Faddan More Psalter used as a liner to stiffen the cover somewhat. Low oxygen levels in the bog provide unusual preservation conditions, and bogs were often used by Irish monks as hiding places for valuables in the face of Viking raids. In addition to low oxygen levels, sphagnum moss, of which the peat bog is composed, produces an antibiotic substance called sphagnan that binds with proteins on the surface of microorganisms, immobilising them. Its highly reactive carbonyl groups can alter chemicals and nutrients that would otherwise decompose organic matter. And above all the sphagnum moss causes organic material to undergo chemical changes itself
Sphagnum palustre marshy meadows, but rarely in moors. The species often forms large carpets, sometimes bulge-shaped. It is often accompanied by "Sphagnum fimbriatum", "Sphagnum subnitens", and "Sphagnum squarrosum". "Sphagnum palustre" is invading the native habitat at Ka'ala, O'ahu, Hawai'i. It became established after a sample was brought to the island by a botanist in 1960. Although the environment does not allow the plant to reproduce sexually via spores, it is capable of spreading through vegetative reproduction. It currently occupies an area estimated at 17.3 acres. Coordinated eradication efforts have proved difficult. Sphagnum palustre is found all over the British Isles. It is