More than just carbon sinks: Peatlands as habitats for endangered species

Peatlands have long been seen as mysterious, hard-to-reach landscapes. In stories and films, they often appear as dangerous places with unstable ground, dark water and fog—places where someone might sink or disappear without a trace. Ecologically, however, they are far more than this old image: they are among the most important natural carbon stores on Earth and therefore play an important role in climate protection.

Although they cover only about 3 % of the world’s land area, they store roughly twice as much carbon as the entire biomass of all the world’s forests combined. As long as peatlands remain wet, their peat body continues to grow and binds carbon for centuries or millennia. If they are drained, this effect is reversed: the peat decomposes, stored carbon is released, and a climate protector becomes a source of emissions.

For this reason, peatlands have long been a central climate issue. But anyone who sees them only as carbon stores overlooks a second, equally important aspect: peatlands are habitats for highly specialized species. Many plants, animals and fungi occur only where water levels remain permanently high, nutrients are scarce and peat mosses, sedges, cotton grasses or dwarf shrubs form special communities. Protecting peatlands therefore not only serves climate protection, but also helps preserve these special species and communities.

A recent analysis by the University of Vienna shows how quickly such habitats can fall out of balance. Around 200 Austrian peatlands were surveyed again—more than three decades after they had first been recorded for the Austrian Peatland Protection Catalogue in the late 1980s. The result is clear: many bogs are now drier, richer in nutrients and more heavily shaded than they were then.

This has consequences for species composition. Plants typical of peatlands lose competitive strength, while woody plants, purple moor-grass and other species that benefit from drier or more nutrient-rich conditions increase. At first glance this can even look like a gain, because the number of plant species rises in some places. Ecologically, however, it is a warning signal, because the unique biodiversity of peatlands arises precisely from wetness, nutrient scarcity, oxygen deficiency and extreme site conditions. If these conditions disappear, the species specialized for them disappear as well.

The Austrian findings point to a problem that extends far beyond Austria. In Germany, too, many bogs have long been drained, used for agriculture or forestry, burdened with nutrients or put under additional pressure by climate change. A study from Schleswig-Holstein published in 2025 shows similar trends: historical vegetation and mapping data from the 1930s were compared with current biotope data. More species-rich, moderately used wet grassland ecosystems used to dominate there; today, many peatland sites are poorer in species or have been abandoned. At the same time, estimated greenhouse gas emissions have risen sharply.

Boglands in Germany, Europe and the world: important figures

An overview (2024) by peatland researcher Franziska Tanneberger shows the scale of the problem. Around 12 % of peatlands worldwide are considered degraded. Every year, another roughly 500,000 hectares of natural peatlands are lost—about ten times faster than they can grow.

Europe is also severely affected. According to Tanneberger, about 25 % of peatlands in Europe are degraded, and in the European Union the figure is around 50 %. Only 16 % of Europe’s peatland area lies within protected areas, and even there effective protection of the water balance is not automatically guaranteed. So far, less than 1 % of peatlands in Europe have been rewetted.

Germany is a very clear example of this development. Peatlands cover around 1.8 million hectares here, i.e. around 5% of the country’s area. Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg have particularly high proportions of moorland. Further focal points are in Bavaria, parts of Baden-Württemberg and in low mountain ranges such as the Harz, Erzgebirge and Fichtelgebirge.

However, the condition of these areas has changed dramatically. Tanneberger describes Germany as a country of massive peatland destruction: only around 2 % of peatlands are still considered near-natural. Around 95 % have now been drained, built over, cut for peat or used for agriculture; about 4 % have been rewetted so far. This turns peatlands from climate protectors into a climate problem. In Germany, drained peat soils are responsible for around 7 % of total greenhouse gas emissions, even though peat soils make up only a small share of the country’s area. Peatlands therefore help determine how much carbon remains stored in landscapes and whether specialized species continue to find habitats.

What exactly are peatlands?

Peatlands occur on every continent. They form where soils are permanently saturated with water and dead plant remains therefore decompose only incompletely. Under these wet, oxygen-poor conditions, plants do not fully rot. Instead, their remains accumulate as peat over centuries or millennia. It is this ongoing peat formation that defines a peatland: peat is not ordinary soil, but slowly accumulated plant material—and at the same time a large carbon store.

