Wetlands in Brazil’s Cerrado are carbon-storage powerhouses

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🗞️ Driving the news: A new study published in New Phytologist finds that wetlands in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna store enormous amounts of carbon, with peat-rich soils holding around 1,200 metric tons of carbon per hectare, far higher than many previously studied ecosystems

🔭 The context: Researchers analyzed groundwater-fed wetlands known as veredas and campos úmidos, extracting soil cores up to four meters deep and using remote sensing to map their distribution
• The study suggests these fragmented wetlands may cover 16.7 million hectares, far more than earlier estimates, potentially storing carbon equivalent to around 20% of the carbon found in Amazon vegetation

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: These wetlands act as long-term carbon sinks, with some carbon deposits dating back more than 20,000 years
• If the soils dry due to agriculture, drainage, fires or climate change, the stored carbon could rapidly decompose and release greenhouse gases, turning a powerful climate buffer into a major emissions source

⏭️ What’s next: Scientists are calling for improved mapping, monitoring and protection of Cerrado wetlands, which are often overlooked in climate policies that focus primarily on forests
• Expanded conservation strategies could position the Cerrado as a major nature-based climate solution while safeguarding water supplies and biodiversity

💬 One quote: “When we talk about carbon in Brazil, we talk about forests. But the Cerrado is also important for its large and long-term carbon stocks.” — Larissa Verona, lead researcher

📈 One stat: Cerrado wetlands store about 1,200 metric tons of carbon per hectare, roughly six times the average carbon density of Amazon forest biomass

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