Sphagnum farming: A long-term study on producing peat moss biomass sustainably

Pouliot, Rémy; Hugron, Sandrine; Rochefort, Line

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.10.007

Cited by 51 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Furthermore, peat moss (Sphagnum) from paludiculture has recently been used as a sustainable high-quality alternative to fossil white peat, i.e., as a raw material for plant substrates. Sphagnum farming refers to the cultivation of Sphagnum mosses to produce Sphagnum biomass sustainably [122].…”

Section: Other Organic Materials As Bioresources and Growing Media Comentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

2019

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Decreasing arable land, rising urbanization, water scarcity, and climate change exert pressure on agricultural producers. Moving from soil to soilless culture systems can improve water use efficiency, especially in closed-loop systems with a recirculating water/nutrient solution that recaptures the drain water for reuse. However, the question of alternative materials to peat and rockwool, as horticultural substrates, has become increasingly important, due to the despoiling of ecologically important peat bog areas and a pervasive waste problem. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive critical review of current developments in soilless culture, growing media, and future options of using different materials other than peat and rockwool. Apart from growing media properties and their performance from the point of view of plant production, economic and environmental factors are also important. Climate change, CO 2 emissions, and other ecological issues will determine and drive the development of soilless culture systems and the choice of growing media in the near future. Bioresources, e.g., treated and untreated waste, as well as renewable raw materials, have great potential to be used as growing media constituents and stand-alone substrates. A waste management strategy aimed at reducing, reusing, and recycling should be further and stronger applied in soilless culture systems. We concluded that the growing media of the future must be available, affordable, and sustainable and meet both quality and environmental requirements from growers and society, respectively.

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Section: Other Organic Materials As Bioresources and Growing Media Comentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

2019

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“…Effective restoration of cutover Sphagnum ‐dominated peatlands requires that drainage ditches be blocked, surface topography associated with its former use be leveled (Price et al, 2003), and plant material including Sphagnum , taken from a donor site, applied (Rochefort et al, 2003). However, the natural Sphagnum growth rate on these restored peatlands is relatively low (in the range of 105–179 g m −2 yr −1 ), and increasing research efforts are underway to enhance Sphagnum growth and develop a Sphagnum farming approach (Pouliot et al, 2015).…”

Section: Fields Of Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Properties of Organic Soil: Adapting Mineral Soil Concepts to Horticultural Growing Media and Histosol Characterization

Caron

Price

Rochefort

2015

Vadose Zone Journal

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Growing media are used in a broad range of applications, for which special consideration must be given to their physical and hydraulic character. Because they are relatively fragile, dominantly consisting of dried plant remnants, their preparation, processing, and handling before potting affect their properties. This is complicated by their subsidence and decomposition during use, which leads to a reduction of their initial bulk volume. Organic growing media show many similarities to Histosols because of the common botanical origin of some of their components. For both growing media and Histosols, classical concepts and values related to physical properties like air‐filled porosity, bulk density, available water, hydraulic conductivity, gas diffusivity, and field capacity need to be adapted to reflect distinct differences in their composition, structure, and stability compared with mineral soils. Their use in containers with a variety of shapes and sizes influences water and air storage and exchange as well. They can subside extensively as they undergo decomposition. They shrink. Hence, the range of values observed for the physical properties of organic media differs from those of mineral soils. The methods to be used for measuring such properties must be adapted to that specific context of use and to account for their fragile and dynamic nature. Finally, specific norms to guide substrate manufacturing and for diagnosis of plant growth problems have been derived specifically and should be used in such a situation.

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“…Outside North America, there is also an increasing demand for Sphagnum propagules as plant reintroduction material within the MLTT (e.g. in Estonia—Karofeld et al ; Lithuania—Sendzikaite et al ; United Kingdom—Peacock et al ; Australia—Whinam et al ; Chile—Domínguez ) or for the implantation of Sphagnum farms (in Canada—Pouliot et al ; Germany—Gaudig et al ; Japan—Hoshi ). The demand for little‐decomposed Sphagnum fibers for orchid propagation or plant packaging market is also increasing (Zegers et al ) for which top surface Sphagnum fibers are harvested in natural peatlands (New Zealand—Whinam & Buxton ; Finland—Silvan et al ; Chile—Díaz & Silva ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvesting surface vegetation does not impede self‐recovery of Sphagnum peatlands

Guêné-Nanchen

Hugron

Rochefort

2018

Restoration Ecology

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Ecosystem restoration frequently involves the reintroduction of plant material in the degraded ecosystem. When there are no plant nurseries or seeds available on the market, the plant material has to be harvested in the wild, in a “donor ecosystem.” A comprehensive assessment of donor ecosystem recovery is lacking, especially for Sphagnum‐dominated donor peatlands, where all top vegetation is harvested mechanically with different practices. We aimed to evaluate (1) the regeneration of vegetation, especially of Sphagnum mosses, to determine which harvesting practices are best to enhance recovery and (2) the influence of the site hydrological conditions and meteorological variables of the first complete growing season postharvesting on peat moss regeneration. Twenty‐five donor sites covering a 17‐year chronosequence (harvested 1–17 years ago) were inventoried along with 15 associated natural reference sites located in Quebec, New Brunswick, and Alberta, Canada. All donor sites aged 10 years or more were dominated by Sphagnum mosses, though plant composition varied between donor and their associated reference sites because of the wetter conditions at harvested donor sites. Harvesting practices strongly influenced donor site recovery, showing that the skills of the practitioner are an essential ingredient. Harvesting practices minimizing donor site disturbances are recommended, such as the choice of the adequate donor site (localization, hydrologic conditions, vegetation), the use of less disruptive methods, and harvesting when the soil is deeply frozen. This study demonstrated that harvesting surface plant material for peatland restoration is not detrimental towards the recovery of near‐natural peatland ecosystems.

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Sphagnum farming: A long-term study on producing peat moss biomass sustainably

Cited by 51 publications

References 28 publications

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems

Physical Properties of Organic Soil: Adapting Mineral Soil Concepts to Horticultural Growing Media and Histosol Characterization

Harvesting surface vegetation does not impede self‐recovery of Sphagnum peatlands

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