Europe

Peatlands in Europe are distributed unevenly with a higher density in the northern areas, highlands, and coastal areas, and more sparsely distributed in steppe and broadleaved forest zones. The largest peatlands include the 178,000-hectare “Ocean” mire in the Republic of Komi, and the 96,000-hectare “Polisto-Lovatsky” mire in Pskov Oblast, western Russia. Across Europe, the average depth of peat is 3 to 4 meters, with maximum depths ranging from 10 to 12 meters. Despite experiencing the largest proportional losses of actively accumulating peatlands (mires) globally, Europe still harbors significant mire diversity, represented across the following European mire regions.