Peat

One of the first things that we noticed in the Irish country side (other than stone walls) is the practice of cutting peat.  

I've been trying to do some research on peat and its not easily described, but it is formed by an accumulation of vegetable matter which can't break down completely due to a lack of oxygen (anaerobic conditions).  It is often formed in marshy areas and normally accumulates at an average of 1mm per year.  Under certain conditions, peat is the first step in the process of forming coal.

Out in the rural areas of Ireland, families will each own a piece of bogland from which they cut peat which they use for heating and cooking.  We came across a man working his piece of turf and stopped to chat to him.  He described the process of preparing peat to us. First of all they cut grooves into the field with a blade on the back of a tractor to start draining the peat, these sections resemble huge rubber ribbons.  Walking out to where he was working was a strange feeling as the ground is all spongy and as you walk on it these long ribbons of peat, about 600mm wide, bounce and ripple down their length.  Second the landowner then lifts these 'ribbons', flipping them over and cutting them into 'bricks' about 30cm long and 10cm wide, leaving them to dry out a bit.  They then get stacked into pyramids to dry out properly before being lifted off the ground on pallets to await transport to be stored at the landowner's house.  (I know that this is also done commercially and that the process differs from place to place.)

Drainage grooves cut into the turf.

Wet turf out to dry.

Stacks of turf drying.

Stacking the dry bricks of turf.

Dried peat bricks waiting to be taken home.

Deep grooves where peat has been dug.

The practice of cutting peat and using it as a fuel source has been going on for hundreds of years (if not thousands) and many people rely heavily on the use of peat.  Peat wetlands are an important habitat for many plants and animals and they also act as buffers for flooding and as a carbon sink.

I'm not sure what i think about peat harvesting.  Large areas of the landscape that we have travelled through is scarred by peat harvesting.  In some areas the peat has been harvested down to about 2m.  I know people rely on it for survival, but I can't help wondering if we're going down a road that we really can't turn back on…..

Lucy