Peat

2023

General information and occurrence

Peat is an organic sediment originated in a humid environment as a result of an accumulation and peat-formation of an organic matter mainly of a plant origin. The peat-formation process is generally based on the partial organic matter decomposition in a limited oxygen access. There are physical, chemical and microbiological transformations occurring during this process. Depending on environmental conditions and a type of the turfogenic vegetation (biotope), as well as on accumulation conditions and changes of these factors, various types and kinds of peat are formed. They differ in their appearance, composition and properties.

According to genetic features, there are low, high and medium peat distinguished. The low peat originates on peatlands (low) occurring in swampy river valleys, in ground dips and on lake edges. That type of peat is reach in food ingredients supplied by surface and deep-seated water. The high peat originates on peatlands (high) located on divides or within the zones located above the surrounding areas which are supplied only by rainwater. They are characterized by a low content of the food ingredients and higher acidity than the low peat. The medium peat combines the features of both peat types mentioned above. Most of peat originated in the late-Quaternary, mainly in the Holocene.

Peatlands are the element of wetlands ecosystem. Natural and dehydrated wetlands cover the area of about 4.4 million hectares in Poland, that is 14.2% of the total country area. There have been about 52 thousands of peatlands (each with an area exceeding 1 hectare) catalogued. They cover an area of about 1.3 million hectares in total and it accounts for 30% of wetlands area and 4% of the area of Poland. Low peatlands dominate, accounting for more than 92%, high peatlands account for about 4.7%, whereas medium peatlands for about 3%. The peat beds thickness is of 1.6 m on average (maximum of 11.5 m)*.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1^st of July 2015 regarding the geological documentation of a mineral raw material deposit, excluding a hydrocarbons field (Journal of Laws 2015, Item 987) the limit values of the parameters that define the raw material deposit and its boundaries are (Appendix 8):

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

Nowadays, a so-called ‘agriculture peat’ is used mainly in the agriculture, gardening (mushroom growing), fruit-growing, forestry and in the reclamation processes. Such peat is characterized by the features improving a soil structure and air-water conditions. Peat is also a base for the production of a garden peat, a peat base, mineral peat mixtures and an agriculture peat.

Therapeutical peat – muds – is used in balneology for peat baths, poultices and for the production of medicine items and cosmetics. Such muds have to be of a proper microbiologically cleanness, in an advanced decay of organic matter, of a smooth mud consistency, with a high content of active organic compounds and of a moisture content over 75% and should not be affected by freezing and defreezing. An application of muds for therapeutical purposes in health treatment (and also other natural therapeutical raw materials) is regulated by: the Act of the 28^th of July 2005 on Health Resort Medical Care, Health Resorts and Health Resort Protection Areas and Health Resort Counties (Journal of Laws 2005, Item 1301, unified text) and the Regulation by the Minister of Health of the 13^th of April 2006 on the scope of studies necessary to establish therapeutical features of natural therapeutical raw materials and therapeutical features of climate, criteria for their assessment and the certificate template confirming such features (Journal of Laws 2018, Item 605, unified text).

In the past, peat in Poland was also used as a fuel, a raw material for chemical industry, for production of a cardboard, fiberboard and as a sorbent. Nowadays, there are imported briquettes and pellets made of peat available on Polish market – they are used as fuel.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

Resources and output

As of the end of 2023, the anticipated economic resources of peat (agriculture and therapeutical) amounted to 99.732 million m³, including: the agriculture peat resources equal 89.103 million m³ accounting for 89.3% of the total resources, and the therapeutical peat resources equal 10.630 million m³ accounting for 10.7% of the total resources.

In comparison with the previous year, the resources above mentioned increased by 1.327 million m³ (1.3%) in total, including: the agriculture peat resources grew by 1.302 million m³ (1.5%), whereas the therapeutical peat resources increased by 0.025 million m³ (0.2%).

In 2023, there were 7 new deposits included in “The balance…” and there were 17 new documentations (supplements) with recalculated resources approved, including:

there were 7 new deposits of the agriculture peat documented: Krychów (0.136 million m³) and Nadzieja (0.756 million m³) in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Jedlno-Pierwsze (0.828 million m³) in Łódzkie Voivodeship, Kisiny (1.223 million m³) in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, Kobylnica MN (0.026 million m³) in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship, Bucz KR (0.033 million m³) in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship, Bucz KI II (0.032 million m³) in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship; the resources increase for the agriculture peat amount in total to 3.035 million m³;
9 deposits were crossed out from the registry after elaboration of new documentations (supplements) with resources settlement: Andrzejów and Kolechowice VI – Lubelskie Voivodeship, Karszyn CA – Lubuskie Voivodeship, Pieróg IV and Wyrzyki IV – Mazowieckie Voivodeship, Boruja Nowa AO, Bucz KI, Bucz LG II. Bucz MG – Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. The total resources drop amounted to 0.417 million m³;
there were 7 new documentations (supplements) with recalculated resources elaborated to resources and deposits boundaries updating: Roszczyce II and Wieliszewo I – Pomorskie Voivodeship, Biskupiec Kolonia Druga and Nibork Drugi – Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, Wiłkajcie-Niedrzwica III – Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, Długa Goślina I, Gorszewice AW 2 – Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. Resources updating resulted in resources drop equal 0.077 million m³ in total;
1 supplement for the therapeutical peat (muds) deposit – Pasturka – Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship; the supplement was elaborated due to new raw material qualitative parameters tests – resources remained unchanged.

As a result of deposits data verification, there were made some changes for the muds deposit Wieniec-A,B,C. Previously, there were only resources of field B documented; whereas after the verification, each of the 3 fields are presented separately: Wieniec-A, B, C-field A (exploitation abandoned), Wieniec-A, B, C-field B (exploited), Wieniec-A, B, C-field C (non-exploited, 0.031 million m³). The resources growth amounts to 0.033 million m³.

The total peat output amounted in 2023 to 1,200.49 thousand m³ and increased by 9.08 thousand m³ (0.8%) in comparison with 2022. The exploitation was carried out from 52 deposits.

The agriculture peat was exploited from 42 deposits. The output was equal 1,192.97 thousand m³ (99.4% of the total peat output) and increased by 7.53 thousand m³ (0.6%) in comparison with 2022. For the particular deposits the output volumes varied significantly – between 0.2 thousand m³ and 135 thousand m³. The therapeutical peat was exploited from 10 deposits. The output amounted to 7.52 thousand m³ of muds (0.6% of the total peat output) – by 1.55 thousand m³ (26.0%) more than in the previous year. The output volumes for particular deposits varied from several cubic meters to 2.73 thousand m³.

Regarding particular Voivodeships, the peat output (agriculture and muds) was as follows (descending sequence): Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.270 million m³ (22.5% of the domestic output), Lubeskie Voivodeship 0.252 million m³ (21.0%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.204 million m³ (17.0%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.136 million m³ (11.3%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.112 million m³ (9.3%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.089 million m³ (7.4%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.073 million m³ (6.1%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.057 million m³ (4.7%), Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.003 million m³ (0.3%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.003 million m³ (0.3%), Małopolskie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.2%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.001 million m³ (0.1%), In Dolnośląskie, Łódzkie, Opolskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeships the exploitation has not been carried out.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2023.

The economic resources of peat are determined for 52 deposits and amount to 31.649 million m³, including: 27.985 million m³ (88.4%) of the agriculture peat and 3.664 million m³ (11.6%) of muds. The resources decreased by 0.843 million m³ (2.6%) in comparison with the previous year.

