The Truth About Peat Moss

Peat moss is used for terrestrial plants both indoors and outdoors. It is spongy and holds enough water without being sopping wet, and is derived from digested Sphagnum moss, making it organic.

 Most people say that peat is not a renewable resource and therefore should not be used. And it turns out…most people would be correct. 

 Really I think the confusion is peat moss vs. sphagnum moss

 Peat moss usually has that texture that you imagine when you think of moss. It’s thin and bright green, sort of like turf. If you touched it or walked on it, you can expect it to be wet and squishy.  It contains more water than sphagnum.

 Sphagnum moss could be wet and squishy too, but it doesn’t resemble turf. Instead, it grows noticeable fibers.

 Peat Moss and Sphagnum Moss are basically the same plant. Read that again. They are part of the same plant.

 While both peat moss and sphagnum moss come from the same plant, the moss grows in different circumstances, the surface of the soil versus in the water, but it is still the same moss.

 Peat moss and sphagnum moss are two sides of the same coin, so to speak. Depending on where the moss was growing determines how we refer to it once it’s packaged for sale to the public. I would guess most folks don’t know the difference. 

Peat Moss will be banned, or the sale of peat, in EU in 2024. 

 Remember, peat forms very slowly in cool wetlands as sphagnum moss decays. The bogs are called "carbon sinks" due to the massive amounts of carbon they store—far more than trees. When peat moss is harvested, carbon dioxide is released, and carbon dioxide is a significant contributor to climate change. While some scientists view peat bogs as a possible aid in reversing climate change, the very increases in heat and drought brought about by climate change may destroy the bogs.

The industry says it harvests less than 2% of the existing supply each year and that this reasonably low collection amount keeps up with demand. But even though that doesn't sound like a lot, harvested areas can't recover quickly enough for peat to be considered a renewable resource. * this is everyones hang up

Additionally bogs are also known as carbon houses. I read that some data suggests that once a bog is harvested a little or a lot, it can take up to 40 years for carbon to stop being emitted. 

 SO this is why folks are saying that peat moss is contributing, or the harvesting of peat moss is contributing to global warming. 

Carbon compounds regulate the Earth’s temperature. Carbon also provides us energy.

How is peat harvested?

Peat moss is harvested from bogs and fens around the world, but primarily in Canada and Russia. These water-logged bogs have taken carbon from the atmosphere and sequestered it for 10,000 to 12,000 years, according to Linda Brewer, soil scientist in the Department of Horticulture in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences

INCREDIBLE article on Peat Moss and where some of the above information was sourced. 

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-harvesting-peat-moss-contributes-climate.html

https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/climate/carbon-cycle 

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