Peat

Peat is a soil which is rich in organic matter, mainly dead plant material, and shows a weight loss on ignition of greater than 65% (Whitmore, 1975). Sufficient accumulation of plant material is only possible when it is deposited below the water table in stagnating waters (swamps or lakes) where the amount of free oxygen is negligible. Anaerobic decay is a slow process. During peat formation CO₂, CH₄ and H₂O escape and, because relatively more oxygen and hydrogen are lost than is carbon, the proportion of the latter increases (see 'peat formation' and 'transformation of peat to coal'). Tropical peat waters are usually acidic (pH less than 4).

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