Peatlands across Canada store ~150 billion tonnes of carbon (C) and are subject to increased pressures from climate change and the push for industrial development in peatland rich regions. For Canada to meet net-zero carbon emissions, it is critical that irrecoverable C remain in peatlands, and that the C sink function of peatlands remains intact. To adequately understand how disturbances to peatlands will contribute to climate change through the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) or through weakened C sink capacity, research on the response and recovery of peatlands to disturbances is needed. Equally as important is understanding the laws and policies across Canada that impact peatlands, including those designed to protect, mitigate damage to, or legislate recovery from industrial disturbances. This session welcomes all submissions related to peatland research, with preference given to submissions that examine the response of peatlands to impacts of climate change (e.g. fire, warming and drying, permafrost thaw) and industrial disturbances (e.g. drainage, roads, mining - including exploration activities, peat harvesting). Additionally, we encourage the submission of abstracts that discuss the policy relevance of their work, or how Canada’s policies are applicable to peatlands (which may include law and policy for water management, industry – e.g., roads and mining, and other) have reduced impacts to, or managed or recovered, critical ecosystem services provided by peatlands.

• 10:30 am – 10:45 am | The Peat Moisture Code: A new fuel moisture code for the Fire Weather Index System – Sophie Wilkinson
• 10:45 am – 11:00 am | Benchmarking the Peat Moisture Code to Inform Fire Danger Thresholds across Canada – Elizabeth Arango Ruda
• 11:00 am – 11:15 am | Common Peatland Mounding Techniques Under Fire: Using Combustion Modelling to Evaluate Seismic Line Restoration’s Resilience to Wildfire – Murdoch McKinnon
• 11:15 am – 11:30 am | The early ecosystem response and estimated carbon balance of a road-bisected boreal peatland – Carissa MacKenzie
• 11:30 am – 11:45 am | Metal Mobility of Industrially-Sourced Toxic Metals Along a Peatland Recovery and Contamination Gradient – Kyle Pawson
• 11:45 am – 12:00 pm | Risks and opportunities for major industry projects in peatland landscapes in Canada – Lorna Harris