Peatland Mapping

Peatlands should be monitored regularly (ideally every 1–3 years) depending on restoration activity, land use pressures, or reporting requirements. Ongoing monitoring helps detect change, assess restoration outcomes, and inform adaptive management. Gentian’s remote approach makes repeat assessments efficient and scalable.

Peatlands are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. Mapping their extent and condition helps identify areas storing carbon and those at risk of emissions due to degradation. Accurate data supports conservation, restoration, and carbon crediting, making peatland mapping a vital tool in climate change mitigation and resilience.

Peatlands are typically assessed based on their ecological condition, which helps determine their function, level of degradation, and restoration needs. In general, they fall into three broad categories:

• Active peatlands: These ecosystems are still forming peat naturally. They retain healthy hydrology and vegetation structure, meaning they remain in favorable condition.
• Degraded peatlands showing recovery: These areas have been impacted by activities such as drainage, burning, grazing, or peat extraction, but are now showing signs of improvement. Recovery may be the result of reduced pressures or targeted restoration efforts, such as re-wetting or revegetation.
• Degraded peatlands in unfavorable condition: These sites continue to deteriorate. They show little or no evidence of recovery because the drivers of degradation—like drainage or ongoing land-use pressures—remain in place.

Depending on the project, these broad categories can be refined into more detailed classes. For example, assessments may highlight specific restoration features such as blocked drains, re-wetted zones, or newly established vegetation, giving land managers a clearer picture of restoration progress and next steps.

Ground truthing provides the ecological validation that ensures peatland maps reflect real conditions on the ground. While AI-powered remote sensing can classify habitats, highlight degradation, and detect change at scale with exceptional speed and consistency, certain attributes—such as fine-scale vegetation condition, hydrological features beneath vegetation  canopy, or restoration progress in complex sites—may benefit from targeted field checks.