Temporarily, peat is exploited in the vicinities of Bełchatów during the process of making the brown coal beds available for mining. In 2023, peat was not exploited from the overburden of the coal beds.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

The state of the resources exploration and the state of the deposits development, together with the output amounts from particular deposits are presented in the following tables: Table 2 – the agriculture peat; Table 3 – the therapeutical peat (muds). There are 2 deposits marked with *: Puścizna Wielka and Bronów A, in which both the agriculture peat and the muds have been documented.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. Agriculture peat – thousand m³

Table 3. Therapeutical peat (muds) – thousand m³

The prognostic resources of peat in Poland are assessed to be equal at least 335.95 million m³ within at least 2,059 areas characterized by the deposit potential**. The majority, that is almost 77.2%, is located in the northern part of Poland, within the following Voivodeships: Zachodniopomorskie (8.7%), Pomorskie (28.2%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (6.3%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie (17.9%) and Podlaskie (16.1%). The significant resources base is also located in Lubelskie (10.5%) and Małopolskie (8.0%) Voivodeships. The mentioned above Voivodeships cover 46% of the area of Poland and account for 95.7% of the prognostic resources of peat. Only 4.6% of the prognostic resources is located within the remaining 54% of the country area.

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

* System Informacji Przestrzennej o Mokradłach Polski; http://www.gis-mokradla.info/html/index.php?page=mokradla, Instytut Technologiczno-Przyrodniczy – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy (the Institute of Technology and Life Sciences – National Research Institute) [in Polish].

** Kasiński J.R., 2020 – ‘Torf (peat)’. In: ‘Bilans perspektywicznych zasobów kopalin Polski wg stanu na 31.12.2018 r.’ (eds. Szamałek K., Szuflicki M., Mizerski W.): 382-386. PIG-PIB, Warszawa [in Polish].

2022

General information and occurrence

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

Resources and output

As of the end of 2022, the anticipated economic resources of peat (agriculture and therapeutical) amounted to 98.405 million m³, including: the agriculture peat resources equal 87.801 million m³ accounting for 89.2% of the total resources, and the therapeutical peat resources equal 10.605 million m³ accounting for 10.8% of the total resources.

In comparison with the previous year, the resources above mentioned increased by 4.151 million m³ (4.4%) in total, including: the agriculture peat resources grew by 3.726 million m³ (4.4%), whereas the therapeutical peat resources increased by 0.425 million m³ (4.2%).

There were 12 new deposits included in ‘The balance…’, including:

7 deposits of the agriculture peat: Kolechowice VIII (0.041 million m³) in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Popławy-Wyrzyki (0.196 million m³) in Mazowieckie Voivodeship, Jałowiec II (1.734 million m³), Poliksy II (0.100 million m³), Półkownikówka (2.761 million m³) and Wołcza Wielka (0.101 million m³) in Pomorskie Voivodeship (total resources 4.697 million m³) and Kamień II (0.104 million m³) in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship; the resources increase for the agriculture peat amount in total to 5.038 million m³;
5 deposits of the therapeutical peat (muds): Puścizna Wielka II (0.375 million m³ – allocated from the Puścizna Wielka deposit) and Puścizna Wielka II/1 (0.061 million m³ – allocated from the Puścizna Wielka II deposit) in Małopolskie Voivodeship, Zabłocie T (0.045 million m³) in Śląskie Voivodeship, Janów (0.008 million m³) and Pasturka (0.006 million m³) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In total 0.431 million m³, including: 0.059 million m³ of newly documented resources and 0.372 million m³ of resources allocated from existing deposits.

There were 7 new documentations with recalculated resources (supplements) approved, including:

4 supplements for the agriculture peat deposits: Michałów I in Lubelskie Voivodeship (there were resources documented in a higher C₁ category, the resources amount remained unchanged), whereas non-depleted resources of the Konotop IV deposit in Lubuskie Voivodeship, the Perlino deposit in Pomorskie Voivodeship and the Kamień I deposit in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship were crossed out from the registry – the total drop of the resources is equal 0.122 million m³;
1 supplement for the agriculture and therapeutical peat (muds) Puścizna Wielka deposit in Małopolskie Voivodeship (the resources updated after the allocation of the Puścizna Wielka II deposit);
2 supplements for the therapeutical peat (muds) deposits: Puścizna Wielka II in Małopolskie Voivodeship (the resources updated after the allocation of the Puścizna Wielka II/1 deposit), Zabłocie in Śląskie Voivodeship (the resources updated and the exploitation settled).

The total peat output amounted in 2022 to 1,191.41 thousand m³ and decreased by 51.11 thousand m³ (4.1%) in comparison with 2021. The exploitation was carried out from 57 deposits (the output from three deposits ended in 2022; the output from six deposits started). The agriculture peat was exploited from 46 deposits. The output was equal 1,185.44 thousand m³ (99.6% of the total peat output) and decreased by 52.99 thousand m³ (4.3%) in comparison with 2021. For the particular deposits the output volumes varied significantly – between 0.2 and 136 thousand m³. The therapeutical peat was exploited from 11 deposits. The output amounted to 5.97 thousand m³ of muds (0.5% of the total peat output) – by 1.87 thousand m³ (46.0%) more than in the previous year. The output volumes for particular deposits varied from several cubic meters to 2.14 thousand m³.

Regarding the particular Voivodeships, the peat output (agriculture and muds) was as follows (descending sequence): Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.244 million m³ (20.5% of the domestic output), Lubeskie Voivodeship 0.214 million m³ (18.0%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.190 million m³ (15.9%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.140 million m³ (11.8%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.136 million m³ (11.4%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.093 million m³ (7.8%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.091 million m³ (7.6%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.070 million m³ (5.9%), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship 0.004 million m³ (0.3%), Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.003 million m³ (0.3%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.003 million m³ (0.3%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.2%), In Dolnośląskie, Łódzkie, Małopolskie and Opolskie Voivodeships the exploitation has not been carried out.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2022.

The economic resources of peat are determined for 54 deposits and amount to 32.492 million m³, including: 28.787 million m³ (88.6%) of the agriculture peat and 3.705 million m³ (11.4%) of the muds. The resources increased by 0.032 million m³ (0.9%) in comparison with the previous year.

Temporarily, peat is exploited in the vicinities of Bełchatów during the process of making the brown coal beds available for mining. In 2022, from the overburden of the Bełchatów-pole Szczerców deposit, there were 0.014 million m³ of peat obtain (the volume is not included into the data given above and in the Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. Agriculture peat – thousand m³

Table 3. Therapeutical peat (muds) – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2021

General information and occurrence

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

Resources and output

As of the end of 2021, the anticipated economic resources of peat (agriculture and therapeutical) amounted to 94.254 million m³, including: the agriculture peat resources equal 84.075 million m³ accounting for 89.2% of the total resources, and the therapeutical peat resources equal 10.179 million m³ accounting for 10.8% of the total resources.

In comparison with the previous year, the resources above mentioned increased by 2.688 million m³ (2.9%) in total, including: the agriculture peat resources grew by 2.655 million m³ (3.3%), whereas the therapeutical peat resources increased by 0.033 million m³ (0.3%).

There were twelve new deposits included in ‘The balance…’, including:

ten deposits of the agriculture peat: Andrzejów III (0.065 million m³), Andrzejów IV (0.081 million m³), Andrzejów V (0.098 million m³), Michałów I (0.043 million m³), Michałów II (0.012 million m³) in Lubelskie Voivodeship (total resources 0.299 million m³); Stare Glinki (0.041 million m³) in Mazowieckie Voivodeship; Klejniki–Gorodczyno (2.928 million m³) in Podlaskie Voivodeship; Mnin II (0.561 million m³) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship; Bucz KI I (0.050 million m³) and Radawnica 1 (0.031 million m³) in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship – the resources increase for the agriculture peat amount in total to 3.911 million m³;
two deposits of the therapeutical peat (muds): Borek (0.021 million m³) in Opolskie Voivodeship, Park Słowackiego (0.017 million m³) in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship – the resources growth for the muds amount in total to about 0.038 million m³.

