Protecting Peatland Ecosystems and Addressing Threats in Southwestern Australia

PEAT is a transdisciplinary research project aimed at advancing the understanding and sustainable management of southwestern peatland ecosystems, with a focus on their geodiversity, biodiversity, and cultural significance.

Co-led by the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Edith Cowan University (ECU) and guided by local Elders, PEAT is a collaborative effort involving academic and community-based scientists, managers, and volunteers.

Peatlands are significant wetland ecosystems that have important geological, hydrological, and biological characteristics and features.

Despite covering just 3% of the world’s surface, peatlands store 30% of the world's soil carbon, two times more carbon than the entire global forest biomass, and account for 10% of the global freshwater resources.  

In the Walpole Wilderness area, peatlands are essential habitats for rare and unique flora and fauna, including the Sunset Frog and the Albany Pitcher Plant.  

Despite their significance, research on peatlands in this region has been limited, and much remains unknown about their formation and biodiversity.  

  • Four main goals over five years >

  • Goal 1: To build a collaboration based on local knowledge holders and technical specialists to better manage and promote southwestern peatland ecosystems.

  • Goal 2: To characterise far southwestern peatland geodiversity to inform and prioritise management.

  • Goal 3: To characterise far southwestern peatland biodiversity to inform species and habitat management.

  • Goal 4: To develop a comprehensive management strategy and implement critical/urgent actions for southwestern peatlands and their cultural and natural values.

“"We will also be looking at how best to protect them — the delicate structure and slow formation process of peatlands makes them highly vulnerable to a range of threats."

Professor Pierre Horwitz, ECU