Peat extraction also degrades the state of the wider peatland landscape, damaging habitats for some of our rarest wildlife such as the swallowtail butterfly, hen harriers and short-eared owls, and negatively impacting peat’s ability to prevent flooding and filter water.
Why is peat an issue?
Peat releases huge amounts of stored carbon dioxide when it is harvested, which adds to greenhouse gas levels. Peat mining is effectively unsustainable – it grows back at just 1 mm a year.
Why should you not use peat compost?
Many gardeners trust peat as a growing medium. But it’s not always ideal. It is a poor mulch, quickly dries out, and is easily blown away.
Can I still buy peat?
Gardeners are to be stopped from buying peat from 2024 after 95 per cent of the public backed a ban, the Government has announced. The ban means compost containing peat, which is taken from bogs in the UK and abroad, will no longer be on sale to amateur gardeners in English garden centres and supermarkets.
Is peat banned in the US?
The Government has announced it will be banning peat compost sales for amateur gardeners from 2024. Guy Barter, RHS Chief Horticultural Advisor, outlines why gardeners should go peat free.
Why are humans destroying peat bogs?
Peat bogs are destroyed for use in farming and as fuel. Peat bogs are broken up to form compost for farming. Moreover, they are burnt for fuel. This is dangerous as it releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Is peat worse than coal?
But peat is particularly polluting. Burning it for electricity emits more carbon dioxide than coal, and nearly twice as much as natural gas.
Why are gardeners going peat-free?
Going peat-free. Protecting peatlands is one of the most important natural ways of healing climate harm. These special landscapes store carbon, control flooding and create homes for wildlife. Find out why it’s essential for gardeners to go peat-free and what we’re doing to protect peatlands around the world.
What can I use instead of peat?
Alternatives to peat
Many peat-free growing media are now available, containing materials such as bark, wood fibre, coir (pictured), anaerobic digestate, bracken, sheep’s wool waste, and green waste compost. All growing media have slightly different properties (whether containing peat or alternatives).
Is peat eco friendly?
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.
How long will peat last?
Give it a few more million years, and this peat turns into coal. “There’s some peat that’s 20,000 years old,” says Sandy Neuzil, a peat specialist with the United States Geological Survey. “But most of it’s between 4,000 and 8,000 years.”
Is burning peat illegal?
It is harder still to identify which burns might be in breach of the new regulations – the ban only prohibits burning on peat if it’s unlicenced, and if the peat is more than 40cm deep, and is in a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), and is protected by one of two other formal conservation regimes, and is on
Why is peat so valuable?
Peat is hugely important to our planet for lots of reasons. It acts as a carbon store, it is a great habitat for wildlife, it has a role in water management, and preserves things well for archaeology.
Why is peat moss hated?
Because it’s nearly impossible to rewet once it’s dried, it repels water and makes a terrible surface mulch. As a soil amendment, which is what the baled product is mostly sold for, peat moss is also a poor choice.
What country mostly uses peat?
The volume used annually is about half that of fuel peat. Germany and Canada account for over half of horticultural peat extraction. Other important peat production countries are the Baltic states, Finland, Ireland and Sweden but also Chile and Argentina.
What is the problem with peat bogs?
A peat bog is drained prior to mining. It immediately starts emitting greenhouse gases. After mining, the remaining peat continues to release carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.
What happens to bodies in bogs?
As new peat replaces the old peat, the older material underneath rots and releases humic acid, also known as bog acid. The bog acids, with pH levels similar to vinegar, preserve human bodies in the same way as fruit is preserved by pickling.
What do humans use peat for?
Peat is used for domestic heating purposes as an alternative to firewood and forms a fuel suitable for boiler firing in either briquetted or pulverized form. Peat is also used for household cooking in some places and has been used to produce small amounts of electricity.
Will peat eventually turn into coal?
At that rate, it would take about 12,000-60,000 years to accumulate enough peat to form a three-metre coal seam. The transformation from peat to coal takes even longer. It generally starts with burial of the peat by other sediments as a result of a volcanic eruption, migration of a river or a change in sea level.
Do the Irish still burn peat?
One in seven Irish households still burn peat for heat. New rules are aimed at discouraging a practice that many consider part of the culture.
Is peat clean burning?
Peat has low atmospheric emissions when burnt compared to many fuels and it is clean and easy to handle.