About Us
Over 20% of Ireland is covered by peat. When in good condition, peatlands host specially adapted flora and fauna, lock carbon into their soil, filter rainwater, buffer against flooding, and release water slowly enough to ease drought. They are, in short, some of the most quietly essential ecosystems on Earth. Unfortunately it is estimated that over 80% of Irish peatlands are in bad condition.
Continuously assessing peatland condition is important for many reasons: to identify if restoration efforts are effective, to identify arising pressures (e.g. peatslides, fire, illegal turf extraction), and ultimately to select which areas would require the highest attention.
The traditional boots-on-the-ground approach to assess peatland condition cannot satisfy such assessment requirements alone. There is a need for a quick, cost-effective and scalable approach to peatland condition mapping ; a “first-scan” so to speak ; so that boots-on-the-ground can be deployed where they matter the most.
At AI2Peat, we believe that protecting Ireland’s peatlands begins with seeing them clearly. By pairing artificial intelligence with satellite imagery, in-situ sensors, and the knowledge of ecologists in the field, we turn fragmented data into a shared, living map empowering everyone from researchers to conservation officers to act with confidence.
We combine remote sensing, artificial intelligence and ecological expertise to infer aspects of peatland condition at any scale - from local site to national level, from weekly updates to seasonal to multi-year. We provide bespoke assessment at a click putting the power of remote sensing, AI and ecological expertise directly in the hands of the people who need it most.
we live in a climate crisis. We do not inherit this planet from our ancestors we borrow it from our future generations. We envision a world in which humans can thrive in symbiosis with Nature. A world in which peatlands are valued for the vastness of the services they provide. To get there, we need to know their condition, continuously and reliably, so that the right corrective measures can be taken at the right time.
Project phases
From early research and stakeholder workshops to national-scale mapping and on-demand ecological services, AI2Peat continues to grow into a platform built for real-world peatland restoration.
AI2Peat starts on 2 January 2023, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, now Research Ireland, under the National Challenge Fund Future Digital Challenge. On 22 May 2023, the team holds an ideation workshop to explore peatland monitoring challenges and stakeholder needs. The Concept Phase ends on 30 June 2023.
The Seed Phase focuses on prototyping the platform. On 1 September 2023, AI2Peat reaches its first public-facing Hello World moment. On 4 March 2024, work around a common definition of peatland condition progresses, and the first all-Ireland raised bog ecology map goes live.
On 1 July 2024, AI2Peat is awarded EUR 500k and enters the Grow Phase. During 2024, the emission factor calculator v1.0 and the all-Ireland raised bog ecology map v2.0 are developed. In November 2024, AI2Peat and Peatland Finance Ireland begin collaborating on the Specific Yield on-demand service.
On 1 July 2025, AI2Peat is awarded EUR 1M and enters the Prize Phase. During this phase, AI2Peat moves toward deployment, on-demand services expand, the emission factor calculator v2.0 is planned as an on-demand service, and the platform is fully consolidated under ai2peat.ie.
AI2Peat delivers on-demand services built on remote sensing and AI : giving landowners, agencies, and researchers reliable peatland intelligence at any scale, anywhere in Ireland.
We leverage Earth observation data from 2017 to the present, enabling temporal trend analysis and forward-looking forecasts. Our models generalise across different geographies and are deployed on a computational platform built for quick and cost-effective inference. Every output is rigorously validated through manual expert review before it reaches you.
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Our Specific Yield on-demand service enables you to understand how your bog responds to rain events, in accordance with Peatland Finance Ireland's standard for Ireland.
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Our GHG emission estimation on-demand service enables you to estimate GHG emissions on raised bogs, in accordance with Peatland Finance Ireland's standard for Ireland.
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If you have in-house expertise and simply need our maps, our on-demand inference is one click away. Access our models directly, on your terms, without any overhead.
Coming soon
Don't see what you need? We build it with you. Through continuous engagement, we develop new capabilities tailored to your specific needs whether that means a new condition indicator, a new geography, or an entirely new analytical approach.
↗ Request a serviceThe researchers, engineers, and ecologists behind AI2Peat.
Project Lead · CeADAR, Ireland's Centre for Applied AI
Corrado leads the AI2Peat project from CeADAR Ireland's Centre for Applied AI : where he has spent years turning machine learning research into working systems that solve real problems. At AI2Peat, he brings together satellite data, AI models, and ecological expertise into a single platform that makes the condition of Ireland's peatlands visible for the first time at a national scale.
Co-Lead · iCRAG, SFI Centre for Applied Geosciences
Eoghan is a geoscientist at iCRAG whose research on Earth surface processes has taken him from Irish bogs to volcanic landscapes overseas. At AI2Peat he bridges the geological and ecological sides of peatland science making sure the map we build reflects the physical reality of the ground beneath, not just what's visible from space.
Societal Impact Champion · National Parks and Wildlife Service
Shane is a peatland ecologist with Ireland's National Parks and Wildlife Service and the project's bridge to frontline conservation. Having spent years restoring Irish bogs wading through them in wellies as often as sitting at a desk he keeps AI2Peat grounded in the practical needs of the people actually managing these landscapes.