The total resources growth coming from new deposits documentations is equal 3.949 million m³ of the agriculture peat and the muds.

Geological documentations of eleven of above mentioned deposits were approved in 2021, whereas the documentation of the Borek deposit was approved in 2000 but this deposit has not been included intio ‘The balance…’ so far (the deposit has not been exploited so far). There were also two new documentations with recalculated resources (supplements) approved for the agriculture peat: the resources of the exploited Sienno I deposit were updated (Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship), and the Andrzejów II/1 deposit (Lubelskie Voivodeship) was crossed out from the registry after the resources of this deposit had been settled (depleted deposit).

The total peat output amounted in 2021 to 1,242.52 thousand m³ and decreased by 70.50 thousand m³ (5.4%) in comparison with 2020. The exploitation was carried out from 63 deposits (the output from three deposits ended in 2021; the output from four deposits started). The agriculture peat was exploited from 54 deposits. The output was equal 1,238.43 thousand m³ (99.7% of the total peat output) and decreased by 65.39 thousand m³ (5.0%) in comparison with 2020. For the particular deposits the output volumes varied significantly – between 0.1 and 141 thousand m³. The therapeutical peat was exploited from nine deposits. The output amounted to 4.09 thousand m³ of muds (0.3% of the total peat output) – by 5.11 thousand m³ (55.5%) less than in the previous year. The output volumes for particular deposits varied from several cubic meters to 2.07 thousand m³. The much significant output drop of muds was probably caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the reduction of therapeutical activity of health resorts.

Regarding the particular Voivodeships, the peat output (agriculture and muds) was as follows (descending sequence): Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.280 million m³ (22.5% of the domestic output), Lubeskie Voivodeship 0.214 million m³ (17.2%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.178 million m³ (14.3%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.141 million m³ (11.3%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.141 million m³ (11.3%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.105 million m³ (8.5%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.098 million m³ (7.9%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.064 million m³ (5.2%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.011 million m³ (0.9%), Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.007 million m³ (0.6%), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.2%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.001 million m³ (0.1%), In Dolnośląskie, Łódzkie, Małopolskie and Opolskie Voivodeships the exploitation has not been carried out.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2021.

The economic resources of peat are determined for 56 deposits and amount to 33.286 million m³, including: 29.613 million m³ (89.0%) of the agriculture peat and 3.673 million m³ (11.0%) of the muds. The resources decreased by 1.436 million m³ (4.1%) in comparison with the previous year.

Temporarily, peat is exploited in the vicinities of Bełchatów during the process of making the brown coal beds available for mining. In 2021, from the overburden of the Bełchatów-pole Szczerców deposit, there were 0.061 million m³ of peat obtain (the volume is not included into the data given above and in the tables 1 and 2).

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

The state of the resources exploration and the state of the deposits development, together with the output amounts from particular deposits are presented in the following tables: Table 2 – the agriculture peat; Table 3 – the therapeutical peat (muds). There are two deposits marked with *: Puścizna Wielka and Bronów A, in which both the agriculture peat and the muds have been documented.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. Agriculture peat – thousand m³

Table 3. Therapeutical peat (muds) – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2020

General information and occurrence

Peat is an organic sediment originated in a humid environment as the result of an accumulation and a peat-formation of an organic matter mainly of a plant origin. The peat-formation process is generally based on the organic matter decomposition in a limited oxygen access. There are physical, chemical and microbiological transformations occurring during this process. Depending on the environmental conditions and the type of the turfogenic vegetation (biotope), as well as on the accumulation conditions and the changes of these factors, the various types and kinds of peat are formed. They differ in their appearance, composition and properties.

According to the genetic features, there are low, high and medium peat distinguished. The low peat originates on peatlands (low) occurring in swampy river valleys, in ground dips and on lake edges. That type of peat is reach in food ingredients supplied by surface and deep-seated water. The high peat originates on peatlands (high) located on divides or within the zones located above the surrounding areas which are supplied only by rainwater. They are characterized by a low content of the food ingredients and a higher acidity than the low peat. The medium peat combines the features of both peat types mentioned above. Most of peat originated in the late-Quaternary, mainly in the Holocene.

The distribution of peatlands and peat deposits is uneven in Poland. They commonly occur in northern and north-western Poland and within the Lubelszczyzna area. In other regions their number, thickness and dispersion decrease. More than 50% of peatlands are located in the northern part of Poland. They cover an area of about 1.2 million hectares containing above 17 billion m³ of peat. Up to the present, about 50,000 peatlands have been catalogued by the Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming in Falenty (currently: the Institute of Technology and Life Sciences). From this number about 36% form a potential resource basis for the peat exploitation. Only a minor part of these areas, presented in a further part of the chapter, has been explored and can be treated as deposits within the meaning of the Geological and Mining Law.

Therapeutical peat deposits (muds) occur commonly in Poland – only in Łódzkie Voviodeship there have not been any resources documented.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1^st of July 2015 regarding the geological documentation of a mineral raw material deposit, excluding a hydrocarbons field (number of Polish act: Dz. U. 2015, poz. 987) the limit values of the parameters that define the raw material deposit are (Appendix 8):

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

Nowadays, a so-called ‘agriculture peat’ is used mainly in the agriculture, gardening, fruit-growing, forestry and in the reclamation processes. Such peat is characterized by the features improving a soil structure and air-water conditions. Peat is also a base for the production of a garden peat, a peat base, mineral peat mixtures and an agriculture peat.

Therapeutical peat – muds – is used in a balneology for the peat baths, poultices and for the production of medicine items. Such muds have to be microbiologically clean, in an advanced decay of organic matter, of a smooth mud consistency, with a high content of the active organic compounds, a moisture content over 75% and should not be affected by freezing and defreezing.

In the past, peat was also used as a fuel, a raw material for chemical industry, for production of a cardboard, fiberboard and as a sorbent. Nowadays, there are imported briquettes and pellets made of peat available on Polish market – they are used as fuel. Their production in Poland probably is not carried out or the scale of the production is minor.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

Resources and output

In 2020, the anticipated economic resources of peat (agriculture and therapeutical) amounted to 91.566 million m³, decreasing by 0.854 million m³ (that is by 0.9%) in relation to the previous year. The agriculture peat resources amounted to 81.420 million m³ accounting for 88.9% of the total resources, whereas the therapeutical peat resources are equal 10.146 million m³ accounting for 11.1% of the total.

There were 5 new deposits included in ‘The balance…’ – their geological documentations were approved in 2020. They include 4 agriculture peat deposits: Kolechowice VII in Lubelskie Voivodeship (53 thousand m³), Bucz MG (21 thousand m³), Kuźnica Zbąska JP I (6 thousand m³), Stawnica I (606 thousand m³) in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship and the muds deposit Niedrzwica 5 in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship (6 thousand m³, allocated from Niedrzwica 4 deposit).

There were also 7 new documentations with recalculated resources approved, from which in 4 cases the decisions on crossing out the deposit from ‘The balance…’ were made.

There was the resources settlement made for Imszar III deposit in Podlaskie Voivodeship (the extinction of the exploitation concession) and the resources of Niedrzwica deposit (the change of the balancing criteria) and Niedrzwica 4 (allocated from Niedrzwica 5 deposit) in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship were updated.

There were 3 agriculture peat deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’: Kulczyn Kolonia in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Biskupice MS and Bucz LG I in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship (their exploitation ended and non-exploited resources were in majority classified to losses) and the resources of muds deposit Ustka (194 thousand m³ due to the maintaining microbiological contamination exceeding the limit values – such contamination precludes the raw material application in the balneology) which has not been exploited so far.

The total peat output amounted in 2020 to 1.313 million m³ and increased by 0.124 million m³ (10.4%) in comparison with 2019. The exploitation was carried out from 57 deposits (the output from 3 deposits ended in 2020; from Puścizna Wielka deposit there were both agriculture peat and muds exploited). The agriculture peat was exploited from 49 deposits. The output was equal 1.304 million m³ (99.3% of the total peat output) and increased by 0.123 million m³ (10.4%) in comparison with 2019. For the particular deposits the output volumes are varied within the range between 0.1 and 133 thousand m³. The therapeutical peat was exploited from 9 deposits. The output amounted to 9.20 thousand m³ of muds (0.7% of the total peat output) – by 0.55 thousand m³ (6.4%) less than in the previous year. The output volumes for particular deposits varied between 0.01 and 4.91 thousand m³.

In the Voivodeship terms, the peat output (agriculture and muds) was as follows: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.319 million m³ (24.3% of the domestic output), Lubeskie Voivodeship 0.263 million m³ (20.1%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.182 million m³ (13.9%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.144 million m³ (10.9%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.120 million m³ (9.2%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.094 million m³ (7.2%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.093 million m³ (7.1%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.075 million m³ (5.7%), Małopolskie Voivodeship 0.006 million m³ (0.4%), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship 0.005 million m³ (0.4%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.004 million m³ (0.3%), Łódzkie Voivodeship 0.004 million m³ (0.3%), Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.1%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.1%). In Dolnośląskie and Opolskie Voivodeships the exploitation has not been carried out.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2020.

The economic resources of peat established for 63 deposits amount to 34.722 million m³, including: 31.029 million m³ (89.4%) of agriculture peat and 3.693 million m³ (10.6%) of muds. The resources decreased by 0.913 million m³ (2.6%) in comparison with the previous year.

Temporarily, peat (and also other ‘co-occurring’ raw materials) is being exploited from the overburden of the brown coal in the vicinities of Bełchatów during the process of making the deposit available for mining. Nevertheless, in 2020 the exploitation was not recorded.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. Agriculture peat – thousand m³

Table 3. Therapeutical peat (muds) – thousand m³

The prognostic resources of peat in Poland are assessed to be equal at least 335.95 million m³ within at least 2,059 areas characterized by the deposit potential*. The majority, that is almost 77.2%, is located in the northern part of Poland, within the following Voivodeships: Zachodniopomorskie (8.7%), Pomorskie (28.2%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (6.3%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie (17.9%) and Podlaskie (16.1%). The significant resources base is also located in Lubelskie (10.5%) and Małopolskie (8.0%) Voivodeships. The mentioned above Voivodeships cover 46% of the area of Poland and account for 95.7% of the prognostic resources of peat. Only 4.6% of the prognostic resources is located within the remaining 54% of the country area.

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

* Kasiński J.R., 2020 – ‘Torf (peat)’. In: ‘Bilans perspektywicznych zasobów kopalin Polski wg stanu na 31.12.2018 r.’ (eds. Szamałek K., Szuflicki M., Mizerski W.): 382-386. PIG-PIB, Warszawa [in Polish].

2019

General information and occurrence

The distribution of peatlands and peat deposits is uneven in Poland. They commonly occur in northern and north-western Poland and within the Lubelszczyzna area. In other regions their number, thickness and dispersion decrease. More than 50% of peatlands are located in the northern part of Poland. They cover an area of about 1.2 million hectares containing above 17 billion m³ of peat. Up to the present, about 50,000 peatlands have been catalogued by the Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming. From this number about 36% form a potential resource basis for the peat exploitation. Only a minor part of these areas, presented in a further part of the chapter, has been explored and can be treated as deposits within the meaning of the Geological and Mining Law.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1^st of July 2015 regarding the geological documentation of a mineral raw material deposit, excluding a hydrocarbons field (number of Polish act: Dz. U. 2015, poz. 987) the limit values of the parameters that define the raw material deposit are (Appendix 8):

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

In the past, peat was also used as a fuel, a raw material for chemical industry, for production of a cardboard, fiberboard and as a sorbent.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

Resources and output

In 2019, the anticipated economic resources of peat (agriculture and therapeutical) amounted to 92,420 million m³, increasing by 0.725 million m³ (that is by 0.8%) in relation to the previous year.

The anticipated economic resources of agriculture peat, have been documented in 262 deposits, are equal 82,740 million m³ which accounts for 88.8% of the total anticipated economic resources of peat.

The therapeutical peat (muds) resources, documented in 38 deposits, amount to 10.346 million m³ accounting for 11.2% of the total documented resources of peat. The muds deposits are distributed almost across the whole country. Only in Łódzkie Voivodeship no single muds deposits has been documented.

There were 6 new agriculture peat deposits included in ‘The balance…’, for which the geological documentations were approved in 2019: Dąbrówka Nowa IV (11 thousand m³) in Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship, Kulczyn Kolonia (19 thousand m³) in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Konotop V (465 thousand m³) in Lubuskie Voivodeship, Imszar IV (1,396 thousand m³) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, Góry Łubiańskie (20 thousand m³) in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship; Jastrowie I (54 thousand m³) in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. The total resources of the newly documented deposits amount to 1.965 thousand m³. There were not any new documentations for therapeutical peat elaborated in 2019.

In 2019 there were 6 new documentations with recalculated resources approved. There were the resources for 5 deposits updated: Chrośna I in Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship, Andrzejów in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Imszar II in Podlaskie Voivodeship, Babice in Śląskie Voivodeship, Rucianka in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship. In turn, after the resources settlement, there were 4 deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’ in 2018: Michałów, Andrzejów II in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Studzieniec in Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Biskupice TS in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. About 0.068 million m³ of peat were reclassified into losses.

According to the information sent by concession holders to the PGI-NRI, the exploitation of peat was carried out from 66 deposits. The total output amounted to 1.189 million m³ in 2019 decreasing by 0.189 million m³ (13.7%) in comparison with the previous year.

The agriculture peat was being exploited from 54 deposits (2 deposits were abandonded and the deposits were crossed out of ‘The balance…’). The output was equal 1,181 million m³ (99.4% of the total peat output) and dropped by 0.190 million m³ in comparison with 2018. For the particular deposits the output volume was within the range of 0.2 thousand m³ and 133 thousand m³.

The output of the therapeutical peat was being carried out from 12 deposits. The output amounted to 8.65 thousand m³ (0.7% of the total peat output) which accounted for 94.6% of the output recorded in 2018 (the drop by 0.44 thousand m³). The amount of muds exploited from the particular deposits was within the range of 4.7 m³ to 2.59 thousand m³. In Puścizna Wielka deposit both of peat types occur, however only the agriculture peat was exploited in 2019.

In the Voivodeship terms, the peat output (agriculture and muds) was as follows: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.288 million m³ (24.2% of the domestic output), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.189 million m³ (15.6%), Lubelskie Voivodeship 0.180 million m³ (15.2%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.152 million m³ (12.8%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.101 million m³ (8.5%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.089 million m³ (7.5%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.086 million m³ (7.2%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.082 million m³ (6.9%), Łódzkie Voivodeship 0.013 million m³ (1.1%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.006 million m³ (0.5%), Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.004 million m³ (0.3%), Małopolskie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.2%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.001 million m³ (0.0%). In Dolnośląskie, Opolskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeships the exploitation has not been carried out.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2019.

