A nearby peat-mining operation

Just about every nursery sells peat as a soil amendment. But, what exactly is peat? It's partially decomposed plant material that accumulates in peatlands or bogs over a period of thousands of years. Sphagnum moss is a major component but other kinds of decomposed bog plants also contribute. In boreal habitats peatlands average about 5-8 feet deep.
I'm not a big fan of using peat as a soil amendment because decomposed leaves and other forms of natural compost are preferable. Nor do I particularly like the idea of harvesting peat because doing so destroys natural bogs and the interesting plants they harbor, including rare species such as pitcher plants (Sarracenia species). These peatlands can regenerate following harvesting but it takes a very long time (hundreds of thousands of years). Also, some (many?) of the plant species that originally occupied the site may not successfully recolonize the area.
Below are photos of a peatland that is currently being mined for peat. It's located less than 10 minutes from our house in Le Bic on the Gaspe Peninsula.

Processing harvested peat

Based on the height of the adjacent bank, about 6 feet of peat
has been harvested from this peatland

Exposed peat in the harvested peatland.
Adjacent areas were being colonized by various plants including sedges