SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 27


 AGRICULTURE

 Agricultural uses of peat are similar to horticultural uses. The peat is
utilized as a growing medium (soil) for agricultural crops. The material is
not mined, however, drainage is generally necessary to provide the
proper moisture conditions.
 Hemic and sapric peats, as well as mucks, are utilized for agricultural
purposes. Fibric peats typically are not suitable due to the low pH (acidic)
which makes nutrients unavailable to many plants (Farnam and Lever,
1980). Large areas of Florida peats and mucks are utilized for agricultural
purposes.

 ENERGY CROPS

 Growing energy crops for plant biomass production allows peatlands
to be utilized to produce renewable energy sources. Plant biomass can be
harvested and burned directly or can be gasified to produce liquid and
gaseous fuels. Energy crops can be an alternative to conventional mining
(using the peat as a growing medium) or can be utilized as a reclamation
technique on mined out peatlands (Minnesota DNR, 1981).
 Plants which may be suitable for energy crop use in wetlands include:
cattails, reeds and sedges, willow, and alder (Minnesota DNR, 1981).
These wetland species have two distinct advantages over conventional
crops for use in biomass energy production: 1) the biomass productivity
of wetland species is often higher than conventional crops (corn, soy-
beans, etc.) and 2) they can be grown in wetlands unsuitable for conven-
tional crop plants and thus do not compete with conventional crop pro-
duction (Minnesota DNR, 1981).

 Sewage Treatment

 Peat has been utilized in the tertiary treatment of waste water both in
the U.S. and in Europe. The primary objective is to reduce nutrient levels,
primarily phosphorous and nitrogen (Minnesota DNR, 1981).
 Phosphorous is removed from solution by bacteria present in that por-
tion of the peat exposed to air. Bacterial metabolism converts the phos-
phorous to insoluble forms. Chemical reactions with calcium, aluminum
and iron present in the peat also remove phosphorous from solution
(Nichols, 1980).
 Nitrogen is metabolized by anaerobic bacteria, converting nitrate in the
waste water to gaseous nitrogen which is released to the atmosphere
(Nichols, 1980). Additional nutrients are removed through uptake by
plants growing on the peat surface.
 Three methods are commonly used for the tertiary treatments of waste
water. Two utilize the peat in place, the third utilizes excavated peat
(Minnesota DNR, 1981). If peat is to be used in place, waste water may
be introduced in one of two ways. The waste water can be introduced