Burnt peatland may be best for carbon capture

BURNING on peatlands could help suck up carbon, reduce wildfire risk and should not be banned, despite calls by green groups, said researchers.

Burning is used to manage moorland and encourage the spread of grouse for shooting, as the birds prefer to eat the young shoots that grow after a fire.

However, in 2021 the Government banned the practice within protected sites because of concern that burning emits carbon from the peat and effects water quality and flood management.

Now, a study suggests that burnt deep peat land, where the peat layer is deeper than 50cms, can start to suck up carbon after around six years and becomes even more efficient at taking up carbon after 10 years, especially compared to mowing the land.

Unmanaged or “rewilded” moorland, which is not burnt or mown regularly, could increase the wildfire risk and thereby release significant carbon emissions and threaten biodiversity in the event of a blaze, the study found.

The findings come from the midway point of a 20-year study into moorland burning on deep peat by researchers at the University of York, which is partfunded by groups representing grousemoor owners.

Associate professor Andreas Heinemeyer, who led the study, said calls for a complete ban on burning on deep peat were “wrong and can’t be supported”. However, he warned that the study did not look at the kind of shallow, drier peatland that covers much of the Peak District and the North York Moors, where burning could be much more damaging to the environment.