Ancient peatlands that store enormous amounts of carbon are under threat from loggingStumbling on submerged roots,attacked by bees and wading waist-deep through leech-infested water, the three researchers and their Pygmy guides progress at just 100 metres an hour through the largest and least-explored tropical bog in the world.
The group halt and unpack what looks like a spear, and which is plunged over and over again into the waterlogged forest floor. Each time it brings up a metre-long core of wealthy,black peat made up of partly decomposed leaves and ancient plantlife. The deepest the steel blade reaches before meeting the underlying clay is 3.7 metres.
Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk