Peatlands are layers and layers of partially decomposed plant material which have built up in a waterlogged environment, over thousands of years. Many areas of peat bog can be up to 10m deep.
Peat bogs grow slowly, accumulating around 0.5 to 1mm of peat each year and the water prevents the plants from decomposing.
Peat bogs store vast amounts of carbon which must kept in the ground to avoid contributing to climate change. As soon as peat comes into contact with air, its carbon combines with oxygen in the decomposition process and is then released as carbon dioxide.
Peatlands are hugely important for plants, the wildlife that depend on them and us humans too.
Peat bogs act like a sponge, soaking up rainwater so help to reduce flood risk. Water filtered through healthy peat bogs is of a high quality, making it cheaper to treat as drinking water. Around 70% of our water comes from UK uplands, and over half of this passes through peat.
Our current use of peat is unsustainable. Peat grows less than a millimetre a year and commercial extraction can remove over 500 years’ worth of growth in a single year.
Digging up peat to use in a garden destroys wildlife and releases carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change, as well as increasing flooding in areas where it is dug up.
Amateur gardening accounts for 69% of peat compost used in the UK as we use around three billion litres of peat every year in our gardens. 32% of our peat comes from the UK but we import 60% from Ireland and 8% from Europe, contributing even more to carbon miles.
There are some excellent peat-free gardening alternatives available including coir, pine bark, wood fibre and composted organic waste. Most need to be mixed with other ingredients and have nutrient levels topped up. They will remain more expensive until market demand increases from us as consumers.
Start composting your own garden and household waste now to make your own rich, local source of compost.
Peatlands are one of Scotland’s largest degraded ecosystems. When peatlands are degraded the benefits they bring are lost making them sources of carbon instead of sinks.
The Scottish Government allocated funds win 2012 to an NatureScot-led peatland restoration project ‘Peatland ACTION’ to kick-start the restoration challenge.
Since 2012 Peatland ACTION, working in partnership with others, has set over 25,000ha of degraded peatland on the road to recovery.
About 5.5 million cubic metres of peat for example, have been saved at Flanders Moss, locking up carbon which has not been released into the atmosphere. Flanders Moss is now rich in wildlife and biodiversity and all those water-filled ditches hold onto rainfall and release it slowly, helping to reduce flooding on the low-lying Carse of Stirling.
In February 2020 the Scottish Government announced a substantial, multi-annual investment in peatland restoration of more than £250 million over the next 10 years. Restoring peatlands is one of the most effective ways of locking in carbon - offering a clear nature-based solution to both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.