The economic resources of peat established for 63 deposits amount to 35.635 million m³ which accounts for 74.3% of the anticipated economic resources of these deposits. The resources decreased by 0.262 million m³ (0.7%) in comparison with the previous year. There were the economic resources established for the following deposits: Potulice and Krowie Bagno VIII – the total resources growth was equal 0.848 million m³.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. Agriculture peat – thousand m³

Table 3. Therapeutical peat (muds) – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2018

The distribution of peatlands and peat deposits is uneven in Poland. They commonly occur in northern and north-western Poland and within the Lubelszczyzna area. In other regions their number, thickness and dispersion decrease. More than 50% of peatlands are located in the northern part of Poland. They cover an area of about 1.2 million hectares containing above 17 billion m³ of peat. Up to the present, about 50,000 peatlands have been catalogued by the Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming. From this number about 36% form a potential resource basis for the peat exploitation. Only a minor part of these areas, presented in a further part of the chapter, has been explored and can be treated as deposits within the meaning of the Geological and Mining Law.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1^st of July 2015 regarding the geological documentation of a mineral raw material deposit, excluding a hydrocarbons field (number of Polish act: Dz. U. 2015, poz. 987) the limit values of the parameters that define the raw material deposit are (Appendix 8):

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

Nowadays, a so-called ‘agriculture peat’ is used mainly in the agriculture, gardening, fruit-growing, forestry and in the reclamation processes. Such peat is characterized by features improving a soil structure and air-water conditions. Peat is also a base for the production of a garden peat, a peat base, mineral peat mixtures and an agriculture peat.

Therapeutical peat – muds – is used in a balneology for the peat baths, poultices and for production of medicine items. Such muds have to be microbiologically clean, in an advanced decay of organic matter, of a smooth mud consistency, with a high content of the active organic compounds, a moisture content over 75% and should not be affected by freezing and defreezing.

In the past, peat was also used as a fuel, a raw material for chemical industry, for production of a cardboard, fiberboard and as a sorbent.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2018, anticipated economic resources of peat (agriculture and therapeutical) amounted to 91.695 million m³, increasing only by 2.665 million m³ (3.0%) in relation to the previous year (Table 1).

The anticipated economic resources of agriculture peat, have been documented in 261 deposits, are equal 81.340 million m³ which accounts for 88.7% of the total anticipated economic resources of peat.

Therapeutical peat (muds) resources, documented in 38 deposits, amount to 10.355 million m³ accounting for 11.3% of the total documented resources of peat. The muds deposits are distributed almost across the whole country. Only in Łódzkie Voivodeship no single muds deposits has been documented.

There were 11 new peat deposits included in ‘The balance…’, for which the geological documentations were approved in 2018: 10 deposits of the agriculture peat and 1 deposit of mud. These are: Nowy Stręczyn I (907.22 thousand m³), Stoczek I (609.63 thousand m³), Skruda (736.11 thousand m³), Krowie Bagno VIII (728.99 thousand m³), Kolechowice VI (31.9 thousand m³) located in Lubelskie Voivodeship; Leśnice (223.3 thousand m³) located in Pomorskie Voivodeship; Górzna (193.91 thousand m³), Radawnica (48.52 thousand m³), Prochy (274.44 thousand m³), Bucz LG II (13.69 thousand m³) located in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship; Świnoujście – Płachcin (37.6 thousand m³ of muds) located in Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship. The total resources of the newly documented deposits amount to 3,805.31 thousand m³, including: the agriculture peat equal 3,767.71 thousand m³ (and 79 thousand m³ of the anticipated sub-economic resources), the muds equal 37.6 thousand m³.

In 2018 there were 6 new documentations with recalculated resources accepted, including: 1 documentation expanding the deposit are and updating the resources of Kamień deposit located in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship and 5 documentations elaborated due to the resources settlement after the exploitation end.

There were 5 deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’ in 2018, including: Kolechowice V, Krowie Bagno IV and Krowie Bagno V located in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Jeżów located in Łódzkie Voivodeship and Bucz LG located in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. About 0.034 million m³ of peat were reclassified into losses.

According to the information sent by concession holders to the PGI-NRI, the total output of peat amounted to 1.379 million m³ in 2018 increasing by 0.346 million m³ (33.5%) in comparison with the previous year.

The agriculture peat was being exploited from 56 deposits (2 deposits were abandonded), whereas the muds were being exploited from 11 deposits. The operation on Puścizna Wielka deposit resulted in both the agriculture peat and the muds.

The output of the agriculture peat was equal 1.370 million m³ (accounting for 99.4% of the total peat production) growing by 0.353 million m³ (34.5%) when comparing to 2017. The exploitation of peat depends on the weather conditions, therefore the significant differences of the output level can be observed – depending on the favorable or adverse conditions in a given year.

The output of the therapeutical peat amounted to 8.21 thousand m³ (0.6% of the total peat production), accounting for 83.9% of the last year’s volume (dropped by 1.57 thousand m³). The amount of muds exploited from particular deposits varied from 4 m³ to 2.71 thousand m³.

In the Voivodeship terms, the peat output (agriculture and muds) was as follows: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.366 million m³ (26.5% of the domestic output), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.253 million m³ (18.3%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.182 million m³ (13.2%), Lubelskie Voivodeship 0.157 million m³ (11.4%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.129 million m³ (9.3%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.100 million m³ (7.2%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.094 million m³ (6.8%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.086 million m³ (6.3%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.005 million m³ (0.4%), Łódzkie Voivodeship 0.003 million m³ (0.2%), Małopolskie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.2%), Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.001 million m³ (0.1%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.0005 million m³ (0.0%). In Dolnośląskie, Opolskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeships the exploitation has not been carried out.

Economic resources of peat established for 61 deposits amount to 35.897 million m³ which accounts for 74.5% of anticipated economic resources of these deposits. The resources decreased by 1.195 million m³ (3.2%) in comparison with the previous year.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2018.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. Agriculture peat – thousand m³

Table 3. Therapeutical peat (muds) – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2017

Peat is an organic sediment originated in the late-Quaternary, most often in Holocene. The process of its accumulation requires a high groundwater level and anaerobic conditions. According to genetic features there are 3 types of peat distinguished: low, high and medium. The richest in food ingredients is low peat occurring in river valleys, ground dips and lake edges. High peat is characterized by poor food ingredients and occurs on divides. Medium peat has both of the features mentioned above.

More than 50% of peatlands are located in the northern part of Poland. They cover an area of about 1.2 million hectares and their volume is estimated at over 17 billion m³ of peat. Up to the present, about 50,000 peatlands have been catalogued by the Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming. About 36% of the catalogued peatlands form a potential resource basis for the peat exploitation. Only a small part of these areas, presented in a further part of the present elaboration, has been explored and can be treated as deposits within the meaning of the Geological and Mining Law.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1^st of July 2015 regarding the geological documentation of a mineral raw material, excluding hydrocarbons field (number of Polish act: Dz. U. 2015, poz. 987) the limit values of the parameters that define the raw material deposit are (Appendix 8):

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

Nowadays, a so-called ‘agriculture peat’ is used mainly in agriculture, gardening, fruit-growing and in the reclamation processes. Such peat is characterized by features improving a soil structure and air-water conditions. Peat is also a base for the production of a garden peat, a peat base, mineral peat mixtures and an agriculture peat.

Therapeutical peat – muds – is used in balneology for peat baths, poultices and for production of medicine items. Such peat has to be microbiologically clean, in an advanced decay of organic matter, of a smooth mud consistency, with a high content of the active organic compounds, a moisture content over 75% and should not be affected by freezing and defreezing.

In the past, peat was also used as a fuel, a raw material for chemical industry, for production of a cardboard, fiberboard and as a sorbent.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2017, anticipated economic resources of peat (agriculture and therapeutical) were estimated at 89.030 million m³, decreasing only by about 0.001 million m³ in relation to the previous year (Table 1). Therapeutical peat (muds) resources amounted to 10.354 million m³ (11.6%) of the total resources base. These resources have been explored and documented in 37 deposits located on all over the country, except of Łódzkie Voivodeship. In 2 deposits: Puścizna Wielka and Bronów not only agriculture but also therapeutical peats have been documented. Nevertheless, they are exploited only from Puścizna Wielka deposit. In Table 2, muds deposits or deposits where muds are co-occurring have been marked out by a symbol *.

