Sphagnum also been used to preserve food. Up to 2000-year-old containers of butter or lard have been found. "Sphagnum" moss has also been used for centuries as a dressing for wounds, including through World War I. Since it is absorptive and extremely acidic, it inhibits growth of bacteria and fungi, so it is used for shipping seeds and live plants. Peat moss is used to dispose of the clarified liquid output (effluent) from septic tanks in areas that lack the proper conditions for ordinary disposal means. It is also used as an environmentally friendly alternative to chlorine in swimming pool sanitation.
Portlethen Moss lower elevations in every direction. Due to the high winds, moderate precipitation and cool temperatures that generally prevail, conditions are favourable for formation of an acid bog, since water stagnates, but eventually evaporates with ensuing acidity enhancement of decaying organic matter. There was virtually no drainage outlet in prehistoric times, and little drainage even in modern times. Many coastal mosses were initiated by the process of glaciation, which sheared rock formations to a generally level terrain, while also gouging moderate sized craters that would pond. This description fits the fundamental situation of Portlethen Moss, where sphagnum would have flourished over