Near Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool for Rapid Assessment of Peatland Condition

Abstract

Peatlands are ecologically important ecosystems that play a critical role in global climate regulation, biodiversity conservation and catchment hydrology. Peatland degradation, coupled with growing global pressure to improve the C sequestration capacity and overall health of these ecosystems, are creating demand for improved peatland condition monitoring. Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy offers the advantages of speed, ease of use, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness for peatland monitoring. In addition, this method is objective, and does not rely on monitoring personnel to have plant identification or other background expertise to collect reliable data. Despite these advantages, the application of NIR spectroscopy to study peatlands is limited and no study has yet explored its potential for monitoring peatland condition. Thus, we investigated the potential of NIR spectroscopy to assess peatland condition. Peat soils from degraded and intact peatlands were analysed in situ and in the laboratory with a portable, handheld MicroNIR. Peat samples collected from the surface and from the depth profile of three intact and degraded peat areas were also analysed to determine the scanning strategy that yielded the best results. Our results show that NIR spectroscopy was able to effectively differentiate between samples from intact and degraded surface peats. The water and C-H (hydrocarbon) regions of the NIR spectra were identified as the key factors contributing to the separation of results from the intact and degraded peats, which aligns with our understanding of biogeochemical peatland degradation mechanisms. Overall, these findings demonstrate that NIR spectroscopy has strong potential as a valuable tool for the rapid assessment of peatland condition by identifying the extent of degradation and monitoring the effectiveness of restoration interventions over time.

Keywords: ecosystem health assessment, peat, peatland degradation, peatland restoration, monitoring and evaluation, technology.