The benefits of peatland restoration are plain to see
Peatlands, areas of land primarily made of partially decomposed organic plant material (peat) cover more than 20% of Scotland’s land area. Peat is the largest and most efficient land-based store of carbon but Scotland’s peatlands are in such poor condition that they are emitting carbon rather than storing it. The best available evidence suggests damaged peatlands are responsible for 20% of Scotland’s total carbon emissions. That’s a lot of carbon being released into the air and washed down our burns.
The benefits of peatland restoration
Fortunately, we can restore peatlands to a condition where they are functioning properly once again. Encouraging the growth of peatforming plants – mainly Sphagnum mosses – starts the process of changing the peatland from one which is emitting carbon to one which is actively capturing it.
The restoration of peatlands can deliver a range of other benefits too. For example, restoration improves the surface habitat leading to greater plant diversity and in turn, higher numbers of invertebrates – a food source for birds such as grouse and other upland species. Restored areas absorb and hold rainwater for longer than damaged areas before slowly allowing it to seep into river systems. This helps to reduce the likelihood of flooding downstream. It also helps alleviate issues associated with drought conditions such as wildfires. Restoration reduces soil erosion helping to improve water quality which is important for fisheries and drinking water catchments. It helps to support our economy – whether that’s farming, tourism, crofting or whisky production.
Peatland ACTION
Over the past 10 years Peatland
ACTION has made tremendous progress in improving the condition of degraded peatlands across Scotland. So far, over 35,000 hectares of peatlands are on the road to restoration.
And, with a further commitment by the Scottish Government of £250m over the next 10 years Peatland ACTION is aiming to have restored 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands by 2030. This target means peatland restoration will continue to be one of the most important nature-based mechanisms available to help deliver Scotland’s ambitions to reach net-zero by 2045.
Naturescot, and the other Peatland ACTION delivery partners (Cairngorms National Park Authority; Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority; Forestry and Land Scotland; and Scottish Water) are ramping up efforts to meet this ambition and are actively seeking to support landowners to get involved in peatland restoration and its sustainable management.
Wemyss & March Estates – a Peatland ACTION case study
On Megget Estate, part of Wemyss & March Estates in the Scottish Borders, restoration work started in 2017 and has covered over 500ha of peatland. The work involved re-profiling, re-vegetating, ditch blocking and bunding.
The benefits to peatland restoration can already be seen. Biodiversity has risen: the higher water table has improved peatland vegetation leading to an increase in invertebrates and more food for the local birdlife.
Water quality and flow were also high priorities for the estate, as the peatland sits in the catchment for the Yarrow river. They have worked with Tweed Forum to look at the best ways to improve and protect the health of the river, and peatland restoration has been part of that. The work should help reduce incidences of flooding downstream, holding water back and reducing the speed of run-off. This should increase the resilience of the fish populations in the Tweed catchment.
Martin Andrews, the Wemyss & March Estates Factor says, ‘We’ve had very good support from Naturescot and Peatland ACTION. It’s been a challenging project but really worthwhile. The fact that the Scottish Government are supporting peatland restoration, and there are 100% grants to do the work at the moment, mean that you’d be daft not to do it in my view.’