Regional Mountain Conference

Peatlands are ecosystems that comprise the largest terrestrial carbon store on Earth. They play a critical role in climate change mitigation, while also supporting unique biodiversity, regulating water flow and serving as palaeoecological archives. Understanding the history of peatland formation is essential for predicting their future development. The influence of glaciations on postglacial peat-forming processes has received limited attention, even though glaciers exert a first-order control on peatland development in both mountain environments and lowlands.

Glaciers can provide suitable conditions for peatland formation by the ability to i) form local depressions and ii) deliver abundant fine sediments to induce ponding. However, the efficiency of glacial erosion strongly depends on geological factors like rock erodibility or basal topography. Other factors may in turn impede postglacial peat accumulation despite apparently suitable geological and climatic conditions. These include e.g. a high flood frequency, fluvial erosion in alluvial valleys, or, in mountainous environments, high landslide frequency.

We apply a combination of geophysical methods, including ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography, and core drilling to investigate peatland stratigraphy and hydrogeology. We present characteristic peatland environments in central and perialpine settings and discuss how i) glacial depositional and ii) glacial erosional processes control their formation. In addition, we examine the onset of peat growth and rates of peat accumulation in formerly glaciated regions of the Eastern Alps.

These insights contribute to the understanding of present-day peatland ecosystem functioning, and the interactions between subsurface stratigraphy, hydrological characteristics and vegetation patterns. Such knowledge is essential for predicting their response to future climate change.