Coring and sub-sampling of peatlands for palaeoenvironmental research

Every palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological and palaeogeochemical study of a peatland begins with coring or section sampling and sub-sampling. This first step in a peat-based palaeoenvironmental study is the most crucial, as a high-quality investigation can be achieved only from a foundation of high-quality stratigraphic sampling and sub-sampling. Various techniques for coring, sampling and sub-sampling are described, aiming to: (a) provide the reader with an overview of existing approaches and techniques; (b) offer guidance on good practice for achieving high-quality results efficiently; and (c) standardise the methodology in order to achieve comparable sequences and samples for future multiproxy, multi-site and multi-core projects.