Around the world there are different types of peatland. But what is peat?
Written by Tom Eccles
Formation
Peat is a type of soil that forms in waterlogged places. It is made of partially decomposed plant matter which is preserved underwater or in an extremely wet place such as a bog.
For peat formation to begin, a watery environment also needs to have low levels of oxygen which means that bacteria are less active and less able to break down the dead plant matter. These low levels of oxygen are partly the result of poor drainage in the environment which leaves the water stagnant and makes time for oxygen in the water to be used up by bacteria and plants. Essentially, the poor drainage means that the balance of fresh, oxygenated water entering the environment (as rainfall or from a stream) vs stagnant, de-oxygenated water that drains very slowly is tipped in favour of stagnancy. Let’s call this type of environment a wetland and compare it to a woodland which we are more familiar with.
In a woodland, fungi and bacteria would break down dead leaves, wood and other plant material. By contrast, the low-oxygen water in some wetlands would stop most of this activity and allow peat formation to begin.
To see the beginning of peat formation in a wetland, imagine that, when plants die, parts of them fall underwater into a fen pool. Instead of rotting down as they might in a woodland, a wetland can end up with layer upon layer of plant matter slowly settling and becoming deeper and deeper peat soils. In our part of the world, peat formation is slow at around 1mm per year although this has varied through history depending on local climatic changes. At this point, it’s important to note that wetlands are ancient places and although peat formation is slow it has been going on so long that the accumulated peat body is very deep. One measurement of peat depth on Danes Moss in the 19th century found peat that was 12 metres deep.
Acidification
Another interesting way that wetlands can create peat is by water acidification. On Danes Moss, bog mosses called ‘sphagnum moss’ release tannic acid into the water. This raises the pH of the water to around same as vinegar. It also helps to kill off other plants that might compete with sphagnum and dry out the bog. Even more remarkable, sphagnum mosses have specialised, water absorbent cells called ‘hyaline cells’ which allow them hold up to 20 times their own weight in water. These cells even hold water when they are dead. This is why bogs act as gigantic sponges that slow water drainage which itself benefits the sphagnum. Indeed, sphagnum moss has evolved to thrive in bogs and also to create them!
Carbon Storage
Returning to woodlands, tree planting is one of the most popular activities that people do in an attempt to reduce the effects of climate change. But peat formation is even better at long-term removal of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) from the atmosphere than tree planting.
The biggest stores of carbon on land are not forests but the world’s peatlands: bogs, fens, swamps and other types of peatland all over the world that add up to just 3% of the earth’s land. Compare that to 25% of the earth’s land that is forest and you can see how powerful and efficient peatlands are at capturing and storing carbon. In the UK, our peatlands hold more carbon than all the woodlands in France, Germany and the UK combined. There is a catch here. Peat needs to remain wet in a waterlogged environment otherwise it will begin to dry and release CO2 back to the atmosphere. Sadly, human disturbance and destruction of wetlands has meant that peatlands around the world are now releasing their vast carbon stores rather than building them up. A recent news article summarises the problem:
World’s largely unprotected peatlands are ticking ‘carbon bomb’, warns study
The Future
Over the centuries, the Danes Moss peatland has also been drained turning most of it into a source of CO2 and ending peat formation. Despite this, it is critical to understand that enormous quantities of carbon still remain in the deep peat under Danes Moss. So, what next?
We now have several choices.
- Are we going to do nothing and allow Danes Moss to remain as a carbon source?
- Are we going to allow more development, excavation and drainage of Danes Moss which will lead to enormous, irreversible CO2 emissions that continue indefinitely into the future?
- Or are we going to do all we can to restore as much of Danes Moss to a healthy
wetland so that it can begin to form peat and draw down CO2 from the atmosphere? And gain huge benefits for wildlife and local people having access to nature on their doorstep?
The Danes Moss Trust exists to make that last option a reality. In fact, it has already
happened on a small part of Danes Moss that is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
So, we know what can be done. Why not get involved with the Danes Moss Trust and help us to protect Danes Moss forever?
Have a look at our future vision for Danes Moss North which sits between Moss Lane, Congleton Road and the railway: The Vision
If you would like to help with our events, research or however you feel able, please contact us at info@savedanesmoss.com
You can watch our animation, A short history of Danes Moss explaining more about the formation of the Moss…
Thanks to Re-Peat (a youth-led collective for peatlands): https:// www.re-peat .earth for creating this animation for us, Lukas Fraser and Frankie Turk
References
Allott, A. (2016) ‘Marches.’ Harper Collins. London.
Carrington, D. (2025) ‘World’s Largely Unprotected Peatlands are Ticking Carbon Bomb Warns Study.’ The Guardian. Webpage. Available at here
Ritchie, H. (2021) ‘Forest Area.’ Our World in Data
Webpage. Available at here
Rotherham, I.D. (2020) ‘Peatlands: Ecology, Conservation and Heritage.’ Routledge.
Abingdon.
