News

NORTH PENNINES PEATLAND RESTORATION TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE BEGINS

6th December 2007

Specialist contractors have begun work today on a series of moorland drain (or grip) blocking projects arranged through the AONB Partnership’s (Note 5) Peatscapes project (Note 6) this winter. This work will mitigate against climate change, downstream flood risk, adverse water colour and will have a positive impact on biodiversity.

The first project has begun today at Killhope Moor at the head of Weardale in the part of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which falls into County Durham. Six kilometres of drains will be blocked, stopping the loss of peat and coarse sediment from the deep eroding peatland drains.

Six private landowners have signed agreements to block a total of 193km of drains on the moorlands of the North Pennines. This represents around 2% of the total number of moorland drains in the AONB.

Projects will be undertaken at Bollihope Estate, Raby Estate, Waskerely Park, Killhope, Geltsdale and Whitfield Estate. Contractors will use low ground pressure excavators to create peat dams in drainage ditches, blocking them at regular intervals to stop the flow of water. Once blocked, the ditches fill with water and begin to re-vegetate, slowly restoring to moorland vegetation rich in the Sphagnum moss and cottongrass that peat is made from.

“The benefits of healthy, wet peatlands are numerous and their importance to us now and in the future is vital to climate change, flood risk, biodiversity, the economy and the historical record,” highlights Paul Leadbitter, the AONB partnership’s Peatscapes Project Manager.

“Peat is a vital store of carbon, with an estimated 2500 tonnes of carbon stored in each hectare of English peat. With 15% 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,” added Paul.

Blocking the drains not only helps to restore moorland habitat, but should also help towards reducing water colour and downstream flood risk and improving carbon storage potential within the bog. The projects are being monitored by Newcastle University, generating crucial information on the effect of drain blocking on water flow, colour and sediment load.

Martin Gillibrand, Secretary for The Moorland Association, added: “Grouse moor managers nurture 750,000 acres of heather growing on peatlands, conserving this rare plant and its associated important wildlife, whilst ensuring the peat beneath is protected. 60 years ago, our members were encouraged to dry out the land’s surface and improve the agricultural productivity by cutting drainage ditches. We now know that Government’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to drainage was inappropriate and are delighted that Peatscapes and our members are working together to ensure that harmful eroding grips are blocked, and those doing a good job of balancing biodiversity, water quality and productivity continue to do so” (see note 7).

Funding for this work has come from CDENT, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Northumbrian Water, the Environment Agency and Natural England.

ENDS