Giving nature a helping hand: How £8m scheme is revitalising peat bogs
capture and provide habitats for many important Scottish species.
Work will involve blocking gullies to prevent the earth from drying out and releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
Eroded areas of bare peat will also be re-planted to stabilise the surface.
These measures will improve mountain vegetation, which will, in turn, benefit native wildlife and birds such as the snipe, skylark and greenshank.
Andrew Mcbride, project manager of the Peatland Action project, said: “Peat covers more than 20% of Scotland’s land area and it is estimated more than 70% of this is in a degraded condition.
“Most of our work involves advising on ditch blocking, stabilising eroded areas, and re-establishing vegetation – most notably by the bog building plant sphagnum moss. Not only are peatlands part of our landscape and cultural heritage, providing a unique habitat for species such as large heath butterflies and sundew plants, they are important for our environment. Peat stores carbon, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
“Peatbogs retain and filter water, reducing the impact of drought or flooding and keeping our burns clean for fishing and drinking.”
Across the world, large-scale degradation is causing serious environmental and social impact, with annual emissions estimated at about two gigatonnes of carbon dioxide
– 10% of all global emissions.
Rewetting damaged peatlands can bring them back to good condition. Scots are being urged to avoid using peat-based compost in their gardens to help preserve resources.
Conservationists say the current reliance on the ancient material for growing certain plants is “totally unacceptable and unsustainable”, and people should turn to alternatives that are just as effective and readily available.
More than one-fifth of Scotland’s entire land area – about two million hectares – is made up of peat bogs, which are estimated to contain about 1,620 million tonnes of carbon.
The habitat also plays a crucial role in helping guard against flooding, purifying water and supporting rare native wildlife such as adders, golden plovers, dragonflies and carnivorous sundew plants.
Extraction of peat destroys peatlands, which take thousands of years to form – laying down just 1mm per year. Some of Scotland’s mires began forming in the Bronze age.
The UK Government has committed to abolishing the use of peat in amateur gardening by 2020 and ending extraction of peat for the horticulture industry by 2030.
Peatbogs retain and filter water, reducing the impact of drought or flooding