UK told to be serious about its peatlands

The UK must “get serious” about protecting and restoring carbonrich peatlands as part of efforts to tackle climate emissions, it has been warned.

Experts behind a study which looked at how habitats can help tackle the nature and climate crises, said restoring the UK’s damaged peatlands was a top priority to halt emissions from the “giant security vaults full of carbon”.

That could involve a switch to “wet farming”, which involves growing different crops that thrive in waterlogged soils, halting and reversing peat drainage, and ending the burning of blanket bogs to protect the carbon-storing habitats.

Dr Christian Dunn, of Bangor University, also urged people to stop buying peat-based compost to halt the destruction of peatland, and said “it’s time to love our bogs” which are fantastic habitats and powerhouses storage.

The report on “naturebased solutions” from the British Ecological Society also suggested that Britons should reduce how much meat and dairy they eat to make space for tree planting on low-quality grazing land.

Increasing woodland cover across the UK can make a significant impact as a natural solution to tackle climate change over time, as forests absorb and store carbon as they grow. for carbon

But tree planting should avoid peatland, other important conservation sites and productive agricultural land, and focus instead on poor-quality grazing land in the uplands – which will mean less space for livestock, the report said.

So people would need to reduce how much meat and dairy they eat, to avoid

shifting the impact of livestock production abroad where tropical forests could be cut down to make space for ranching or growing animal feed.

The report looked at the potential across habitats such as woodlands, peatlands, saltmarshes, grasslands and seagrass meadows to act as “naturebased solutions” for climate

change, by absorbing carbon and protecting against impacts such as sea level rises, at the same time as boosting wildlife.

Dr Dunn, who was lead author of the peatlands chapter, said: “If the UK is serious about cutting its carbon emissions, it must get serious about its peatlands.”

GREEN: Restoring the UK’s peatlands could play a part in tackling climate change.