Different peatland types are distinguished depending on their water and nutrient supply. Fens or lowland bogs are fed mainly by groundwater, spring water or surface water. They are usually richer in nutrients and can support very different plant communities. Raised bogs, also called rain bogs, receive their water almost exclusively from rain. They are especially nutrient-poor, acidic and highly specialized; typical species include peat mosses, sundews, cranberries, bog rosemary and cotton grasses. Intermediate bogs are ecologically positioned between the two forms: they show features of groundwater-influenced fens, but already develop characteristics of nutrient-poor, rainwater-dominated peatlands.

These differences in water and nutrient supply shape not only the peatland type itself, but also the species that live there. Raised bogs, fens and intermediate bogs offer very different conditions—from nutrient-poor, acidic and rain-fed to groundwater-influenced and richer in species.

In addition to the three basic types of raised bog, fen and intermediate mire, there are many more finely differentiated peatland forms. For Central Europe alone, 26 different natural peatland types are described. Their origin, water source, nutrient content and dominant vegetation are decisive. These include, for example, terrestrialization mires, spring mires, sloping mires, percolation mires, sedge beds, reedbeds, and bog and carr forests. Germany is considered the European country with the greatest diversity of peatland forms.

A peatland is therefore not necessarily a small, swampy waterhole. Many peatlands form large peatland complexes that can extend over many hectares or several square kilometers. Within such an area, open water, peat moss lawns, floating mats, bog heaths, reedbeds or wooded peatland areas can occur side by side. Depending on water level, nutrient content and vegetation, very different habitats arise—and with them living conditions for different species.

Why intact peatlands are disappearing

Many peatlands have been heavily altered by human intervention they did not dry out by chance, but were deliberately drained and cleared for agriculture and forestry. Drainage ditches, drains, straightened streams and pumping stations were intended to make wet peatland areas usable for farming, forestry, settlements or peat extraction. As a result, the water table falls, the peat soil becomes more load-bearing, and the originally wet habitat changes fundamentally.

Agriculture and fertilization further increase nutrient inputs, while afforestation and shrub encroachment change light and temperature conditions. In Germany, more than two thirds of all peatlands are used for agriculture, especially to create pasture for livestock.

Peat extraction intervenes especially directly in the peat body: peat that has grown over a long period is removed, mainly for potting compost, seed compost and horticultural growing media. Peat was popular for a long time because it is light, stores a lot of water, is low in nutrients and can be processed into uniform substrates. For private gardens, however, it is no longer necessary today, since peat-free and peat-reduced soils are widely available. Ecologically, peat extraction is hard to justify because it destroys a habitat that has grown very slowly.

Climate change also puts additional pressure on peatlands. Higher temperatures increase evaporation, while longer dry periods and altered precipitation can lower water levels. Fens, which depend strongly on groundwater, react extremely sensitively to falling groundwater levels. If a peatland becomes drier, more oxygen enters the peat. It then begins to decompose more strongly, and the previously stored carbon is released as greenhouse gas.

A peatland loses in several ways at once: it stores less carbon, emits greenhouse gases, loses its ability to retain water and becomes uninhabitable for many specialized species. In addition, drainage increases the risk of peatland fires. Intact, wet peatlands hardly burn; dry peat, by contrast, can ignite and continue burning below the surface as a smoldering fire. Such fires are difficult to extinguish and release large amounts of carbon dioxide as well as harmful smoke in a short time. Peatland fires therefore not only destroy habitats, but also intensify the climate impact of already damaged peatlands.

10 species that need peatlands

Biodiversity in the moor: specialists under extreme conditions

Peatlands are not especially species-rich habitats in the conventional sense. Their value lies above all in the fact that they harbor highly specialized species that are ecologically tied to the peatland habitat (tyrphobiont) and adapted to local conditions. Many of these species are poor competitors outside intact peatlands and cannot survive there in the long term, which is why peatland destruction can mean their extinction.