There were 9 new deposits documented in 2017, including 1 deposit of muds: in Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship Krąpiewo II deposit (0.035 million m³ of anticipated economic resources), in Lubelskie Voivodeship 2 deposits – Biała (0.011 million m³) and Wytyczno IV (0.040 million m³), in Mazowieckie Voivodeship 2 deposits – Korboniec (0.024 million m³) and Rusków (0.553 million m³), in Podlaskie Voivodeship muds deposit Podsokołda 2 (0.018 million m³) allocated from Podsokołda 1 deposit, in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 3 deposits – Dzierzążenko (0.035 million m³), Dzierzążenko I (0.033 million m³) and Skic III (0.304 million m³). The resources increase due to these documentations was equal 1.053 million m³.

There were also 9 new documentations with recalculated resources elaborated in 2017.

There were 3 deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’ in 2017, including: Stary Majdan deposit (the decision issued in 2005) and Wytyczno III deposit located in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Szawły 1 deposit located in Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The two last of the deposits mentioned above were exploited in 2017. For all of them there were documentations with resources settlement elaborated.

According to the information sent by concession holders to the PGI-NRI, the output of peat amounted to 1.033 million m³ in 2017. It decreased by 0.124 million m³ (10.7%) in comparison with the previous year. The significant drops were recorded for: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship – by 0.085 million m³ (71.7% year to year), Pomorskie Voivodeship – by 0.059 million m³ (44.4% year to year) and Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship – by 0.030 million m³ (82.9% year to year). The output grew remarkably in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship – by 0.037 million m³ (199.3% year to year).

The contribution of particular voivodeships in the domestic output was as follows: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.215 million m³ (accounting for 20.8% of total domestic production), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.168 million m³ (16.3%), Lubelskie Voivodeship 0.157 million m³ (15.2%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.147 million m³ (14.2%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.119 million m³ (11.5%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.088 million m³ (8.5%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.074 million m³ (7.2%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.047 million m³ (4.6%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.009 million m³ (0.9%), Małopolskie Voivodeship 0.005 million m³ (0.4%), Łódzkie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.2%), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship 0.001 million m³ (0.1%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.001 million m³ (0.1%) and Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.001 million m³ (0.1%). In Dolnośląskie and Opolskie Voivodeships peat has not been exploited.

The therapeutical peat (muds) production was carried out from 11 deposits in 2017 and amounted to 9.78 thousand m³. It decreased by 0.38 thousand m³ (3.7%) in comparison with 2016. It accounts for only 0.9% of total domestic output but it fully covers demand.

Economic resources of peat documented for 58 deposits amounted to 37.092 million m³ which accounts for 76.2% of anticipated economic resources of these deposits. The resources increased by 1.924 million m³ (5.5%) in comparison with the previous year.

Temporarily, peat (and also other ‘co-occurring’ raw materials) is being exploited from the overburden of the brown coal deposit Bełchatów-pole Szczerców when making the deposit available for mining. Nevertheless, in 2017 the exploitation was not recorded.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2017.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. List of peat deposits – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2016

Peat is organic sediment originated in the late-Quaternary, most often in Holocene. The process of its accumulation requires a high groundwater level and anaerobic conditions. According to genetic features there are three types of peat distinguished: low, high and medium. The richest in food ingredients is low peat occurring in river valleys, ground dips and lake edges. High peat is characterized by poor food ingredients and occurs on divides. Medium peat has both of the features mentioned above.

More than 50% of peatlands are found in the northern part of Poland. They cover an area of about 1.2 million hectares and their volume is estimated at over 17 billion m³ of peat. Up to the present, about 50,000 peatlands have been catalogued by the Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming. About 36% of the catalogued peatlands form a potential resource basis for peat harvesting. Only a small part of these areas, presented in a further part of the present elaboration, has been explored and can be treated as deposits within the meaning of the Geological and Mining Law.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1^st of July 2015 regarding the geological documentation of a mineral raw material, excluding hydrocarbons field (number of Polish act: Dz. U. 2015, poz. 987) the limit values of the parameters that define the raw material deposit are (Appendix 8):

peat deposits (table 5):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum ash content in dry peat – 30%;
therapeutical peat deposits – muds (table 6):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 25%; the minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
- mud silts deposits (table 7):
the minimum deposit thickness 1 m; the maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit thickness 0.5; the maximum non-organic matter content in dry mass 80%; minimum grade of decomposition 30% (H3); the bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; the coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

Nowadays, a so-called ‘agriculture peat’ is used mainly in agriculture, gardening, fruit-growing and in reclamation processes. Such peat is characterized by features improving a soil structure and air-water conditions. Peat is also a base for production of a garden peat, a peat base, mineral peat mixtures and an agriculture peat.

In the past, peat was also used as a fuel, a raw material for chemical industry, for production of a cardboard, fiberboard and as a sorbent.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2016, anticipated economic resources of peat were estimated at 89.031 million m³, decreasing by 4.288 million m³ (4.6%) in relation to the previous year (table 1).

Therapeutical peat (muds) resources amounted to 10.531 million m³ of the total resources base. These resources have been explored and documented in 36 deposits located on all over the country, except of Łódzkie Voivodeship. In table 2, muds deposits or deposits where muds are co-occurring have been marked out by a symbol: *. The rest of deposits are so-called ‘agriculture peats’.

There were 14 new deposits – for agriculture use – documented in 2016: 1 deposit in Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship: Dubielno I (0.029 million m³); 4 deposits in Lubelskie Voivodeship (including 3 deposits documented in 2016 and 1 deposit documented in 2001 – Kletnia I – which has not been recorded in ‘The balance…’ so far): Andrzejów II/1 (0.026), Dodatki-Rzeka 1 (0.344), Kletnia I (0.018, as of 31 December 2016) and Kolechowice V (0.027); 2 deposits in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship: Biskupiec Kolonia Druga (0.029) and Ługwałd 2 (0.055, allocated from Ługwałd deposit); 5 deposits in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship: Bucz LG I (0.034), Kamień (0.601), Kamień I (0.025), Jezierzyce Kościelne SD (0.066), Potulice (0.119); 2 deposits in Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship: Broczyno (0.233), Krosino-Mołstowo 1 (0.031). The resources increase due to these documentations was equal 1.636 million m³.

There were 10 deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’ in 2016, including: 4 deposits in Lubelskie Voivodeship: Kolechowice IV, Kolonia Kulczyn dz. nr 69, Lubowierz, Oleśniki; 1 deposit in Lubuskie Voivodeship: Lubiechnia Mała; 1 deposit in Łódzkie Voivodeship: Piaszczyce; 4 deposits in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship: Kuźnica Zbąska JS, Kuźnica Zbąska KW, Piecewo 1, Władysławowo. This resulted in resources drop by 4.736 million m³. The majority of the resources crossed out from ‘The balance…’ (4.543 million m³ – 96%) constitute peats remaining within the overburden of sand deposit Oleśniki, located in the bowl of Oleśniki reservoir which is planned to be built on the Wieprz river in Lubelskie Voivodeship. It was stated that there is no formal base allowing presenting these resources in ‘The balance…’ – they were not included in the decision approving the geological documentation of this deposit in 1984. Moreover, the average ash content in peat is equal 35.3% and exceeds the limit value that define a peat deposit which is 30% (According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1st of July 2015 regarding the geological documentation of a mineral raw material, excluding hydrocarbons field (number of Polish act: Dz. U. 2015, poz. 987). In the case of Piecewo 1 deposit its resources were included into Piecewo deposit. Piaszczyce deposit was crossed out from ‘The balance…’ due to the changes of planned land use of this area. The next 5 deposits were crossed out as a result of resources depletion and remaining 2 deposits (Lubiechnia Mała, Kuźnica Zbąska JS) due to the poor raw material quality and the lack of purchasers. For all of deposits for which the exploitation was stopped, there were new documentations with recalculated resources elaborated.

