What is a moor?

A moor is described geologically and pedologically as an area with at least a 30 cm layer of peat. There are three main bog types: Low moors, transition bogs and high moors.

Low moors are connected to groundwater; they have a large number of species and are mostly rich in nutrients. Low moors formed from the drying up of water bodies. High moors arise in areas with high precipitations and low evaporation and they are not connected to groundwater. They do not have many species and are not rich in nutrients.

High moor peat is by far the most important raw material in commercial horticulture because of its many favorable qualities for substrates. Over 40 million m³ of peat worldwide is processed for gardening substrates and potting soils each year. Both the harvesting method and further processing have a particularly strong influence on the quality of the peat.