Typical bog plants

Plants in peatlands have to cope with conditions that are difficult for many other species: permanently wet soils, oxygen deficiency in the root zone, few available nutrients and, in raised bogs, often an acidic environment. Peatland plants are therefore often specialists. They do not necessarily grow exclusively in peatlands, but this is where their main occurrence lies—in an environment where other plants can hardly persist over the long term because of wetness and nutrient scarcity.

Bog mosses (Sphagnum spp.) play a central role. They can absorb nutrients even at very low concentrations, store large amounts of water and acidify their surroundings. At the same time, they make a decisive contribution to peat formation: while they continue growing upward, older plant parts die below and are only incompletely decomposed in the absence of air. Over long periods, peat is formed in this way. Peat mosses are therefore not only inhabitants of peatlands, but also engineers of this habitat.

Not all peat mosses grow in the same places. Some species are typical of raised bogs, others occur more often in fens and intermediate mires, peatland forests, spring areas or moist slopes. Species important for bog growth and peat formation include red bog moss (Sphagnum rubellum), rusty peat moss (S. fuscum), Magellanic bog moss (S. magellanicum) and acute-leaved bog moss (S. capillifolium).

Typical peatland plants also include cotton grasses, sedges, cranberries, bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), bog arum (Calla palustris), bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) and, in some peatlands, the rare dwarf birch (Betula nana). In nutrient-poor peatlands there are also carnivorous plants such as sundews, bladderworts and butterworts. They partly compensate for nutrient scarcity by “catching” and using small insects or other small animals.

Many of these plants are dependent on permanently high water levels. If a peatland is drained or enriched with nutrients, conditions change. Purple moor-grass, reeds, birches, pines, woody plants or other species of nutrient-rich sites often spread. For typical peatland plants this means less light, altered soil conditions and stronger competition. The typical peatland flora declines, and many specialized animals also lose the conditions they need to survive.

The destruction of peatlands is also reflected in Germany’s Red List: bog rosemary, butterworts and Davall’s sedge (Carex davalliana) are endangered; rusty peat moss, great sundew (Drosera anglica) and felwort (Swertia perennis) are considered critically endangered; and slender cottongrass (Eriophorum gracile) and dwarf birch are even threatened with extinction.

Animal specialists in peatlands

Intact peatland landscapes now also serve as refuges for many other species that were not originally peatland specialists. Some amphibians or meadow-breeding birds, for example, no longer find suitable habitats in drained, structurally poor and intensively used landscapes and instead shift into still-functioning peatlands.

Amphibians and reptiles use peatlands primarily as wet, structured refuges and breeding areas. The well-known moor frog (Rana arvalis) spawns in shallow, sunny waters and inhabits not only peatlands but also wet meadows, swamp forests and floodplains. It is therefore not an exclusive peatland specialist, but it shows how important high water levels are for many amphibians.

Reptiles such as the adder (Vipera berus) and the viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara) also occur in peatland landscapes. Above all, they need a mosaic of moist areas, cover and sunny places for basking.

Among mammals, only a few species in Germany are closely linked to peatlands. Unlike many peatland plants or insects, they do not depend exclusively on peatlands. Species such as the Iberian water shrew (Neomys anomalus), Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), Eurasian harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) or Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) use peatlands mainly as wet, structured habitats with food and cover. Bats also hunt over peatlands because insects are abundant there. Among vertebrates, species truly and closely tied to peatlands are less common than among peat mosses, peatland plants, certain insects or fungi.

Peatland insects: dragonflies, butterflies, beetles & Co.

Peatlands are important habitats for highly specialized insects. Many species are adapted to wet, nutrient-poor, acidic and often cool conditions. This is especially clear in dragonflies, whose larvae develop in water. Species such as the subarctic hawker (Aeshna subarctica elisabethae) or the white-faced darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) depend on acidic, peat moss-rich peatland waters.

The alpine emerald (Somatochlora alpestris) also often uses small water-filled hollows in peatlands, for example in peat moss floating mats. These are floating or springy plant carpets made of peat mosses that grow over water-filled areas. Raised-bog waters have an important advantage for dragonfly larvae: predatory fish are usually absent there; at the same time, the larvae often grow slowly in the nutrient-poor, acidic waters and sometimes need several years to develop.

