Brooklyn Queens Land Trust

The Importance of peat

May 01, 2006

What is peat?

Peat bogs develop in high (i.e. nothern in the UK) latitudes in waterlogged conditions, as plant material, instead of decomposing, builds up over time. The lack of oxygen preserves these plant fragments layer upon layer and they can still be identified thousands of years later.


As picklers of the past, peat bogs are an important key in unlocking the door to the history of our climate, our vegetation and our ancestors.

For centuries lowland bogs have been drained and converted to agricultural land.

Now, remaining sites continue to be destroyed to satisfy the demand for horticultural peat for use in gardens and for the gardening industry. Easy access to lowland raised bogs, and their highly prized, deep peat moss, make them prime targets for commercial extraction.

Today, as peat bogs are drained or removed, rare plants and animals that depend on them are being squeezed out. Many are so specialised that they can live nowhere else. Unusual plants, such as sundew (Drosera spp.), butterwort (Pinguicula spp.) and bladderwort (Utricularia spp.), supplement their diet in this nutrient-poor environment by catching and digesting insects.

Plants such as Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) are found nowhere else in Britain. Sphagnum mosses, each species finely adapted to local conditions, carpet the surface of the bog in patchworks of brilliant green, ochre yellow and rusty red

What are the facts?

94% of raised peat bogs have been lost from the UK.

60% of peat used in the UK is extracted in the UK.


Of the 14 sites being worked for peat in the UK, 9 are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

In Scotland, 4 of 20 worked sites are SSSIs.
Gardeners now account for 70% of all peat used in the UK.


What are we doing?

Plantlife International has always been at the forefront of bodies campaigning for an end to peat-digging in the UK. The Peatlands Campaign Consortium, of which Plantlife is an active member, has forced the horticultural industry into a position of defensiveness and the government has now set targets for peat-free use of 40% by 2005 and 90% by 2010.

Plantlife continues to work with its partners in the Peatlands Campaign Consortium to rescue the remaining peat bogs. The government, the horticulture industry and indeed the nation's gardeners have the survival of this important part of our natural heritage in their hands.

What do we want you to do?

It is ironic that rare wild plants and animals should suffer from a hobby that gives people enjoyment from the natural world.

Gardeners must act to end peat use and should:

Make the switch to peat-free growing materials.

Choose plants grown in peat-free materials.

Ask retailers to stock peat-free materials and plants.

Start your own compost heap.

Peatland conservation has already received widespread public support, and public action is increasing all the time. Everyone can contribute to peat conservation.