📢 New Peatpedia post! A brief intro to #peatland soils, peat fossils, and moss piglets. Moss piglets! Microscopic creatures wriggling in the moss. I got very distracted doing background research on them, so a future post will be dedicated entirely to moss piglets! open.substack.com/pub/peatpedi...

#ClimateWeekNYC is coming up! Then #COP30. We will hear more about the need for low-carbon technologies to reduce emissions and reach net-zero. But these technologies cannot come at the expense of carbon-rich #peatlands. I explain why in my new blog- Peatpedia! open.substack.com/pub/peatpedi...

QGIS or ArcGIS Pro? After using all ArcGIS forms for 20+ yrs, I recently had to switch to #QGIS for a few new #peatland projects and it works great! Its quick to produce maps (examples below) and more complex spatial analyses are all possible and some even seem to run a bit faster. #maps #gis

🚨📸 About 2 weeks left to send in your best #wildlife in a #peatland shot and publish in the 2026 edition of #PeatCalendar Email to: [email protected] Deadline: 30 September

I am beyond excited to announce that ggplot2 4.0.0 has just landed on CRAN. It's not every day we have a new major #ggplot2 release but it is a fitting 18 year birthday present for the package. Get an overview of the release in this blog post and be on the lookout for more in-depth posts #rstats

New Study in ES&T! Permafrost peatlands accumulate mercury from distant sources, but thaw causes collapse into wetter bogs and fens. Lauren Thompson shows that these bogs, and especially fens, become hotspots for mercury methylation, and potential downstream transport. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

#WorldWaterWeek has been truly inspiring. We have taken water for granted for too long. The same applies to #peatlands - they are undervalued, despite their importance to us. Moving forward, we must be water-smart as well as climate-smart in our decision-making for peatlands in Canada and globally.

Looking forward to learning from and participating in important conversations during #WorldWaterWeek - happening now in Stockholm and online. Registration for online attendance is free! #peatlands #wetlands worldwaterweek.org

I've just declined attending an online peatlands workshop, hosted by a US institution, because they certainly don't need to know the details of my citizenship, my passport details, emergency contacts, work and CV details, just for me to join them via my laptop from my home in Canada. Ridiculous!

Another #ConservationJobs roundup, mostly in Canada. Please share — someone in your network will be job hunting. All job ads #ShowTheSalary, which is rapidly becoming the norm (not just a best practice). www.linkedin.com/posts/aerinj...

Happy #WorldBogDay! To celebrate here is a coloured pencil drawing of #Cloudberry, a plant that can cover the surface of bogs across the boreal, creating a sea of beautiful golden berries above the soft Sphagnum moss. #peatlands #muskeg #botanicalart #art #natureart

Wetlands across Canada are indeed great treasures for Canadians and globally. But the push to fast-track 'projects of national interest', incl. critical minerals, puts these important ecosystems at significant risk. A reminder to governments that protecting wetlands is also of national interest.

COP15 of the Ramsar Convention starts today. Here in Canada we have the privilege of being home to a quarter of the world's remaining wetlands. Let's not forget what a treasure they are. theconversation.com/canadian-wet...

Sphagnum mosses are fascinating from physiology, ecology, and climate perspectives. I'm especially proud of this @newphyt.bsky.social paper meant to inspire new research on ecoevolution and biodiversity. Check out the incredible cover art by Blanka Aguero! nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Another peaceful moment on the kayak. I decided to put in at the marina tonight instead of my usual spot. It allows me to go up along these limestone cliffs. You can hear a winter wren calling in the background.

This #FungiFriday we’re spotlighting Mycenaceae! 🍄 Our fungarium is curating a donation from late mycologist E.E. Emmett—tiny but mighty Mycena mushrooms. Mycena, or bonnet mushrooms, are often small brown inconspicuous fungi, but with 600+ species, they play vital roles in ecosystems worldwide.

Springer-Nature launched a series of "Discover" journals that closely mimic MDPI titles -- sharing *identical* journal names, and likely similar business model. What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it? A 🧵 the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...

“Most people think Ontario is all forest,” he says, “but Omushkego land is so much more. It’s my home, my history, my people.” - Jeronimo Kataquapit The Hudson Bay Lowland is indeed so much more to so many people. canadiangeographic.ca/articles/ins... #peatlands #climatechange #biodiversity

A fantastic new mapping product for the world's inland waters, a critical driver for studying GHG emissions, biodiversity, and much more. Mapping the world's inland surface waters: an upgrade to the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD v2) essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...

To celebrate World Peatlands Day 2025, take a moment to watch this wonderful video highlighting the importance of #peatlands to people around the world. youtu.be/2Idw7uYlKVQ?... #wetlands #peatlandsoftheworld #VeniceAgreement theveniceagreement.net

Territorial behaviour in ecology and conservation damages careers and impedes progress in the field. 🌏🧪🌐

Climate isn’t the only crisis. Siloed thinking sells false hope while nature disappears. Ecosystem loss for renewables is still collapse—just rebranded. apple.news/A9nUYttBzSoe...

"This is particularly important in academia: we attribute burnout to other factors: “maybe I’m just tired this week”, or “it will get better once I get all these 457 things out of the way and I can clear my deck”. Well, I got news for you: *the deck is never cleared*."

