As The Start Of The 2024 Gardening Season Kicks Off Here Are Some Facts About How Peat Moss Contributes To Climate Change
Saturday, May 18, 2024, 2:30 P.M. ET. By Elaine Metz: Englebrook Independent News,
MORRISTOWN, NJ.- Summer is just around the corner, bringing with it some beautiful warm weather, and also bringing all those gardening projects that you have been putting off. With the start of summer, so begins the grilling season, so your garden needs to look its very best. However, look closely at what compost or soil mix you are purchasing at the nursery or your local garden center.
A commonly used ingredient peat- sometimes called sphagnum moss but is best known as peat moss- but the use of peat is an environmental disaster.
Peat is a highly organic soil composed of dead plant material, naturally formed in waterlogged environments where dead plants and animals are unable to properly decompose. These peatlands are rare and important habitats. Not only are they often biodiversity hotspots, but they are incredibly important for the climate, as peat stores huge amounts of carbon. Peat is even a better storer of carbon than trees, with twice as much carbon stored globally in peatlands than in forests.
However, these amazing carbon-storing properties only occur when peatlands are in good environmental condition. Removing peat for use in horticulture, or as a fuel source, releases all of the stored carbon, contributing to climate change and inducing greenhouse gas emissions. Global greenhouse gas emissions from degraded peatlands are greater than emissions from the aviation industry.
It is incredibly important that we prevent the destruction of peatlands and move toward their restoration, so that they once again remove carbon from the atmosphere and not polluting it. Peat use in horticulture has already been banned in the United Kingdom, but the U.S. is yet to follow.
You might have concerns that without peat your garden might start looking sad, but do not worry. Peat is added to soil mix to increase moisture retention, but it is actually very low in nutrients. Therefore, there are many alternatives that will benefit your soil and plants even more than peat. For example, there is coconut coir, made from waste from the coconut industry, compost from agricultural waste, or homemade compost from your own kitchen waste. So please, for "Peat's Sake," check what's in your bag of soil, and please choose wisely this year.
FILED UNDER: MAY 18, 2024: LIFESTYLE, SCIENCE & NATURE, COMMUNITY HUB, NATIONAL, LOCAL: