How can peat self-heat and how can that be prevented?

The self-heating of peat can happen when the sods are still piled in the field. It is caused by a rising temperature in the material, independent of the outside temperature. It has to do with microbially induced biochemical events.

The danger of self-heating exists when the piled up peat has different degrees of wetness and this increases when the large piles have weighted pressure. The danger gets bigger the warmer the peat is at the time of storage. Therefore on hot harvest days the "harvests" takes place only in the evening hours, which means the peat is brought to the pile later in the day. One recognizes self-heating by the smell of "soup seasoning". Self-heated peat tends to mold and have a higher pH. In general, self-heated peat is not suitable for making substrate.