Dr Lorna Harris
@lornaharris.bsky.social
5.6K followers 360 following 31 posts
Ecosystem Scientist | Artist | Forests, Wetlands, Peatlands, & Climate Change | Carbon, Moss, Lichens, Permafrost, Fire, Tea | Science-Policy | she/her
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lornaharris.bsky.social
With planning & time (and funds!), yes. We can restore water levels & surface vegetation and slowly return the peatland to a carbon sink. But we can't restore lost peat soil carbon - this is irrecoverable in our lifetimes. It takes 100s to 1000s of yrs for peat soil to build up.
lornaharris.bsky.social
Peatlands in Canada - 5 key facts.

These bogs, fens, permafrost peatlands & peat swamps are some of the most extensive boggy landscapes in the world.

More to come! I've been working on peatlands in Canada for over 10 yrs - so many more facts & stories to share!

open.substack.com/pub/peatpedi...
Peatlands in Canada – 5 key facts
A brief introduction to the vast and beautiful bogs, fens, and swamps of Canada
open.substack.com
lornaharris.bsky.social
📢 New Peatpedia post! A brief intro to #peatland soils, peat fossils, and moss piglets. Moss piglets! Microscopic creatures wriggling in the moss. I got very distracted doing background research on them, so a future post will be dedicated entirely to moss piglets!

open.substack.com/pub/peatpedi...
lornaharris.bsky.social
#ClimateWeekNYC is coming up! Then #COP30. We will hear more about the need for low-carbon technologies to reduce emissions and reach net-zero. But these technologies cannot come at the expense of carbon-rich #peatlands. I explain why in my new blog- Peatpedia!

open.substack.com/pub/peatpedi...
The plan to reach net-zero: Why peatlands need to be on the agenda
As the buzz for New York Climate Week continues to build, we will hear more about innovative plans and new technologies developed by business and industry to help us reach net-zero emissions. But thes...
open.substack.com
lornaharris.bsky.social
QGIS or ArcGIS Pro? After using all ArcGIS forms for 20+ yrs, I recently had to switch to #QGIS for a few new #peatland projects and it works great! Its quick to produce maps (examples below) and more complex spatial analyses are all possible and some even seem to run a bit faster.

#maps #gis
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
peatlandecr.bsky.social
🚨📸 About 2 weeks left to send in your best #wildlife in a #peatland shot and publish in the 2026 edition of #PeatCalendar

Email to: [email protected]

Deadline: 30 September
Promotional poster for the “2026 PEAT Calendar” by the Peatland ECR Action Team. The calendar theme is “Wildlife.” The poster announces that photo submissions are open until September 30, 2025. The background features a scenic photo of a wooden boardwalk leading through a peatland toward snow-capped mountains under a colorful sunset sky. Photo credit: Justinas Sakas.
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
thomasp85.com
I am beyond excited to announce that ggplot2 4.0.0 has just landed on CRAN.

It's not every day we have a new major #ggplot2 release but it is a fitting 18 year birthday present for the package.

Get an overview of the release in this blog post and be on the lookout for more in-depth posts #rstats
ggplot2 4.0.0
A new major version of ggplot2 has been released on CRAN. Find out what is new here.
www.tidyverse.org
lornaharris.bsky.social
How did no one notice this quite significant error?! We have maps and aerial images readily available on our phones and laptops everyday, but this shows how important it is to use them carefully. Putting Sunderland instead of Newcastle on the GNR medal... yikes!
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
olefeldt.bsky.social
New Study in ES&T! Permafrost peatlands accumulate mercury from distant sources, but thaw causes collapse into wetter bogs and fens. Lauren Thompson shows that these bogs, and especially fens, become hotspots for mercury methylation, and potential downstream transport.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
lornaharris.bsky.social
#WorldWaterWeek has been truly inspiring. We have taken water for granted for too long. The same applies to #peatlands - they are undervalued, despite their importance to us. Moving forward, we must be water-smart as well as climate-smart in our decision-making for peatlands in Canada and globally.
lornaharris.bsky.social
Looking forward to learning from and participating in important conversations during #WorldWaterWeek - happening now in Stockholm and online. Registration for online attendance is free!

#peatlands #wetlands

worldwaterweek.org
lornaharris.bsky.social
I've just declined attending an online peatlands workshop, hosted by a US institution, because they certainly don't need to know the details of my citizenship, my passport details, emergency contacts, work and CV details, just for me to join them via my laptop from my home in Canada. Ridiculous!
lornaharris.bsky.social
Happy #WorldBogDay!

To celebrate here is a coloured pencil drawing of #Cloudberry, a plant that can cover the surface of bogs across the boreal, creating a sea of beautiful golden berries above the soft Sphagnum moss.

#peatlands #muskeg #botanicalart #art #natureart
lornaharris.bsky.social
Wetlands across Canada are indeed great treasures for Canadians and globally. But the push to fast-track 'projects of national interest', incl. critical minerals, puts these important ecosystems at significant risk. A reminder to governments that protecting wetlands is also of national interest.
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
queenofpeat.bsky.social
Sphagnum mosses are fascinating from physiology, ecology, and climate perspectives. I'm especially proud of this @newphyt.bsky.social paper meant to inspire new research on ecoevolution and biodiversity. Check out the incredible cover art by Blanka Aguero! nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Image of the cover of the New Phytologist journal showing a close up image of brown and orange Sphagnum plants.
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
Another peaceful moment on the kayak. I decided to put in at the marina tonight instead of my usual spot. It allows me to go up along these limestone cliffs. You can hear a winter wren calling in the background.
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
rbgkew.bsky.social
This #FungiFriday we’re spotlighting Mycenaceae! 🍄 Our fungarium is curating a donation from late mycologist E.E. Emmett—tiny but mighty Mycena mushrooms.

Mycena, or bonnet mushrooms, are often small brown inconspicuous fungi, but with 600+ species, they play vital roles in ecosystems worldwide.
A close-up of a delicate pink Mycena mushroom with a slender translucent stem, growing among green moss. The background is softly blurred in warm tones.
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
lornaharris.bsky.social
“Most people think Ontario is all forest,” he says, “but Omushkego land is so much more. It’s my home, my history, my people.” - Jeronimo Kataquapit

The Hudson Bay Lowland is indeed so much more to so many people.

canadiangeographic.ca/articles/ins...

#peatlands #climatechange #biodiversity
Inside the ambitious Indigenous-led plan to protect northwestern Ontario’s “Breathing Lands”
On the western shores of James and Hudson bays, a group of Omushkego Cree nations have been working to protect both water and land
canadiangeographic.ca
Reposted by Dr Lorna Harris
lornaharris.bsky.social
To celebrate World Peatlands Day 2025, take a moment to watch this wonderful video highlighting the importance of #peatlands to people around the world.

youtu.be/2Idw7uYlKVQ?...

#wetlands
#peatlandsoftheworld
#VeniceAgreement

theveniceagreement.net
Venice Agreement Poem Read by Peatland Guardians Around the Globe
YouTube video by The Venice Agreement
youtu.be