BUREAU OF GEOLOGY


 In Florida, peat deposits occur above or below the watertable (Davis,
1946; Gurr, 1972). Wet peat deposits occur if the watertable remains
relatively high. Peat may be actively accumulating in these settings.
Certain areas within the Everglades, the coastal mangrove peats, and
some lake-fringing peat deposits, such as the one associated with Lake
Istokpoga, are examples of deposits which occur below the watertable.
In other instances, peat deposits are now located above the watertable
due to drainage instigated to enhance the land for agricultural use. The
Everglades agricultural region contains numerous tracts drained for this
purpose. Other deposits have apparently been drained as a result of
regional lowering of the watertable. Most peatlands in Florida occur at or
below the watertable and, thus, are very frequently also wetlands.

 INVENTORY OF PEAT IN FLORIDA

 by
 Paulette Bond

 Mapping and Evaluating the Peat Resource

 There is no comprehensive inventory of Florida's peat deposits cur-
rently in print. Excluding the early work of Robert Ransom, peat was not
considered as a fuel source in Florida; and several scattered deposits
were adequate to satisfy the state's agricultural and horticultural needs.
Thus, neither interest nor funding were available for a complete peat
inventory in the recent past.
 It is important to point out that a comprehensive inventory of Florida's
peat resource is, of necessity, a massive undertaking. The reasons for
this difficulty are manifold. Florida is currently estimated to have 6.9
billion tons of peat contained in approximately 4,700 square miles (U.S.
Department of Energy, 1979, p. 16). This peat occurs in a variety of
geologic settings which are both discontinuous and widely distributed
across the breadth and length of the state. The various geologic settings
of peat in Florida are discussed in a previous section, "Geologic Settings
of Peat Accumulation in Florida".
 These difficulties are compounded by the inaccessibility of many peat-
producing areas. Peat actively accumulates in wetland situations typified
by fresh water marshes, swamps, and mangrove swamps. Much of Flori-
da's peat occurs in the Everglades region (Figure 12). Due to extensive
drainage in the Everglades the exact thickness and extent of the peat has
decreased since Figure 12 (Davis, 1946) was prepared. Many of these
areas are not accessible to conventional vehicles. Their size and charac-
ter may render foot travel unfeasible. Some, but not all, sites may be
accessible to boats. Coring equipment for taking samples and measuring
thickness must, in addition, accompany any field party charged with
assessing peat reserves.
 A realistic appraisal of Florida's peat resource is further complicated by