Editing Peat (section)

====England====
England has around 1 million acres of peatland. Peatlands in England store 584m tonnes of carbon in total but emit around 11 million tonnes of {{CO2}} every year due to degradation and draining. In 2021 only 124 people owned 60% of England's peatland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-15 |title=Just 124 people own most of England's deep peat – its largest carbon store |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/15/just-124-people-own-most-of-england-deep-peat-its-largest-carbon-store-aoe |access-date=2021-11-15 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels|extraction of peat]] from the [[Somerset Levels]] began during the Roman times and has been carried out since the Levels were first drained.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 2009 |title=Somerset Peat Paper – Issues consultation for the Minerals Core Strategy |url=http://www.somerset.gov.uk/irj/go/km/docs/CouncilDocuments/SCC/Documents/Environment/Minerals%20and%20waste/Mineral%20consultation%20papers/Peat%20Extraction%20Paper.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310135710/http://www.somerset.gov.uk/irj/go/km/docs/CouncilDocuments/SCC/Documents/Environment/Minerals%20and%20waste/Mineral%20consultation%20papers/Peat%20Extraction%20Paper.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2012 |access-date=30 November 2011 |publisher=[[Somerset County Council]] |page=7}}</ref> On [[Dartmoor]], there were several commercial distillation plants formed and run by the British Patent Naphtha Company in 1844. These produced [[naphtha]] on a commercial scale from the high-quality local peat.<ref>[http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/peat_moor.htm Dartmoor Peat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405153646/http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/peat_moor.htm |date=2012-04-05 }}, Dartmoor history</ref>

[[Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses]] is an element of a post-[[Last glacial period|Ice Age]] peat bog that straddles the England–[[Wales]] border and contains many rare plant and animal species due to the acidic environment created by the peat.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mawndiroedd Fenn's, Whixall a Bettisfield |url=http://www.ccgc.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscape/national-nature-reserves/fenns-whixall-and-bettisfiel.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202832/http://www.ccgc.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscape/national-nature-reserves/fenns-whixall-and-bettisfiel.aspx |archive-date=2013-10-29 |access-date=2013-10-27}}</ref> Only lightly hand-dug, it is now a [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|national nature reserve]] and is being restored to its natural condition.

The industrial extraction of peat occurred at the [[Thorne and Hatfield Moors|Thorne Moor]] site, outside [[Doncaster]] near the village of [[Hatfield, South Yorkshire|Hatfield]]. Government policy incentivised commercial removal to peat for agricultural use. This caused much destruction of the area during the 1980s. The removal of the peat resulted in later flooding further downstream at [[Goole]] due to the loss of water retaining peatlands.<ref>Walker, M. D. Sphagnum. Sicklebrook Press. {{ISBN|978-0-359-41313-3}}</ref> Recently regeneration of peatland has occurred as part of the Thorne Moors project, and at [[Fleet Moss]], organised by [[Yorkshire Wildlife Trust]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Giving peat a(nother) chance {{!}} Yorkshire Wildlife Trust |url=https://www.ywt.org.uk/news/giving-peat-another-chance |access-date=14 January 2021 |website=ywt.org.uk|date=5 January 2021 }}</ref>