Note: This guest post was co-authored by Brandon Byrd ’18 and Alex Fazioli ’19

Alex Fazioli ’19 and Brandon Byrd ’18

A large part of our research in Professor Fennessy’s lab has been spent behind a computer screen analyzing gas samples from the ‘Bofedales’ or high-altitude peatlands in Peru and high-latitude peatlands in Alaska. When Alex Fazioli and I were given the opportunity to travel down to Peru and into the Andes, it wasn’t something that Alex and I were going to pass up.

It took three days of travel to get to the Andes and our field sites. When we got to our lodge in Ocangate, we both were in awe of the backdrop of the mountains where we would do field work for the next couple of days. The dramatic landscape changes in Peru made for seemingly endless number picture opportunities. The sites where we did our work were situated below a glacier that feeds a stream that runs for about 3 miles through the wetland and empties in a lake.

The goal of our trip was to characterize the carbon budget of the Bofedales through sampling for gas emission, soil coring, and measurements of the plant communities and peat depth. Our lab was specifically tasked with collecting gas samples for greenhouse gas analysis. For the trip, we needed to bring specialized gas chambers, vials, and other materials to properly collect gas samples from each site we visited.

The Bofedales are inhabited by locals who herd Alpacas and farm potatoes and other crops. The locals were extremely interested in everything we were doing and would follow us around as we did our work in the peatland. The terrain around the peatlands, while beautiful, was extremely rough, especially when hiking with 50 pounds of equipment. Furthermore, navigating the terrain often required hopping from one cushion of vegetation to the next which became a surprisingly fun but tiresome game.

Overall, our experience in Peru was thrilling. When in the Bofedales, it is difficult to overlook the large scale of these ecosystems. These peatlands are breathtakingly beautiful! Currently, we are aiming to contribute to the literature to help characterize the relatively understudied Bofedales and their ecosystem services. Generally, we would recommend any research student to take an opportunity to pursue field work related to their project. It can take them to amazing places and help them gain invaluable experiences.