Peat restoration project in North Pennines

17/12/2007

Moorland drain blocking work has started in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to stop peatland loss and mitigate against climate change. It aims to help restore moorland habitat, improve its carbon storage potential and also reduce water colour and downstream flood risk.

The work has been arranged through the North Pennines AONB Partnership's Peatscapes project and entails using low ground pressure excavators to create peat dams in drainage ditches to stop water flow. The blocked ditches will fill with water, begin re-vegetating and eventually become moorland vegetation full of peat components Sphagnum moss and cottongrass.
The first stage recently began on Killhope Moor to block six kilometres of drains. In addition, six private landowners have agreed to block a total of 193kms of drains - around two per cent of the AONB's moorland drains.

Peatscapes project manager Paul Leadbitter said healthy, wet peatlands had a ‘vital' importance in regard to climate change, flood risk, biodiversity, the economy and the historical record. He explained: ‘Peat is a vital store of carbon, with an estimated 2500 tonnes of carbon stored in each hectare of English peat. With 15 per cent of the world's peatlands, the UK has 20 years of industrial carbon dioxide emissions locked in the peat and it needs to stay there.

‘A key threat to this carbon storage system is the drying of peatlands due to historical drainage. By blocking up eroding moorland drains we will effectively keep the carbon locked up.'

County Durham Environment Trust, the Esmee Fairburn Foundation, Northumbrian Water, the Environment Agency and Natural England are funding the work.

Monday 17 December 2007 - 15:09:31

nfucountryside - www.countrysideonline.co.uk