Tenth International Course on Land Drainage-Chapter 2.5 1971

Abstract

As peat is accumulated organic material it is only formed at places where the quantity of organic matter grown in a certain period exceeds the quantity of organic matter decayed in the same period. Water always plays an important role in peat formation: because it works as a preservative against decay. In wet climates areas with a poor natural drainage – lowest parts, gentle or no slope - may have peat growth, In the temperate zone peat is rather common 1 e.g. in Ireland, Great Britain, Holland, Germany, Poland and the northern isles of Japan,