According to the information sent by concession holders, the output of peat amounted to 1.157 million m³ in 2016. It decreased by 0.128 million m³ (9.9%) in comparison with the previous year. The contribution of particular voivodeships in the domestic output is as follows: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship 0.300 million m³ (accounting for 25.9% of total domestic production), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship 0.177 million m³ (15.3%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship 0.170 million m³ (14.7%), Lubelskie Voivodeship 0.138 million m³ (11.9%), Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.107 million m³ (9.2%), Podlaskie Voivodeship 0.106 million m³ (9.2%), Lubuskie Voivodeship 0.091 million m³ (7.9%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship 0.037 million m³ (3.2%), Śląskie Voivodeship 0.009 million m³ (0.8%), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship 0.008 million m³ (0.7%), Łódzkie Voivodeship 0.008 million m³ (0.7%), Małopolskie Voivodeship 0.003 million m³ (0.3%) and Podkarpackie Voivodeship 0.002 million m³ (0.2%). In Dolnośląskie, Opolskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeships peat is not being produced.

The therapeutical peat (muds) production was carried out from 11 deposits in 2016 and amounted to 10.16 thousand m³. It increased by 2.49 thousand m³ (32%) in comparison with 2015. It accounts for only 0.9% of total domestic production but it fully covers demand.

Economic resources of peat documented for 56 deposits amounted to 35.168 million m³ which accounts for 75.5% of anticipated economic resources of these deposits. The resources decreased by 0.371 million m³ (1.1%) in comparison with the previous year.

There was also 0.067 million m³ of peat exploited in 2016 during works on Bełchatów-pole Szczerców brown coal deposit (removing the overburden and making the deposit available for mining). This volume is not included in the table 2.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of peat in Poland in the years 1995-2016.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. List of peat deposits – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2015

Peat is an organic matter of the Quaternary age, most often Holocene. It is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation. The process of its origin of peat requires high groundwater level and acidic and anaerobic conditions which inhibit decay of plant material.

According to genetic features there are three types of peat distinguished: low, high and medium. The richest in food ingredients is low peat occurring in river valleys and lake edges.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 1^st of July 2015 (number of Polish act: Dz. U. 2015, poz. 987) the limit values of the parameters that define the deposit are (Appendix 8):

peat deposit: minimum deposit thickness – 1 m, maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit – 0.5, maximum ash content – 30%;
therapeutical peat (muds) deposits: minimum deposit thickness – 1 m, maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit – 0.5, maximum organic matter content in dry mass – 25%, minimum grade of decomposition – 30% (H3), bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0, coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits: minimum deposit thickness – 1 m, maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit – 0.5, maximum organic matter content in dry mass – 80%, minimum grade of decomposition – 30% (H3), bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0, coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

Peat is used in gardening and in agriculture as an organic fertilizer and a medium added to soil to improve its physical properties. It is also used in balneology (peat baths and poultices and mud wraps), medicine and therapeutics. Peat is no longer used as a fuel in Poland. Peats used in medicine are therapeutical muds which have to be clean microbiologically, with high content of active organic compounds, advanced decay of organic matter, smooth mud consistency, moisture content over 75% and should not be affected by freezing and defreezing.

More than 50% of peatlands are found in northern part of Poland. They cover an area of about 1.2 million hectares (around 4.2% of area of the country) and their volume is estimated at over 17 billion m³. Up to the present, almost 50,000 peatlands have been catalogued by the Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming. According to these records, about 36% of the catalogued peatlands form a potential resource basis for peat harvesting.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2015, anticipated economic resources of peat were estimated at 93.32 million m³, decreasing by about 1.40 million m³ (1.4%) in relation to the previous year table 1.

There were 5 new deposits (for agriculture use) documented in 2015: 2 deposits in Lubelskie Voivodeship – Andrzejów II and Michałów; 1 deposit in Podlaskie Voivodeship – Silikaty; 3 deposits in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship – Jabłonna JS II, Ratowice and Stare Dzierzążno. The total resources of these deposits are equal 0.230 million m³.

There were 10 deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’ (−0.137 million m³) in 2015, including: 2 deposits in Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (Wojdal V and Sokołowo Parcele), 4 deposits in Lubelskie Voivodeship (Czarnowo, Wilkołaz, Krowie Bagno VI, Krowie Bagno VII), 3 deposits in Lubuskie Voivodeship (Trzebule, Lgiń V, Konotop III) and 1 deposit in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship (Długa Goślina). All of these deposits were depleted and remaining resources did not match qualitative requirements or were rated as losses.

The output of peat amounted to 1.285 million m³ in 2015 and increased by 0.040 million m³ (3.3%) in comparison with the previous year (table 2).

The largest amounts of peat are being produced in: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship (0.348 million m³ which accounts for 27.1% of total domestic production), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship (0.232 million m³ – 18.1%), Lubelskie Voivodeship (0.190 million m³ – 14.8%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship (0.164 million m³ – 12.8%), Podlaskie Voivodeship (0.118 million m³ – 9.2%), Lubuskie Voivodeship (0.085 million m³ – 6.6%), Pomorskie Voivodeship (0.078 million m³ – 6.1%), Wielkopolskie Voivodeship (0.050 million m³ – 3.9%) and Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (0.011 million m³ – 0.8%). In Małopolskie, Łódzkie, Podkarpackie and Śląskie Voivodeships the output is low – from a dozen or so to several hundred thousand m³. In Dolnosląskie, Opolskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeships peat is not being produced.

The therapeutical peat (muds) production was carried out in 10 places in Poland and amounted in 2015 to 7.67 thousand m³. It accounts for only 0.6% fo total domestic production but it fully covers demand.

Economic resources of peat documented for 59 deposits amounted to 34.80 million m³ which accounts for 73.5% of anticipated economic resources of these deposits. The resources decreased by 1.59 million m³ (4.4%) in comparison with the previous year.

There was not peat production from the brown coal deposits recorded in 2015.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. List of peat deposits – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2014

According to genetic features there are three types of peat distinguished: low, high and medium. The richest in food ingredients is low peat occurring in river valleys and lake edges.

According to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the 22nd of December 2011 (number of Polish act: Dz. U. Nr 291, poz. 1712.) the limit values of the parameters that defines the deposit are:

peat deposit: minimum deposit thickness 1 m; – maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit 0.5 – maximum ash content – 30%.
therapeutical peat (muds) deposits – minimum deposit thickness 1 m; – maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit 0.5; – maximum organic matter content in dry mass – 25%; – minimum grade of decomposition – 30% (H3); – bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; – coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits – minimum deposit thickness 1 m; – maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit 0.5; – maximum organic matter content in dry mass – 80%; – minimum grade of decomposition – 30% (H3); – bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; – coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

Peat is used in gardening and in agriculture as organic fertilizer and a medium added to a soil to improve its physical properties. It is also used in balneology (peat baths and poultices and mud wraps), medicine and therapeutics. Peat is no longer used as a fuel in Poland. Peats used in medicine are therapeutical muds which have to be clean microbiologically, with high content of active organic compounds, advanced decay of organic matter, smooth mud consistency, moisture content over 75% and should not be affected by freezing and defreezing.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2014, anticipated economic resources of peat were estimated at 94.72 million m³, increasing by about 14.50 million m³ (18.1%) in relation to the previous year.

