SUSTAINABLE PEATLANDS

• Peatlands in Ireland


  • Peat is a non-renewable resource harvested from bogs
  • There are two types of bogs: raised bogs and blanket bogs
• Raised bogs


  • Found on flat or gently sloping lands in the midlands
  • Form in shallow depressions
  • Have an average peat depth of 6-12 m
• Blanket bogs


  • Found on mountain slopes, mainly in the west of Ireland
  • Form in regions that receive over 120 mm of rain per year
  • Have an average peat depth of 3 m
• Formation of peat


  1. Growth of vegetation

  2. High levels of rainfall

  3. Poor drainage, so that plant litter becomes waterlogged

  4. Low or no oxygen in the waterlogged soil
• Ireland's bogs formed after the last ice age
• Sphagnum moss


  Holds water and helps keep boglands wet
• Bord na Móna


  Irish government set up in 1934 to exploit peat in Ireland
• Bord na Móna changed its name from Turf Development Board


  1946
• Bord na Móna's focus


  • Harvesting peat for fuel
  • Producing peat moss
  • Investing in renewable energy sources
  • Preserving bogs for future generations
• Traditional peat harvesting


  1. Using a spade called a sleán to cut sods of turf

  2. Stacking and drying the turf
• Bord na Móna's peat harvesting


  Developed machinery to harvest peat in large quantities for electricity generation
• Peat extraction


  • Created employment and raised workers' standard of living
  • Reduced rural emigration as people found local work
  • Bord na Móna built housing for workers
  • Became an important feature of rural life in the midlands
• Peat extraction


  • Created jobs with steady work and good wages
  • Generations of the same families worked for Bord na Móna
  • Burning peat reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels and saved the country money
  • Bord na Móna exported peat products, increasing the country's income
• Environmental impact of peat extraction

  • Destroyed the habitat of bogs
  • Cut-away bogs had no plant or animal life
  • Burning peat added carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and contributed to acid rain
• Bord na Móna no longer burns peat for electricity generation due to the environmental impact
• Protecting bogs


  • Bogs act as a carbon store
  • Home to many plants and animals
  • Only 23% of the original 1.2 million hectares of bog in Ireland survives, with only 10% of raised bog remaining
• Restoring and rehabilitating bogs

  1. Restoring bogs by re-wetting them and allowing sphagnum moss to grow again

  2. Rehabilitating bogs where they cannot be returned to a bog-forming state, to create new habitats
• Bord na Móna is working to restore biodiversity to its cut-away bogs