Enhancing the identification, protection and restoration of blanket bog in the UK and Spain
Research conducted at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has extended the global peatland inventory and monitored the impacts of restoration. This research has also informed national and international peatland monitoring initiatives and management policy, designed to preserve biodiversity and mitigate against climate change.
Challenge
Damaged peatlands release 5-6% of global greenhouse gases and, therefore, the protection and restoration of these habitats has international significance for how we respond to climate change.
Approach
Research for the National Trust, led by geographers at NTU to monitor the impacts of an erosion gully blocking initiative, was employed to restore the most intact example of blanket bog in the Peak District.
The researchers co-authored a training manual ‘Eyes on the Bog’ under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Peatland Programme (PP). The manual is designed to facilitate long-term monitoring of UK peatlands by networks of citizen scientists.
Baseline survey data on the impact of burning on the blanket bog is now available to the public. Fourteen new areas of blanket bog on the regional boundaries of Cantabria and Castilla y Leon have been identified.
Impact
The inclusion of these new areas in the global peatland inventory has significantly increased wider understanding of the distribution of blanket bogs.
Data collected by the team was used in a case to oppose the installation of a wind farm over one of the previously unmapped areas in Cantabria in November 2017.
The final report to the National Trust established the viability of extending the programme of gully blocking to other areas of adjacent peatland and will underpin the monitoring of further restoration programmes.
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How to cite
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (2023) Enhancing the identification, protection and restoration of blanket bog in the UK and Spain. Available at https://rgs.org/blanketblog Last accessed on: <date>