What is peat?

Coir glossary · Updated 2026-09-22 · Also in Português →

Fossil organic matter accumulated in peatlands (bogs) over thousands of years by the partial decomposition of sphagnum moss and other plants in waterlogged, oxygen-poor conditions. Peat has been the dominant substrate in European horticulture since the 1960s. Peatlands store approximately twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined, making peat extraction environmentally damaging. Peat is not the same as coir pith despite the commercial name “coco peat.”