Working in peatlands is a lot of fun. Our day is usually long so we pack snacks to eat during lunchtime. We put our backpacks and the field equipment in the shed to protect them from the rain and the sun. Sometimes it gets as hot as 40 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit!) so it's important that we drink a lot of water. However, it snows a lot there during the cold seasons, which is why we work in our peatlands only during the summer months.
Our objective in this project (as a group of researchers) is to see what climate warming does to animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, water and air. For that, we have circular chambers (see picture) that cause the inside plants, air and soil to be warmed up. We have those chambers in both of our peatlands.
Different scientific studies occur in these peatlands, and in the end, it is always a group task. I work with the little animals in the soils, my friend (see picture) works with plants and the rest of the people work with water and other plants and animals. We plan our tasks in a way that we always have help from at least another person. We all work really well together!
