What are Peats?

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World Report View
What are Peats?
by Deepali Bajaj \| 19-07-2018 03:58 0
What are Peats? • Peats are a heterogeneous mixture of plant material (vascular plants, mosses and humus) that had accumulated in a water-saturated area and are only partially decomposed due to absence of oxygen. • The natural areas covered by peat are called peatlands. Various types of peat are – swamp forests, fens, bogs or mires. • They form where climate, bedrock and relief create an area with permanent water saturation i.e. either in shallow water over layers of lake sediments (called terrestrialisation) or directly on mineral soil (called palaudification). • They are mostly found in permafrost regions towards the poles and at high altitudes, in coastal areas, beneath tropical rainforest and in boreal forests. Countries with largest peatland areas are – Russia, Canada, Indonesia, USA, Finland etc. • Several multilateral conventions take peatland into consideration such as UNFCCC, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Convention on Biodiversity and United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification.

Dormant user Deepali Bajaj