The peat resources in Sweden

摘要

Assessments of the Swedish peat resources have so far been based on non-uniform observations of peat thickness,originating from various sets of data collected for different purposes.As a result,the estimates of the total peat volume suffer from unreliability and low accuracy.Since 2003,a nationwide and systematic collection of data has been made,including measurements of peat thickness down to a depth of 5 m.The aims of this study were to analyse this new data and assess both total peat resources in Sweden as well as the volume of peat on drained peatlands as a basis for an analysis of the potential for future peat harvesting in the country.The total peat volume on drained and undrained peatlands was calculated to be ca 95 billion m~3,and the potential of peat for harvesting,on drained peatlands of sufficient size,was about 8 billion m~3.Based on the present harvesting pace this volume would last for approximately 2,500 years.