Peatbogs and carbon: a critical synthesis to inform policy development in oceanic peat bog conservation and restoration in the context of climate change.

The objective of the present report has been to provide a critical examination of various key papers which have increasingly come to inform the debate about peat and carbon in recent years. The report attempts to clarify the nature and origins of the evidence presented in these papers, and tries to explain why sometimes apparently-conflicting evidence emerges when comparing aspects of these and associated papers. The work seeks to look at the current state of peat carbon science with a view to identifying key messages relevant to policy. In the process of undertaking this study, the sources of many apparently contradictory lines of evidence have been identified. It is hoped that this work can draw together the science of what is undoubtedly a highly complex subject and render the various technical, confusing and sometimes plainly contradictory elements of the subject into a form which clarifies the issues and makes them more accessible. The present study has also highlighted a number of issues where further research is needed.