Peatlands are the unsung heroes of nature.

These ancient wetlands form when dead and decaying plants partly decompose in wet, low-oxygen conditions. Over thousands of years, this plant material builds up and turns into a dark, soil-like substance known as peat.

Brazil, Indonesia and central Africa’s Congo Basin are all famous for their peatlands. Australia is also dotted with these ancient wetlands.

Peatlands are crucial carbon stores, locking up roughly one-third of the carbon found in our planet’s soils.

But when peat dries out and burns, the consequences can be disastrous: incinerated soils, smouldering wetlands, air pollution and massive carbon emissions.

But surprisingly, peat fires in dry Australia aren’t always a problem. Sometimes, these fires do vital ecological work.

Globally, peatland fires are generally viewed as an environmental danger.

In Indonesia, for example, authorities this year are bracing for severe peat fires under the hotter, drier conditions created by a strong El Niño weather pattern. Peatland fires are also worryingly common in countries such as Malaysia and Chile.

These fires are most destructive when they don’t just burn vegetation, but the peat........

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