Conservation
Several of the world's largest wetlands are sphagnum-dominated bogs, including the West Siberian Lowland, the Hudson Bay Lowland and the Mackenzie River Valley. These areas provide habitat for common and for rare species. They also store large amounts of carbon, which helps reduce global warming.
Large-scale peat harvesting is not sustainable, as it takes thousands of years to form the peat that can be harvested in just a week. Coir has been touted as a sustainable alternative to peat moss in growing media. Another peat moss alternative is manufactured in California from sustainably harvested redwood fiber.
Read more about this topic: Sphagnum
Famous quotes containing the word conservation:
“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)
“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)