Largest peatland

The Western Siberian Plain lies between the Ural Mountains to the west and the Yenisei River to the east. It covers an area of around 2.6–2.7 million square kilometres around 603,445 of which are covered with peatlands. The peat in this region can be as much as 10 m deep and formed in cool wet conditions where dead plants do not fully decompose. Because of this, peatlands are a massive natural store of organic carbon and sink for carbon dioxide. Increasing temperatures owing to global warming are likely to increase rates of aerobic decomposition in the Siberian peatlands, which could enhance carbon loss to the atmosphere with disastrous consequences for climate change.

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