10 How scientists core peatlands to reconstruct history and measure carbon
08:27 What can peat cores tell us about past climates?
11:27 Peatlands in Antarctica and what counts as a peatland
19:17 Can new peatlands form as glaciers retreat?
24:07 Into the tropics: coastal peatlands, swamp forests and mangroves
34:44 Why tropical peatlands remain under-mapped
39:29 Mountain bogs and Andean bofedales

About Peatpod: Stories, insights, and musings about the world’s beautiful bogs, fens, and swamps. Join Dr Lorna Harris for chats about our favourite squishy and carbon-rich wetland ecosystems, with peatland scientists, practitioners, and knowledge-holders from around the world.

All episodes are presented, researched, edited, and produced by Dr Lorna Harris.

Music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds. Hosted on Spotify - visit Peatpod show page.

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Welcome to the very first episode of Peatpod! In this first mini introductory episode, host Dr. Lorna Harris opens up the world of peatlands: what they are, why they matter, and why they're far more diverse than they first look. Lorna also sets out the big questions Peatpod will explore in future episodes, with guests from around the world.