Protecting our peatlands

Peatlands not only make for dramatic landscapes, but they are also vital for our survival. They store carbon and are important for the earth’s ecosystems. Yet, peatlands around the world are under increasing threat. 

This month is Peat Free April, a campaign that encourages people to make that all important switch to peat-free compost. In today’s blog post, we explain why peatlands are important, how they are under threat, and what we can do as businesses and individuals to save these treasured peatlands. 

What are peatlands? 

The International Peatland Society, describes peatlands, as a type of “wetland where waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing. Consequently, the production of organic matter exceeds its decomposition, which results in a net accumulation of peat.”

A recently released UNEP report calls for a re-definition of peatlands as an ecosystem, drawing attention to the urgent need for their protection, restoration, and sustainable management. 

What are some benefits of peatlands? 

Peatland covers just 3% of the plant, but their benefits are far-reaching. Did you know that peatland stores twice as much carbon as all the forests in the world? 

Not only that, peatlands also have the ability to store more of the carbon we will emit in the years to come. 

Peatlands have a net cooling effect on the climate, help reduce flood risks, and also support biodiversity. They provide floodplain storage in lowlands, while slowing the flow of water from uplands. They are also vital ground for various habitats including birds, rare and unique species such as insects and plants. 

Peatlands also carry significant cultural meaning to different communities around the world. In the UK, they serve as archives of a cultural past, where prehistoric landscapes lie protected beneath them. Researchers and scholars believe that over 20,500 archaeological sites lie beneath and within the peatlands in the UK. They also provide local communities with a sense of place and connectedness with their natural environment. 

How do peatlands help mitigate climate change? 

As explained by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, healthy peatlands are able to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere from photosynthesis. As the plants that grow on peatlands don’t fully decompose given the wet conditions, they don’t release carbon. As such, peatlands help offset the effects of human activities that release CO2 into the atmosphere, playing a key role in mitigating adverse effects of climate change. 

A global issue

Peatlands are found in 180 countries in the world. Yet, many of these peatlands are threatened or have been destroyed, causing serious concerns on the health of the planet. 

The scale of the problem is acutely summarised in the below statement from the UNEP’s Global Peatland Assessment,  

“Around 50 million hectares of peatlands – an area about half the size of Egypt – have been historically drained around the world. This damaged area is equivalent to around 12% of current peatlands or about 0.4% of the world’s land surface area, but contributes  4% of  global human-induced GHG emissions annually. In addition, 500,000 hectares of peatlands – an area almost twice the size of Cairo – are destroyed by human activities annually.” 

Peatlands are destroyed due to various activities such as drainage for agriculture which makes peatlands less wet, atmospheric pollution, peat extraction for horticulture, fuel, and various development activities, and overgrazing and erosion, among others. 

Peatlands: England’s national rainforests

With peatlands being home to unique flora and fauna, England’s peatlands have often been described as the country’s ‘national rainforests’. Around 60% of UK’s peatlands are located in Scotland. 

According to the 2021 England Peat Action Plan, amidst the loss of peatlands, only 13% of peatlands in England are in their near natural state. The England Peat Map, which is an initiative of the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and Natural England, highlights that 11 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents are released by peatlands per year. 

Against such concerns, the 2021 England Peat Action Plan has recognised the importance of ‘re-wetting peatland areas and returning them to their natural state’, in order to make ‘significant contributions to achieving the country’s targets on reducing carbon emissions’. This would also have other, wider benefits, such as on water quality, nature and biodiversity, and flood mitigation 

Peat and horticulture

Peat has been widely used in horticulture given it was available cheaply and its accessibility. Back in 2011, the UK government set out plans for England’s horticultural sector to be completely peat-free by 2030. There has been some progress in moving away from the use of peat, especially by some manufactures, retailers, and growers. The UK’s soft fruit industry, for instance, have also successfully moved away from using peat to using coir products. 

Yet, more needs to be done. 

According to the 2021 England Peat Action Plan, the total volume of peat sold in the UK in 2019 was 25% lower than 2011. However, the volume of peat sold rose by 9% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic impacted supply chains of alternative material, while there was also large-scale demand for peat with renewed interest in growing and gardening. 

The findings of the Action Plan also reveal that while there has been significant moves from retailers for stocking peat-free products, the use of horticultural peat is still common among the amateur sector. For instance, people continue to use peat-based products to improve the quality of garden soil, whereas manure or green compost has more benefits and is more appropriate. 

How can you help? 

The UK’s government has taken important steps towards managing, restoring and protecting peatlands, including setting up a Peat Action Plan, a grant scheme, and producing Peat Maps for England, in addition to the planned ban on the use of peat in horticulture. 

As a company manufacturing and supplying coir products, we continue to raise awareness about the benefits of coir as an alternative to peat. As growers and gardeners, you can also continue to highlight the harmful impacts of extraction of peat and showcase other more environmentally-friendly and nature-based alternatives for horticulture.