There were 15 new deposits documented in 2014 with the total anticipated economic resources equal to 15.690 million m³ – 2 deposits in Lubelskie Voivodeship (Kolechowice IV, Wilkołaz I), 1 deposit in Lubuskie Voivodeship (Grabin I), 2 deposits in Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Szawły, Szawły 1), 2 deposits in Pomorskie Voivodeship (Cecenowo, Objazda), 8 deposits in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship (Bucz LG, Bucz KI, Górsko AS-I, Górsko AS-III, Górsko AS-IV, Miastko AS-I, Górsko AS-II, Kuźnica Zbąska KW II).

There were 9 deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’ (−0.196 million m³) – in 2014 including: 2 deposits in Lubelskie Voivodeship (Kolechowice III, Rudnik I), 1 deposit in Lubuskie Voivodeship (Grabin), 3 deposits in Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Pieróg, Pieróg II, Pieróg III) and 3 deposits in Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship (Łysinin – pole C, Mirosławiec JS, Mirosławiec JS I).

The output of peat amounted to 1.245 million m³ in 2014 and increased by 0.04 million m³ (3.3%) in comparison with the previous year.

The largest amounts of peat are being produced in: Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship (0.322 million m³ which accounts for 25.9% of total domestic production), Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship (0.200 million m³ – 16.1%), Mazowieckie Voivodeship (0.187 million m³ – 15.0%), Lubelskie Voivodeship (0.186 million m³ – 15.0%), Podlaskie Voivodeship (0.110 million m³ – 8.8%) and Pomorskie Voivodeship (0.093 million m³ – 7.4%). These 6 Voivodeships account for 88.2% of domestic production. In Dolnośląskie, Opolskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship peat is not being produced.

The therapeutical peat (muds) production was carried out in 10 places in Poland and amounted in 2014 to 7.58 thousand m³. It accounts for only 0.6% fo total domestic production but it fully covers demand.

Economic resources of peat documented for 57 deposits amounted to 36.39 million m³ which accounts for 75.1% of anticipated economic resources of these deposits. The resources increased by 5.191 million m³ (16.6%) in comparison with the previous year.

From the brown coal deposit Bełchatów-pole Szczerców there were 2.96 thousand m³ of peat produced in 2014.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. List of peat deposits – thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski

2013

According to genetic features there are three types of peat distinguished: low, high and medium. The richest in food ingredients is low peat occurring in river valleys and lake edges.

peat deposit: minimum deposit thickness 1 m; – maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit 0.5 – maximum ash content – 30%.
therapeutical peat (muds) deposits – minimum deposit thickness 1 m; – maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit 0.5; – maximum organic matter content in dry mass – 25%; – minimum grade of decomposition – 30% (H3); – bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; – coli titre perfringens ≥1.0;
mud silts deposits – minimum deposit thickness 1 m; – maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit 0.5; – maximum organic matter content in dry mass – 80%; – minimum grade of decomposition – 30% (H3); – bacteriological valuation (coli titre) ≥1.0; – coli titre perfringens ≥1.0.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2013, anticipated economic resources of peat were estimated at 80.21 million m³, increasing by about 1.23 million m³ (1.6%) in relation to the previous year.

There were 12 new deposits documented in 2013 with the total anticipated economic resources equal 2.12 m³ – 3 deposits in Lubelskie Voivodeship (Krowie Bagno VII, Stara Wieś, Stara Wieś I), 2 deposits in Lubuskie Voivodeship (Konotop IV, Kosierz-Trzebule), 2 deposits in Podlaskie Voivodeship (Klejniki 5, Podsokołda 1), 1 deposit in Pomorskie Voivodeship (Wieliszewo I), 1 deposit in Śląskie Voivodeship (Branica), 3 deposits in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship (Gorszewice AW 2, Kuźnica Zbąska RG IV, Kuźnica Zbąska SJ). Podsokołda 1 and Wieliszewo I deposits were allocated from already docuemnted deposits – Podsokołda and Wieliszewo.

There were 6 deposits crossed out from ‘The balance…’ in 2013 – Chojno dz.171,6 and Krowie Bagno III in Lubelskie Voivodeship, Danielów I in Łódzkie Voivodeship, Konierniki in Mazowieckie Voivodeship, Rzemień in Podkarpackie Voivodeship and Nienawiszcz FP in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. Total anticipated economic resources of these deposits amounted to 0.19 million m³.

The output of peat amounted to 1,205.24 thousand m³ in 2013 and decreased by 15.50 thousand m³ (1.27%) in comparison with the previous year. The largest amounts of peat are being produced in Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship (366.20 thousand m³ which accounts for 30.4% of total domestic production), Mazowieckie Voivodeship (193.95 thousand m³ – 16.1%), Lubelskie Voivodeship (184.82 thousand m³ – 15.3%), Warmińsko-mazurskie Voivodeship (183.28 thousand m³ – 15.2%), Podlaskie Voivodeship (101.31 thousand m³ – 8.4%) and Pomorskie Voivodeship (89.16 thousand m³ – 7.4%).

The therapeutical peat (muds) production was carried out in 10 places in Poland and amounted in 2013 to 10.08 thousand m³. It accounts for only 0.8% fo total domestic production but it fully covers demand.

From the brown coal deposit Bełchatów-pole Szczerców there were 4.66 thousand m³ of peat produced in 2013.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. List of peat deposits – thousand m³

Prepared by: Agnieszka Wałkuska

2012

According to genetic features there are three types of peat distinguished: low, high and medium. The richest in food ingredients is low peat occurring in river valleys and lake edges.

Geological and quality criteria which define a peat deposit are: – thickness of deposit not smaller than 1 m; – maximum ratio of overburden thickness to mineral deposit – 0.5 – maximum ash content – 30%. There are several quality parameters deciding on peat use:

grade of decomposition (according to von Post: H₁ – not decomposed; H₁₀ – totally decomposed),
ash content (organic matter content in 100 g of dry mass),
pH,
wetness,
bacteriological valuation (coli titre).

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2012, anticipated economic resources of peat were estimated at 78.98 million m³, increasing by about 4.80 million m³ in relation to the previous year. There were 19 new deposits documented in 2012 with the total anticipated economic resources equal to 6.57 m³. The Karaska II deposit contains more than 5 million m³ of resources.

There were 5 deposits crossed out of ‘The balance…’ in 2012.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

Table 2. List of peat deposits – thousand m³

Prepared by: Agnieszka Wałkuska

2011

According to genetic features there are three types of peat distinguished: low, high and medium. The richest in food ingredients is low peat occurring in river valleys and lake edges.

grade of decomposition (according to von Post: H₁ – not decomposed; H₁₀ – totally decomposed),
ash content (organic matter content in 100 g of dry mass),
pH,
wetness,
bacteriological valuation (coli titre).

Peatlands are found mainly in northern part of Poland (about 70%). They cover an area of about 1.2 million hectares (around 4.2% of area of the country) and their volume is estimated at over 17 billion m³. Up to the present, almost 50,000 peatlands have been catalogued by the Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming. According to these records, about 18 thousand of the catalogued peatlands form a potential resource basis for peat harvesting. These peatlands are without any special importance from the point of view of nature protection.

There are most important peat deposits (with muds marked out) presented on the map.

In 2011, anticipated resources of peat were estimated at 74.18 million tonnes, decreasing by about 2.14 million tonnes in relation to the previous year. Decrease of the resources is mainly the result of crossing out three deposits of the resources amounted to 267 thousand m³.

Table 1 shows resources and the current state of exploration and development of peat deposits.

Table 1. Peat – million m³

The output of peat amounted to 1,214 thousand m³ in 2011 and increased by 229 thousand m³ (23%).

There were 11 new deposits documented in 2011 – seven of them in wielkopolskie voivodeship – with anticipated economic resources of 520 thousand m³.

Table 2. List of peat deposits – thousand m³

Prepared by: Agnieszka Wałkuska

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