Principles and processes in conserving and restoring peatlands and organic soil use: summary of the IPS-ISHS symposium

Organic soils have been used for centuries to grow food and forages, to provide energy and recently to manufacture substrates. They are still a precious resource for now and the future and should be cautiously used when needed. This one-day joint symposium presented the latest developments on the principles and the processes for the conservation and the restoration of peatlands and cultivated organic soils (or Histosols) in order to mitigate the effect linked to their use. It first addressed the processes of degradation, conservation and restoration of cultivated organic soils. For peat harvested or growing media manufacturing, a second session focused on peatland restoration at an industrial scale and presented the Moss Layer Transfer Technique (MLTT). Finally, a third session presented data on responsible management of peatlands and the circularity of growing media use.