Thousands of acres of peat restored on grouse moorland
THOUSANDS OF acres of peat have been restored in conservation efforts that help cut carbon emissions in the last decade, grouse moor managers have said.
A survey of members of the Moorland Association suggests they have restored 7,800 acres of bare peat on their land in the last 10 years.
And 2,945 kilometres (1,830 miles) of old agricultural drains, put in to make the land more productive for farming, have been blocked to rewet the upland peat to protect it, reduce run-off and prevent carbon emissions escaping – helping restore the equivalent of a further 14,800 acres.
While there is limited scope for planting trees on peat, managers of moors in the North have put in 3,150 acres of trees in appropriate areas, the association said.
The organisation said its members had already achieved 60 per cent of the peatland restoration work required on their land, and provided a quarter of the work needed to meet Government targets to restore 35,000 hectares by 2025.
It estimates 61,126 tonnes of carbon dioxide – which is emitted into the atmosphere from dried out, bare and damaged peat – are being saved every year because of the work to restore the landscape.
Previous decades have seen work to restore at least 24,000 hectares of peatland and block 4,000km (2,485 miles) of drains, according to the Moorland Association, which said its members worked with partnerships across northern England on restoring peat.
Dr Tim Thom, who is a peatland programme manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said it was “great to see moor owners rising to the challenge of climate change”.
He said the trust had worked with Moorland Association members and other landowners since 2009 to bring over 31,000 hectares of Yorkshire’s peatlands into restoration management, and looked forward to working with them on the remaining moors in years to come.