What is Sphagnum Peat Moss?

Peat bogs are poorly drained low-lying ground where water collects and sits. The decomposing plant material fills the bog and compresses, reducing oxygen in the bog water even further. This decomposing plant material, which is often composed of mosses, is highly acidic, and a peat bog has been equated to a vinegar swamp. The lack of oxygen combines with the high acidity to slow down the decay of the plant materials, creating partially carbonized composites known as peat.

Types

Sphagnum peat moss refers to a peat whose composition is primarily made of decomposing or partially decomposed sphagnum moss. There are up to 350 species of sphagnum mosses within the family Sphagnaceae. Peat layers tend to be dark brown to black, while some living sphagnum growing on top of the peat will range from a light green to gray. Sphagnum also comes in shades of red and yellow so it is somewhat easy to tell the sphagnum from the peat.

Soil Amendment

The most common modern use for sphagnum peat moss is as a garden soil amendment. Peat, or the moss forms that become the peat, are designed to be very efficient at retaining water. When peat is added to a very fast draining soil (such as sandy soils) it can slow the drainage, allowing plants to take root, a process that over time and with additional materials will make the soil more rich and usable. Peat is not a nutrient-adding product. Peat is also used in starting plants and potting plants, and for a time was the primary product used for starting orchids.

Considerations

In older times, peat was sometimes dried and burned as a fuel and it was used in some medicinal preparations. It also has a long-standing history of use in paddocks for the upkeep of animals. Today, most peat is sold either ground up, as a type of mulch additive, or in block where the consumer must crush it in their hands before spreading it. This type of peat is cleaned to remove heavier or unusable materials prior to packaging. According to Wendy Priesnitz in her article published in Natural Life Magazine, there is growing concern that peat is being mined rather than harvested. If peat is actually a mining process then the peat resources are limited to only the peat on the surface of the planet that already exist. This means the peat is not sustainable. Growing concern among environmentalists, noted by Priesnitz, centers on the implications of releasing peat carbons into the atmosphere and destroying unique peat habitats without the capacity to restore them.

Significance

Sphagnum moss grows quickly from almost any part of the plant that is exposed to the right conditions so propagating the moss is not the issue. Live moss and peat are not the same thing. Peat requires a process that may take a very long time. One of the unique features of sphagnum peat moss is its capacity to preserve what becomes trapped in its layers. Bog bodies have surfaced for centuries allowing modern man a glimpse of perfectly preserved human and animal remains where even the skin and hair are intact. Archaeologists have learned a great deal about the ancient peoples who lived near bogs due to this phenomenon.

Benefits

One of the most promising areas of sphagnum use is in the medical field. According to A.P. Podterob et.al. in a 2002 article published in Pharmaceutical Journal, Russia, having suffered through numerous wars in a relatively short period of time that led to shortages in acquiring bandage materials such as cotton, turned to its abundance of peat as a resource. In Belarus alone, 60 percent of the land is peat bog. At least 43 of the 300 known species of peat musci have been identified in the former USSR territories. Podterob states that sphagnum is superior in absorption of fluids from wounds and is a natural bactericidal agent. The moss showed bactericidal effect against "staphylococci, streptococci, proteus, and diphtheroid species" as well as positive antifungal effects. He goes on to note that as recently as 1990 sphagnum was being developed for use with surgical dentistry and hygiene.

References

• springerlink.com, "A History of the Medicinal Use of Plants of the Genus Sphagnum"
• naturallifemagazine.com, " Does Peat Moss Have a Place In the Ecological Garden?"
• archaeology.org, "Bodies of the Bogs"