Peatland Management

Peatland is the crucially important foundation on which many of our

most important moorland ecosystems are based, but in recent years we have begun to realise just how vital peat is as a means of safeguarding against climate change and providing clean, safe drinking water.

In Britain, extensive areas of peatland have been damaged by man over the past few generations. The advent of commercial forestry in the uplands has caused untold damage, and drainage for agriculture

continues to harm sensitive peat-forming vegetation. 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 is 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 land owners who are making decisions about the uplands.

Integrating the best peatland conservation techniques into existing land uses like grouse production or agriculture represents the cutting edge for research and development in the moorland world, and the Heather Trust is involved in several practical, hands-on projects to bring science to the people on the ground.