The Peat Hub Ireland Peatland Glossary comprises over 120 terms listed alphabetically relating to the sustainable management of peatlands in Ireland. The glossary is a living text which aims to provide access to up-to-date information, build shared understanding and communicate new scientific knowledge and discovery about peatlands.

Check out some of the Peat Hub Ireland Glossary terms below!

Acrotelm

The living, actively growing upper layer of a bog, the surface of which is composed mainly of living bog mosses. The presence of the acrotelm is vital to a raised bog as this is the peat-forming and water-storing layer of the bog.

Active or peat forming

According to the Interpretation Manual of the Habitats Directive, the term Active is taken to mean still supporting a significant area of vegetation that is normally peat forming.

Active peatland

Peatland on which peat is currently forming and accumulating. All active peatlands (mires) are peatlands but peatlands that are no longer accumulating peat would no longer be considered mires.

Actor

Entities with agency, i.e. the ability to choose or decide; they include people, communities, firms, other organizations, and states, but also some nonhuman organisms and their assemblages.

Afforestation

Conversion to forest of land that historically has not contained forests.

Check back in next week to discover more peatland terms, or visit the full Peat Hub Ireland Glossary here!

Cover photo: Sphagnum cuspidatum in a bog pool. Courtesy of Bord na Móna.