The understanding of the distribution and properties of peat soil in agricultural land in Latvia is changing. Due to both mineralisation and subsidence, the characteristics of peat soil have altered, and the current situation differs from the historical data recorded in previous soil surveys conducted in the last century. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Latvia Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences (LU ĢZZF), who surveyed 240 out of 487 historical peat soil sampling points on agricultural land. The historical deep-sampling was carried out between 1960 and 1991 across the territory of Latvia, which still forms our current perception of the properties of peat soil on Latvian agricultural land.

Over the course of two years, as part of the project “Improving Sustainable Soil Resource Management in Agriculture”, LU ĢZZF scientists have so far examined 240 historical soil profiles where a peat layer of at least 30 cm had been identified in the previous study phase. Today, only 152 profiles show a peat layer thickness of over 40 cm, while at 34 points the peat layer thickness is 30–40 cm, at 26 points it is less than 30 cm, and in 28 profiles, no peat soil was found at all. Summarising the data from all 240 of the currently prepared historical peat soil survey sites, it must be concluded that only 152 out of the 240 points can be classified as peat soil.