What is peat?

Peat forms when the ground is too wet so the decomposition of vegetation becomes very slow creating thick dark layers of organic material. This in turn traps carbon, making peatlands important carbon sinks.

Why is peat important?

Despite these humble (and soggy) origins peat packs a punch. Whilst covering only 10% of the UK, peatlands store three billion tonnes of carbon which is more than the UK, France and Germany’s forests combined.

A key part of peatlands are sphagnum mosses which are able to hold 20 times their own weight in water, meaning good condition peat can consist of 90% water. This ability to soak up so much water makes peat incredibly useful as a natural management solution for both flooding and drought.

Peatlands also create a filtering system improving the quality of water that passes through it. We should be especially grateful for this as peatlands supply over a quarter of the UK’s drinking water.

If that wasn’t enough, they provide a home to some of our most unique wildlife.

Just some of the species which can be found include one of the few British native carnivorous plant species the sundew, threatened marsh fritillary butterflies and the rare golden plover.

Where is peat found?

It might feel like peat is too far away to bother thinking about, but there is actually peat in every county of the UK and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire are no exception.

In Berkshire there are a lot of peaty soils running across the south of the county including Crowthorne, Sandhurst, South Ascot, Thatcham and alongside the River Kennet running into Newbury.

Veins of peat run through south Buckinghamshire including around High Wycombe and in Hambleden.

There are even some small peaty pockets in Oxfordshire such as in Littlemore, New Headington and Elsfield.

There might be even be peat on your own doorstep; you can see where peaty soils are on Natural England’s interactive Peaty Soils Location map.

What happens when peat's damaged?

Unfortunately, when peatland is damaged by being over drained or even burnt, it doesn’t just lose all it’s advantages, this beneficial habitat becomes the opposite. Peatlands which dry up and are damaged reduce the quality of water, become a fire hazard and release stored carbon.

These habitats which were once a carbon sink can become a carbon source, resulting in them being one of the biggest drivers of climate change. If as little as 5% more of our peatlands were lost, the stored carbon released would be equal to the total annual UK man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

What are The Wildlife Trusts doing to restore peat?

It’s not all doom and gloom, The Wildlife Trusts are leading the way when it comes to peatland restoration, with at least 48,000 hectares in England which have already been restored.

The importance of restoring our peatlands is huge.

According to the Office for National Statistics restoring 55% of peatlands to near natural condition is estimated to have approximately £45 to £51 billion value in net benefits for climate change emissions alone.

Thanks to growing recognition of how important peat is and 40 years of campaigning, there have finally been some wins for peatlands, such as the announcement from the government that the sale of peat to amateur gardeners will be banned by 2024.

This is a great success as The Wildlife Trusts estimate that peat extraction for gardening has been responsible for releasing up to 31 million tonnes of CO₂ since 1990. However, there is far more that needs to be done, there is no current ban on the extraction of peat from UK peatlands nor the sale of peat containing products in professional markets and there are many damaged peatlands in need of restoration.

It is vital that we continue to protect and restore peatlands for the sake of our climate, our water and our wildlife.

What can I do to help?

Peat does so much for all of us, the least we can do in return is to show it a little love.

Take the pledge to go peat-free

Get some tips for peat-free gardening

More ways to go peat-free at home