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A lump of peat Peat stacks in Südmoslesfehn (district of Oldenburg, Germany) in 2013 Peat gatherers at Westhay, Somerset Levels in 1905 Peat extraction in East Frisia, Germany. Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs.
All types of mires share the common characteristic of being saturated with water, at least seasonally with actively forming peat, while having their own ecosystem. [4] Peatlands are the largest natural carbon store on land. Covering around 3 million km 2 globally, they sequester 0.37 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO 2) a year. Peat soils ...
Tropical peat is a type of histosol that is found in tropical latitudes, including South East Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. [2] Tropical peat mostly consists of dead organic matter from trees instead of spaghnum which are commonly found in temperate peat. [ 3 ]
Peat swamp forest are unusual ecosystems, with trees reaching as high in 70 m (230 ft) in South East Asian ecoregions—vastly different from the peatlands of the north temperate and boreal zones (which are dominated by Sphagnum mosses, grasses, sedges and shrubs). [10]
The initiation of this accumulation of organic matter (i.e. peat), can be controlled by both allogenic (i.e. external to the ecosystem) and autogenic (i.e. internal to the ecosystem) factors. [3] The hydrological balance is critical for the initiation of peat.
Peatland as an ecosystem is important for regulating soil quality. When the peat covering Sphagnum layer is degraded, the remaining bare peat soil releases sediment to water streams, which pollutes and reduces biodiversity of rivers and water reservoirs. [20] Additionally trough wind and water erosion carbon can be released if the peat is blank ...
moss bog) is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or peatland, and is a standard term in Canada and Alaska. The term became common in these areas because it is of Cree origin; maskek (ᒪᐢᑫᐠ) meaning "low-lying marsh". [1]
Peat swamp forests occur where waterlogged soils prevent dead leaves and wood from fully decomposing, which over time creates thick layer of acidic peat.The peat swamp forests on Borneo occur in the Indonesian state of Kalimantan, the Malaysian state of Sarawak and in the Belait District of Brunei on coastal lowlands, built up behind the brackish mangrove forests and bounded by the Borneo ...