peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetable matter. Peat is partially decomposed plant debris, and can include trees, shrubs, herbs, sedges, grasses and mosses.

Peat forms where plant debris is added faster than it is broken down. In cool, waterlogged conditions, the lack of oxygen and low temperatures limit the rate at which micro-organisms degrade plant material. In places the peat can be many metres deep. Favorable conditions for the growth of peat is achieved when the rate of decomposition is less than the rate of accumulation for dead vegetation. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, moors, muskegs, mires, tropical swamp forests and fens.

Peat lands and mires play an important role in the biosphere. They interact with fundamental life-support processes, involving biogeochemical cycling, food-chain support, hydrological dynamics and water quality, and provide habitats for many characteristic (and some highly adapted) plant and animal species. Peat lands are associated with some of the world’s least as well as some of its most productive ecosystems, and they are found from high cold-temperate latitudes to the tropics.

Peat is useful for the following reasons:

• Peat retains up to 20 times its weight in moisture, and releases water slowly as plants need it.
• Peat moss allows for proper root growth by loosening and aerating soils.
• By adding body to sandy soil, peat helps it retain moisture and nutrients.
• Peat moss reduces leaching of nutrients in or added to the soil, releasing them over time. This will save on fertilizer.
• Peat moss protects soil from hardening and adds organic material.
• Peat moss speeds the composting process, reduces odours and controls air and water in the compost pile.

  Company "Record" Ltd. (Rovno oblast, Ukraine) extracts high-moor peat from the area of deposit "Morochno-1" of 246 hectares (Dubrovitsky region of the Rovno oblast). Peat, extracted by the company “Record” is widely used for enrichment of soil, in greenhouse facilities, for growing of champignons, sprouts, ornamental plants.

  The peat extracted in Rovno region had been studies in the laboratories of Ukraine, Canada and Germany and proved to meet the highest standards for preparation of the peat composts and the peat mixtures.

  По теме "peat" смотрите также:

  Peat
• Peat
• Peat humus
• Peat moss and fertilizers
• Peat sorb