Estimated extent of forested peatlands and their role in the global carbon cycle

Abstract

Wetlands are areas that are transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems, where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water (Cowardin et al. 1979). The definition of wetlands in Canada expresses a similar concept: wetlands are lands that have the water table at, near or above the land surface or which are saturated for a long enough period to promote wetland or aquatic processes as indicated by hydric soils, hydrophytic vegetation, and various kinds of biological activity that are adapted to the wet environment (Tarnocai 1980).