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block peat
Peat is partially decomposed plant debris, and can include trees, shrubs, herbs, sedges, grasses and mosses. Peat forms where plant debris is added faster than it is broken down. In cool, waterlogged conditions, the lack of oxygen and low temperatures limit the rate at which micro-organisms degrade plant material. In places the peat can be many metres deep. The lowest layers of peat can be thousands of years old. Peat preserves trapped plant remains, pollen, human artefacts and even bodies such as "Pete Marsh", the 2,300 year-old Lindow Man in Cheshire. To scientists and archeologists these natural archives can reveal stories of past civilizations, botanical history and climate change.
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