Belize’s first national peatland inventory changes the carbon map beneath its wetlands
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
The first national peatland assessment for Belize maps about 1,380 km² of peatland—roughly 6% of national land area—and estimates 165 ± 10 Mt of stored carbon. Mangrove peatlands account for about 115 ± 7 Mt and non-mangrove peatlands about 50 ± 6 Mt; some coastal peat deposits exceed eight meters and began accumulating around 7,500 calibrated years ago.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Vegetation maps and peat-carbon maps are not interchangeable. Carbon accounting, land-use planning and wetland protection can change substantially when the soil system beneath mangroves and freshwater wetlands is measured directly rather than inferred from surface cover.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
This is a national inventory estimate derived from mapped extent plus field cores and geochemical measurements, not an exhaustive census of every peat body. Carbon-stock estimates depend on mapped boundaries, peat depth, bulk density and methodological choices; only about 29% of mapped peatlands were within designated protected areas.
SOURCE
Scientific Reports
View original evidence ↗
Field-informed mapping estimates peatlands beneath roughly 6% of Belize’s land area and about 165 million tonnes of stored carbon, with mangrove and non-mangrove systems contributing differently than earlier accounting implied.
Read the Wild Lands assessment →