Peat bogs have
always been a main
interest of mine
The growth and development of temperate
ombrotrophic peat
I am currently writing a book on the instigation of
peat, peat growth, pool development and peat
erosion. It will take a year or so …
Peat in the Falkland Islands
Observations on Falkland Islands’ peat including long-term dynamics .pdf 3.7mb
See also:
The Upland Ecology of Scotland: a Review of the
Favourable Condition Approach in Relation to Grazing
and Carbon Storage
This includes a discussion of peat’s role in carbon sequestration
& storage .pdf 2mb
Visual comparison of carbon stored in peat bogs
and in commercial forests
This illustrates how peat of c.10cm depth stores as much
carbon as a commercial plantation .pdf 3 mb
See my paper:
The rate of peat accumulation in Antarctic moss banks
Journal of Ecology, 1980, Vol.68, No, 1, pp. 211-228
See peat aspects of my New Paradigm
Download an illustrated article on my work as a British
Antarctic Survey botanist studying Antarctic moss peat
Meanwhile the following two interim papers will be of interest:
Observations on Peat Growth and Long-term Peatland Cycles in Scotland
Over long timescales peat bogs are dynamic entitites, going through periods of growth
and erosion. Page 9 of this document also shows how the type of vegetation cover can
indicate whether a given bog is actively sequestrating carbon, only storing it, or actively
liberating it: a topical issue.
However peat bogs can be complex and, on a landscape scale, all the above can be
happening in different places so it can be difficult to determine the overall impact of the
peatland on the carbon budget.
pdf, 9 pages, 2mb, written in 2014
From Pools to Peat Hags: the Later Stages of Peat Bog Development
A new hypothesis for the orientation and expansion of pools in temperate blanket and
raised bogs
The origin of the pools which occur in regular patterns on peat bogs (‘patterned bogs’) has
always been a matter of debate amongst peatland ecologists. This paper presents a new
hypothesis for their formation, with two insights:
1. The surface of the bog (the acrotelm) can deform under gravity: on slopes it can form a
regular wave pattern, giving rise to parallel pools; on level ground it deforms randomly, giving
rise to round pools (‘dubh lochs’).
2. Hollows or pools with dense Sphagnum lawns, instead of indicating areas of high peat
accumulation, indicate areas of low or negative accumulation – which is one reason why pools
expand over time. This is counter-intuitive.
pdf, 36 pages, 7mb, written in 2014
