A new study in Geophysical Research Letters found that 76% of carbon emissions from Canada's record 2023 wildfires came from burning peat and soil, not trees. Researchers used a machine learning model trained on NASA field data from Alaska and Western Canada to estimate that peatlands alone contributed about 33% of total emissions. The fires released roughly three times Canada's annual reported CO2 emissions. The findings carry serious implications for carbon accounting and climate policy. Canada holds about one fifth of the world's soil organic carbon, and warming conditions are drying out peatlands that took millennia to accumulate carbon. Co author Alemu Gonsamo notes that better forest management alone cannot solve this problem only deep cuts to global emissions can. The study also highlights the need for more ground measurements in Eastern Canada to improve estimates of soil combustion in future fire seasons.
