Characterization of bogs and their role in CO2 storage

This study aims at analyzing peatlands, specifically alpine peat bogs, and how climate change can affect the development of these environments. Therefore, it has been used a computer model (DigiBog), created by Baird et al. (2012), thanks to which it is possible to study peatland development over time. Once understood the model and verified its functionalities, we applied it to the selected case study, which is an Alpine peatland located near Misurina lake (Italy). In order to do so, we collected field measurements to constrain the model for the actual geometry of the study site, as well as soil samples to obtain soil properties used as inputs in the model. Meteorological data were provided by ARPAV, thanks to the presence of a meteorological station near the Misurina lake. Finally, to understand how climate change may affect the development of this type of environments, we consider the forecasts of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), with Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) of 8.5. This scenario, in fact, which is the worst-case scenario provided by the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change), appears to be the most realistic, because today other scenarios are outdated, given the current conditions of emissions and mitigation (Schwalm, 2020). In order to give a better context to the work done, a general description of the peat bogs and their importance from the climatic point of view was first introduced; then DigiBog, with which the maps were created, was described in detail. It is clear that the study of peatlands is fundamental, because it allows to understand how they can develop under specific conditions, and how they will adapt to future climate scenarios worldwide. From the outputs obtained through DigiBog it is possible to understand that the model is able to represent in a fairly true way the real growth of the peatland, therefore it can be considered a valid tool to obtain data on the development of peatlands.