Assessing English peatland dynamics using MT-InSAR

Peatlands are vital ecosystems that provide substantial ecological, economic, and societal benefits, making their protection and restoration essential for both current and future generations. Although they cover only a small fraction of the Earth's surface, peatlands are among the most effective natural carbon sinks and play a critical role in regulating the global climate. However, these ecosystems face mounting threats from environmental pressures, including urbanization, infrastructure development, unsustainable agriculture, drainage, peat extraction, forestry, rising sea levels and climate change itself. Encouragingly, growing recognition of their importance has led to an increase in monitoring and restoration efforts worldwide. As part of the ESA-funded WorldPeatland project, we studied three moorland sites in England using advanced remote sensing techniques, supported and validated by auxiliary datasets. By generating ground displacement maps and time series through the multi-temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar method known as Enhanced Persistent Scatterers, we were able to analyse both recent and long-term peatland dynamics to assess their condition and ongoing changes. Widespread subsidence was observed across all investigated areas, suggesting that the rate of peat degradation currently exceeds the rate of peat formation. Key contributing factors include the removal of protective vegetation likely due to wildfires, agricultural activities and anthropogenic land surface management practices. Additionally, the lowering of water levels, exacerbated by climate change, further threatens peatland aggradation. These processes lead to peat drying, which in turn accelerates oxidation, erosion, and decomposition.