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| Thu, 21st Feb 2019 14:48:00 |
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Why peat is good for the climate and nature: a guide |
You might know peat as a dark, earthy substance sold in plastic bags as garden compost. But there’s more to peat than that. It’s an incredibly important natural ally in the fight against climate change; it’s a rich haven for wildlife; it improves water quality and it helps reduce flood risk.
Peat – sometimes called peat moss – is a life saver worth its weight in bags of gold.
But peatlands across the world are disappearing fast. Governments allow peat to be dug up for garden compost or burned as fuel. And the UK allows the scandalous practice of burning of grouse moorlands to manage these landscapes.
If we continue to devastate and degrade peatlands in Britain, Ireland and beyond, peat’s varied role in maintaining a healthy environment could be lost.
It’s time to stop digging if we want to safeguard nature and climate. You can also ask the government to take urgent action by adopting our Climate Action Plan.
What peat is and how it is produced?
Peat is partly decomposed plant matter that builds up slowly over thousands of years to form peat bogs, moors and fens in areas waterlogged with rainwater.
Some peatlands are as deep as 10 metres and have taken thousands of years to form. It can take a year or so for peat to build up by just 1 millimetre. It takes far less time to deplete and destroy these rich natural habitats and carbon stores.
Where peat comes from?
Most peat sold to UK gardeners and growers comes from what are called raised peat bogs in low-lying areas, especially in the Republic of Ireland. Here peat is harvested on an industrial scale to sell to the horticulture trade and as a fuel.
Some peat (about 700,000 tonnes a year) is still produced in the UK. But, thanks to campaigning, the use of home-grown peat has declined. Peat use is still too high, though, and most demand is now being met by imports from Ireland. Around 7% comes from Baltic nations.
So the peat problem hasn’t gone away; it’s just been passed to other countries where peat should also be protected.
Why peat is a valuable natural habitat?
We don't have lush rainforests in the UK and Ireland. Peatlands are our rainforests. They are internationally significant nature hotspots and vast carbon cupboards. And, like rainforests, we are busy destroying them.
Not all peatlands are the same. Peat forms in blanket bogs, lowland raised bogs, lowland fens and upland flushes, mosses, swamps and fens – very different landscapes and locations but all requiring damp conditions.
Read original full article
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