Editing Peat (section)

==Formation==
[[File:Peat Lewis.jpg|right|thumb|Peat in [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]], Scotland]]
Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions. It is composed mainly of wetland vegetation: principally bog plants including [[sphagnum|mosses]], sedges and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat holds water. This slowly creates wetter conditions that allow the area of wetland to expand. Peatland features can include ponds, ridges and [[raised bog]]s.<!-- more information on this process, refer to [[wetland]] in general and [[bog]] in particular --><ref name="Gorham, E. 1957"/> The characteristics of some bog plants actively promote bog formation. For example, sphagnum mosses actively secrete [[tannin]]s, which preserve organic material. Sphagnum also have special water-retaining cells, known as hyaline cells, which can release water ensuring the bogland remains constantly wet which helps promote peat production.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Most modern peat [[bog]]s formed 12,000 years ago in high latitudes after the glaciers retreated at the end of the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]].<ref>Vitt, D.H., L.A. Halsey and B.J. Nicholson. 2005. The Mackenzie River basin. pp. 166–202 in L.H. Fraser and P.A. Keddy (eds.). The World's Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 488 p.</ref> Peat usually accumulates slowly at the rate of about a millimetre per year.<ref name="Keddy, P.A 2010">Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, UK. Cambridge. 497 p. Chapter 7.</ref> The estimated carbon content is {{Convert|415|Gt|e9ST|abbr=off}} (northern peatlands),<ref name="McGrath-2020"/> {{Convert|50|Gt|e9ST|abbr=unit}} ([[tropical peat]]lands) and {{Convert|15|Gt|e9ST|abbr=unit}} (South America).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yu |first1=Zicheng |last2=Loisel |first2=Julie |last3=Brosseau |first3=Daniel P. |last4=Beilman |first4=David W. |last5=Hunt |first5=Stephanie J. |date=2010 |title=Global peatland dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2010GL043584 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |language=en |volume=37 |issue=13 |at=L13402 |doi=10.1029/2010GL043584 |bibcode=2010GeoRL..3713402Y |issn=0094-8276}}</ref>