University of Tartu researchers received €3.5 million research grant to study the formation, cycle and effect of laughing gas emitted from peat soils, and its links to climate change. Laughing gas is ...

Peat grew very, very slowly, about a yard deep every thousand years. Now, so much peat moss has been harvested for use in gardens and landscapes that in many places there's not much left. Ninety ...

(He studies Arctic greening but wasn’t involved in this new research.) “New peat formation in the Arctic could therefore potentially lead to long-term removal of carbon from the atmosphere.

When waterlogged, this carbon is stored in the soil but when water is removed, for example via drainage, peat soils then emit carbon dioxide as the decay process restarts, Daly said.

Peat, the ingredient that makes bagged soil light and spongy, comes from wetlands. Often labeled as sphagnum moss or peat moss, it became popular in the 1950s because of its versatility.

Though peat moss soil is available for an affordable price (typically under $20 for an eight-quart bag), the downside is that it has an environmental cost to the ecosystem.

Peatland bogs represent 3 percent of the earth’s land mass — primarily in the subarctic and in parts of the tropics — but store one-third of the earth’s total soil carbon.

Life Peat moss vs. mulch: Which is better for top dressing soil in the garden? There are a few reasons why peat moss shouldn`t be used as mulch, says one expert.

Some shooting estates in England burn deep peat moorland in protected areas despite a government ban, say the RSPB and Greenpeace. England's deep peat soils support rare ecosystems and store huge ...

Mapping more accurately than ever Ireland's peatlands, which are vital as carbon sinks but whose boundaries can be hard to determine, could help fight global warming, researchers say.