Canadian peat harvesting and its effects on the environment

Abstract

Sphagnum peat moss has long been the preferred base for growing media of horticulturists in North America and Europe. Growers, horticultural scientists and soil media producers have been using peat moss for several decades with excellent results. In the past seven years there has been some concern raised, in some parts of the world, that harvesting peat is harmful to the environment. To ensure that no permanent damage is done to peatlands in Canada, peat producers have worked closely with government and environmental groups to establish guidelines and policies that mitigate the effects of harvesting and specify the type of restoration that will take place when harvesting is stopped. This paper will describe the state of the resource in Canada as outlined by an independent environmental group and the steps taken by the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association to ensure that resource development is sustainable. Peat moss still can be considered a safe, environmentally friendly growing medium. The Canadian peat industry is a world leader in restoration research because of its efforts to find the best ways to return harvested bogs to functioning wetlands. Some of the research findings will be described in this paper. The paper describes how bogs are selected for preservation and for production, how peat is harvested, and how bogs are restored to functioning wetlands.