peat

To investigate how and when these environments developed, the researchers examined peat samples collected from South America, Australasia, southern Africa and the sub-Antarctic islands.

Part of the reasoning in 2018 was site investigations found the ground underlain with peat deposits, as well as toxic and phytotoxic - meaning poisonous to plants - risk from shallow soils.

He noted that “holdover” is also used to describe peat bog fires that burn many feet below the surface for weeks or months, even under snowpack.

In parts of the Highland landscape the fires penetrated deep, burning away peat that would have formed thousands of years ago.

Coconut fibers broken down by millipedes may serve as a sustainable replacement for peat moss, a material commonly used to start seedlings but often sourced from fragile wetland ecosystems.