I haven't posted in a while - been busy with a few projects, including this one for the Alberta Native Plant Council. Botanical drawings in pen, for colouring pages! This is 1 of 3. You can find these pages at ANPC events this summer 🌿

We're new here! Help us connect with our members and interested followers 😀

🌲🌳🌐 New study reminds us that forests act globally as a #carbon sink Between 2001 and 2023, the world's #forests have absorbed 5.5 gigatonnes more #CO2 than they have emitted on average each year. 👉 Gibbs et al. dx.doi.org/10.5194/essd... 🧪

New paper alert! Zombie fires overwinter, going underground to smolder through winter before reemerging. Until recently, we knew these fires occurred but knew little of their ecological or carbon impacts. Along with my amazing coauthors, we set out to change this. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The forest biomass industry — cutting forests to make wood pellets to be burned in power plants — will continue booming through 2030, says a new report. Scientists warn that forest biomass burning is unsustainable and produces more CO2 emissions than coal per unit of energy generated.

I was on national television yesterday! Talking about peatlands!🙂

On the cutting room floor is the bit where the host introduced their interview series, The Interview, and I asked how long it took to come up with the name. Anyway, here’s me talking about birds and science and burnout and moving through the world. The photo’s nice! www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...

Great short summary video of #permafrost! Not mentioned in the video... permafrost also includes peat in northern regions, incl. Canada. These are two small cores of ice-rich permafrost peat in Yukon. Placed on a pillow of fluffy Sphagnum moss for the photo 😀

I don't want to be on ghastly x anymore but it's where a lot of my sales come from so this post is a brazen request for shares to spread the word about my work on a kinder platform that isn't run by a dangerous megalomaniac! www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Sara... #selfemployedartist #ukgifthour #shopindie

Here is the issue that has caused so many headaches among climate mitigation researchers - inventory estimates of net land use change emissions differ substantially from global bookkeeping models. lambwf.github.io/UNEP-Gap-Rep...

Canada has 1/4 of these squishy carbon-rich ecosystems. But only ~13% of #peatlands in Canada are within protected areas. In Ontario - where the world's second largest peatland is located - only ~8% of peatlands are in protected areas. Canada must do better! www.cbc.ca/news/climate...

NEW – Just 17% of world’s peatlands are protected, new study warns | @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org @giulianaviglione.bsky.social w/ comment from Chris Evans, Julie Loisel @adamhastie.bsky.social Michelle Kalamandeen Read here: https://buff.ly/42UzXl6

📣ICYMI: The Alberta Energy Regulator finally laid 9 charges against Imperial Oil for releasing toxic tailings waste at its Kearl mine in Feb 2023. While this is a victory, reform of the energy regulator is still required to ensure industry is held accountable. tinyurl.com/ypnbk2bw #abpoli

📢Let's Take Action! Albertans don't want #coal in the Eastern Slopes! We want clean water now and into the future. Join us for a day of Action Against Coal in the Eastern Slopes on Feb. 10. More details at the link: albertawilderness.ca/act-now/awas... #abpoli #ableg #conservation

An excellent op-ed on the importance of #peatlands in Canada by @victoriagoodday.bsky.social and Laura Tanguay!

Sundews are one of my favourite #peatland plants, followed closely by one of the other carnivores - pitcher plants! As a small break from some tough times, here is a photo of a couple of pitchers in the snow in Alberta, Canada ❄️ Photo copyright: Lorna Harris

It sure looks like bad science was just the tip of the iceberg (the substance of the rest of the iceberg is still not entirely clear) www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Believe it or not, the Alberta government has quietly lifted the coal moratorium, once again exposing Eastern Slopes headwaters to exploitation and destruction. Join the fight to reverse this disastrous decision: saveourslopes.ca

A fascinating study on sundews in peatlands. Love these tiny plants 😊

Here's the difference between CCS and CDR.

The diversity and beauty of mosses across Canada's boreal region are a constant wonder, especially when under the microscope. These two are among my favourites - Paludella squarrosa and Sphagnum warnstorfii - both within a rich fen/flush peatland in Yukon. #bryology #sphagnum #bryophytes #peatlands

The journals most cited in important conservation policy decisions have low (or no) impact factors. Another reason not to rely on impact factors to understand "impact" conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

why you shouldn't publish in MDPI and "Frontiers in XX" megajournals 🌍🧪 (but don't get confused: "Frontiers in Ecology and Environment" is supported by the #Ecological Society of America #ESA)

My first postdoc paper is live and open access! Here was asked a simple question: what happens to methane in canals draining tropical peatlands? Turns out, lots of it is consumed by methanotrophs! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Sphagnum moss - the tiny and beautiful 'bog builder'. I'm going to be working on confirming some species IDs from sites in HBL, Yukon, and elsewhere soon. Stay tuned for more #sphagnummonday posts! #peatlands #botany #sphagnum

Yes! Ask to speak with current *and* former students. In person/on the phone if possible. Ask direct questions about their experiences and lab culture (e.g., "if you were starting over, would you choose this lab again").

New paper alert! While simple climate projections expect northern forests to become more productive with warming and take up more carbon, we show why this may not happen. Reminder that permafrost is the backbone of the Arctic. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...