PEATLAND MANAGEMENT

Peatlands are the largest terrestrial carbon store in the UK and are the crucial foundation on which many of our most important moorland ecosystems are based.
 

There is little pristine peatland left in the UK and The Heather Trust appreciates just how vital it is as a means of safeguarding against climate change, biodiversity loss and providing clean, safe drinking water. 

In the UK, extensive areas of peatland have been damaged by human activity. The advent of commercial forestry in the uplands has caused untold damage, drainage for agriculture and grazing regimes and severe or frequent heather or grass burning continues to harm sensitive peat-forming vegetation such as Sphagnum mosses. These species can be lost through drying of the peat surface, and, over time, this has led to dramatic erosion and loss of stored organic carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions on a vast scale. 

When peatland is healthy, it gathers and stores atmospheric carbon, retains water to reduce the risk of flash floods and provides a fantastic habitat for all kinds of rare and specialized wildlife, including waders and carnivorous sundew plants.  

The management of heather can be easily compatible with the conservation of peatland, and the Trust’s work frequently focuses on delivering the latest environmental science to the land managers and landowners who are making decisions about the uplands. We know that different management approaches have differing benefits and negatives over a time period and that cut, burnt and unmanaged heather have varying degrees of carbon uptake and release, fuel loads and water attenuation qualities. More long-term research is required to get a proper understanding of how we can improve and fine tune those techniques. 

Integrating the best peatland conservation techniques into existing land uses like grouse production or agriculture is nuanced and The Heather Trust will continue to support research into these interactions to ensure best practice and maximum delivery for biodiversity, climate and society. We will also strive to bring opposing voices round the table to agree findings and forge a path to protecting tomorrow’s peatlands today.