For peat's sake: protecting and increasing carbon stores

Peat bogs have an image problem. The public’s preference for protecting a beach, lake or meadow is understandable; they’re the beautiful backdrops for many of our happiest memories. It’s easy to tug on the heartstrings with images of the seaside or a lush green field, after all. Sadly, few people get nostalgic about picnicking in a peat bog — even the term ‘peat bog’ sounds vaguely unpleasant.

This unfair treatment of our wetlands is a historical problem, as well as a PR one. Long regarded as low-nutrient land, to be stripped for use in compost and replaced with agricultural land or building foundations, peatlands are way past due a rebrand.

Peat has a crucial place in the ecosystem. Preserved peatlands store approximately one third of the soil-based carbon in the world. This is threatened by the draining of wetlands for agricultural use and removal of peat to sell for horticulture. This treatment has turned a natural way to store carbon into a cause of carbon emissions.

Step in Dr Chris Field and Prof Simon Caporn, Manchester Met researchers whose work champions the protection and restoration of peatland habitats. At a time when carbon emissions are an immediate threat, their research highlights how peat’s ability to store carbon might just be what transforms it from the ugly duckling of the natural world into a world-saving swan. Peatlands are now recognised as a key tool to aid the reduction of carbon emissions in the run up to Britain achieving net zero by 2050. Or as, Dr Field puts it: “Peat recovery is a way to use natural resources to help combat the climate crisis.”

Overcoming challenges

Different areas of the UK’s peat bogs face different issues. From a high vantage point in the Peak District, you may be able to see the bare peat due to habitat degradation. Historic acid rain from industrial pollution, drainage for grazing, burning for grouse shooting and wildfire are some of the causes. Happily, much has been restored by Moors for the Future. Greater Manchester’s Chat Moss was extensively damaged by peat extraction, too. This research aimed to address all threats to the peatlands and is focused on improving damaged wetland habitats and restoring them to effective carbon sinks.

In the blanket bogs of the Peak District National Park, Dr Field and Prof Caporn researched new ways to introduce Sphagnum — a crop that can survive and thrive in difficult upland habitats. This has resulted in the restoration of eroded and destroyed peat bogs in both the upland and lowland areas of Britain. This research has also suggested that Sphagnum moss could be farmed to replace peat in compost.

Working alongside Beadamoss® — the UK’s only supplier of Sphagnum propagules — and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust on the EU Interreg Care Peat project, the researchers established the UK’s first trial Sphagnum farm sites, as well as the first Sphagnum-based carbon farm in Europe. These achievements highlight the potential for new land management techniques that prioritise Sphagnum biomass production and carbon storage. Once the carbon farm is established, the Sphagnum crop doesn’t need to be harvested, making it a low-maintenance use for areas of land that may otherwise be difficult to manage. The trial farm prevents around 20 tons of carbon emissions per hectare, per year.

Reasons for optimism

Solving air quality problems goes hand in hand with habitat restoration research too. Acid rain was once a hot button issue when it came to air quality and environmental degradation. But when was the last time you heard about acid rain? It’s encouraging to note that its effects have been largely reduced. The researchers are hopeful that the threat to lowland peatlands will be similarly reduced in the coming years. For example, peat sales to gardeners in England and Wales will be banned by 2024, which is a huge win for the environment and a sign that policymakers understand the impact of peat removal. More legislation is expected to follow, too, including an industrial ban on peat products in the near future.

In fact, Dr Field suggests that, in isolation, the peatlands problem is relatively easy to solve: “We have the solution to restoring peat carbon stores but social and political barriers are the next challenge to overcome”. These challenges include pressure from interest groups such as grouse shooting estates, whose grounds are often on drained and burnt peatlands. Other barriers to peat protection progress include the need to find high-quality alternatives to peat products and food security in the lowlands, as there could be a negative effect on food production if farmland fields are restored to peatlands instead of their current use for crops or livestock. Another potential barrier is the question of how to reward farmers who give up this valuable profit-producing land for peat restoration. This last point is where the potential for Sphagnum crop farming rewards really shines.