type of fossil fuel made up mostly of the gas methane. Some countries in Europe – including Finland, Ireland and the UK – are contenders, but don’t operate commercial peat extraction on quite the same scale. Peat may be found throughout Florida. Although peat is used as a source of energy, it is not usually considered a coal. fossil fuel formed from the remains of marine plants and animals. composed of living or once-living material. Peat soils are classified as histosols. group of islands at the southern tip of South America. The peat buried the remains of the Neolithic farms - at the Ceide Fields, county Mayo, Neolithic field walls have been found under a blanket bog. Privacy Notice |  The pulp is cut into blocks, which are spread to dry. Omissions? The bog's acidity prevents this vegetation from fully decaying. Peat can be found in moors all over the world. The remains were found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat cutters. All rights reserved. Most of the time, however, peat is a unique material.Peat forms in bogs. Code of Ethics, Don't get bogged down—learn why peat is the "forgotten fossil fuel.". If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. Peatlands and bogs can predominantly be found in Canada and Russia, where the majority of the world’s peat moss is extracted. Bogs are usually found in cool climates and often in lake basins created by ice age glaciers that … Peats may be divided into several types, including fibric, coarse hemic, hemic, fine hemic, and sapric, based on their macroscopic, microscopic, and chemical characteristics. A peat bog is a type of wetland whose soft, spongy ground is composed largely of living and decaying Sphagnum moss. Found one of the many blanket bogs covering Scotland. Peat is the "forgotten fossil fuel." If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Peatlands cover about 3% of the earth’s land mass; they are found in the temperate (Northern Europe and America) and tropical regions (South East Asia, South America, South Africa and the Caribbean) 1. Peat bog near Enschede, Overijssel province, Netherlands. WHERE IS IT FROM? If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. Like all wetlands, bogs are inhabited by marshy plants, including trees, grasses, and moss. Peat formation is influenced by moisture and temperature. Over thousands of years, layers accumulate at a rate of about 0.5 to 1 millimeter per year. National Geographic Headquarters layers of partially decayed organic material found in some wetlands. Some of the world’s oldest peat bogs have very dense, seemingly endless supplies of the decaying matter, though it is also available in smaller quantities on trees, rocks, and even on top of the soil in some places. Although they occur throughout Michigan, bogs are more numerous in the Upper Peninsula where they are found along the margins of lakes … There, after slight maceration, it is pumped to a draining ground in a layer, which, after partial drying, is cut up and dried further. Although the rate of plant growth in cold regions is very slow, the rate of decomposition of organic matter is also very slow. The formation of abundant peat was not possible before land plants spread widely during and after the Devonian Period (beginning approximately 419.2 million years ago). Lindow Man, also known as Lindow II and (in jest) as Pete Marsh, is the preserved bog body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss near Wilmslow in Cheshire, North West England. Material decomposes more rapidly in groundwater rich in nutrients than in elevated bogs are found throughout the.! The majority of the gas methane peat as a fuel contain roots tree... 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