There are also peatland species among butterflies and moths. Some are tyrphobiont, meaning they are permanently tied to raised bogs. Their caterpillars are often specialized on only a few peatland plants. The moorland clouded yellow (Colias palaeno), for example, is closely tied to bog bilberry; the caterpillars of the cranberry fritillary (Boloria aquilonaris) feed on cranberry leaves and sometimes also on bog rosemary; and the rosy marsh moth (Coenophila subrosea) also uses typical peatland plants, including bog rosemary and small downy birches (Betula pubescens). Other typical peatland butterflies and moths include Orgyia antiquoides, the cranberry blue (Agriades optilete) and the large heath (Coenonympha tullia)—in the current Red List of Butterflies and Burnet Moths for Germany, they are all classified as endangered, with the exception of the O. antiquoides, which at most occurs as a visitor in northern Germany.

An example of lesser-known peatland insects is the bog planthopper Ommatidiotus dissimilis. In Germany it is found mainly in rain-fed bogs in northwestern Germany and in the Alps, where it sucks plant sap from hare’s-tail cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum). Since this plant is typical of nutrient-poor peatland sites, the planthopper is also closely tied to intact peatland habitats.

Ground beetles also show how specialized peatland insects can be. Some species depend on very moist, cool and structurally rich peatland sites. These include Agonum ericeti, the Menetries’ ground beetle (Carabus menetriesi) and the Carabus clatratus. They are sensitive to drainage, shrub encroachment, peat extraction and the fragmentation of suitable habitats.

Even ants can be peatland specialists. The black bog ant (Formica transkaucasica) and Myrmica vandeli live in very moist, cool peatland areas, use peat moss cushions as part of their habitat and feed on insects caught by sundews. Both species are considered highly endangered in Germany and in Central Europe are found only in undisturbed peatland areas.

Birds as peatland dwellers

Among birds, species of open, wet landscapes are particularly tied to peatlands. Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) and black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) need moist soils, open areas and an abundant supply of worms, insects and other invertebrates. They do not breed exclusively in peatlands, but benefit greatly from intact peatlands, wet meadows and wet lowlands.

Species such as the European golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria) and the black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) are more closely tied to peatland landscapes. In Germany, the golden plover used to breed mainly in extensive, open peatland and heathland areas; no breeding pair has been recorded in the country since 2015. The black grouse uses large, open to semi-open peatland, heath and mountain landscapes with lekking sites, cover and areas with little disturbance. The aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) is also a specialist of wet, open sedge mires and is one of Europe’s most threatened songbirds.

For many of these bird species, peatlands are suitable only if they remain wet, open and low in disturbance. Drainage, shrub encroachment, intensive agriculture and fragmentation change habitats so much that typical peatland and wetland birds disappear.

Fungi in peatlands

Fungi are also part of peatland biodiversity, although they are often less conspicuous than peat mosses, sundews, dragonflies or birds. They perform important ecological functions: some decompose dead plant remains, wood or peat mosses, while others live as mycorrhizal fungi in close association with peatland plants. Especially in nutrient-poor peat soils, such fungus-plant relationships can be important because they help plants absorb nutrients.

One of the conspicuous peatland fungi is the marsh honey fungus (Desarmillaria ectypa, formerly often Armillaria ectypa), which is threatened with extinction in Germany. It grows in wet peatland habitats, such as raised bogs, peat bogs and alkaline fens with peat mosses, sedges, cotton grass or reeds. The ghost bolete (Leccinum holopus) is also closely associated with moist peatland and birch sites because it forms a root symbiosis with birches.

Fungi can live in peatlands in different ways: the velvet bolete (Suillus variegatus) is often found in acidic, boggy pine forests. Small peat moss-dwelling fungi such as Galerina spp. or Mycena spp. grow directly among peat mosses and depend on permanently moist conditions.

Fungi show that peatlands are not only habitats for plants, insects, amphibians or birds. They also harbor their own, often overlooked fungal communities. When peatlands are drained, become richer in nutrients or undergo shrub encroachment, these communities also change: species of wet, peat moss-rich sites decline, while fungi of drier or more heavily wooded sites can increase.

Rewetting as an opportunity for climate and species

Tanneberger shows that rewetting and wet use are central building blocks of peatland protection. However, rewetting does not simply return damaged peatlands to their original state. It can, however, measurably help peatland species return and biodiversity recover. A meta-analysis (2023) by Marvin Beckert and Ana Carolina Rodríguez evaluated 62 studies on peatland restoration in the temperate climate zone. Restored peatlands were compared with drained and near-natural peatland areas.

The result: compared with degraded peatlands, overall biodiversity in restored peatlands was on average 49 % higher. Species typical of peatlands benefited especially strongly: they occurred there not only more frequently, but also in greater species numbers. The abundance of peatland species in restored peatlands was on average 124 % higher than on drained comparison sites; the number of peatland species was 65 % higher.

Rewetting works. It improves the water balance and recreates conditions under which specialized peatland species can live. Peat mosses play a central role because they are crucial for peat formation and thus for the long-term development of near-natural raised bogs.

At the same time, the analysis shows the limits of restoration: restored peatlands usually do not reach the values of near-natural peatlands. Compared with near-natural peatlands, overall biodiversity in restored peatlands was on average 11 % lower. Peatland species occurred there on average 37 % less often; the number of peatland species was also 31 % lower.

For mosses in particular, the gap to near-natural peatlands remains large. This is ecologically important because certain peat mosses—especially species of the genus Sphagnum—are essential for peat formation. The return of mosses can proceed much more slowly than recolonization by some animal groups.

Among invertebrates, successes can sometimes appear more quickly. The study cites examples in which insects typical of peatlands recolonized restored areas. In Finnish peatlands, for instance, a rapid return of invertebrates was observed. Ground beetle communities can also change after rewetting: generalists are sometimes replaced by peatland species. However, the composition of the fauna often remains different from that in near-natural peatlands. Some highly specialized and endangered species may still be absent even after 15 years.

Restoration also does not take effect immediately. In the first five years after a measure begins, there are often no clear effects on peatland species. Significant improvements usually become visible only after five to ten years or later. Rewetting is therefore not an instant measure, but a long-term process.

Particularly positive effects were found where rewetting was combined with additional measures. These include closing drainage ditches, creating hydrological buffer zones, removing topsoil or introducing plant species typical of peatlands. This can be especially important on former agricultural land or peat extraction sites if nutrient-rich topsoils and seed banks of grassland vegetation make it difficult for peatland species to return.

Rewetting can significantly improve the ecological value of damaged peatlands. It increases peatland biodiversity, promotes specialized species and improves the long-term conditions for peat-forming ecosystems. However, it does not replace the protection of near-natural peatlands. Intact peatlands remain more biologically valuable and, once destroyed, can only be restored slowly and often incompletely.

Wet use after rewetting

An important question is how rewetted peatland areas can be used in the future, since many peat soils are currently used for agriculture or forestry. The Moor Atlas (2023) names paludiculture in particular as one option: this means the agricultural or forestry use of wet or rewetted peatland areas. Unlike conventional agriculture, the peat soil is not drained; instead, the water level remains as high as possible throughout the year. The peat body remains wet, decomposes less strongly and releases significantly fewer greenhouse gases.

Paludiculture therefore tries to combine peatland protection and use. Reeds, cattails, sedges, alders or peat mosses, for example, can be grown on wet peatland areas. It can also include using wet meadow biomass for energy production or extensive grazing, for example with water buffalo. The raw materials obtained can be used for insulation materials, building panels, thatched roofs, paper, packaging, peat-free substrates or regional heat, among other things.

For farms, however, paludiculture means a major system change. Water levels must be raised, new plant stands established, suitable machinery used and new markets created. Nevertheless, it offers an important perspective: peatland areas can become wet again without falling completely out of use. This can reduce emissions, keep water in the landscape and at the same time preserve or restore habitats for peatland species.

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Sources

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• Beckert, M., & Rodríguez, A. C. (2023). Effects of restoration measures on the biodiversity of peatlands in the temperate climate zone — a meta-analysis. Natur und Landschaft, 98(3), 141–148. https://doi.org/10.19217/NuL2023-03-06
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