National Park secures funding to re-wet and restore peat habitats

National Park secures funding to re-wet and restore peat habitats - North York Moors National Park Authority

A person wearing black clothes with a clipboard and pen crouching on the grassy moor — Edward March Shawcross records peat depth in the North York Moors (Charlie Fox)

The North York Moors National Park Authority has been awarded a grant of more than £1.25 million to restore peat habitats within its borders. The Moor to Restore project will see areas of blanket bog re-established across nine sites, totalling more than 1,100 hectares. This includes three locations that have previously been used for commercial forestry.

Peatlands are incredibly special habitats, characterised by wet, waterlogged soils where vegetation is not able to fully decay and so builds up over time, eventually forming a layer of peat. Aside from supporting significant biodiversity, undamaged peatlands can lock away more carbon than the equivalent area of rainforest. However, if they are drained or otherwise damaged, peatlands become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Any loss of peat habitats is therefore extremely detrimental to the environment.

Edward March-Shawcross, Project Officer for Moor to Restore, said: “The last 200 years has seen significant peat loss from the North York Moors. The digging of peat for fuel, agricultural improvement, drainage and wildfires have all contributed to this. We want to see the return of boggy, species-rich habitats where sphagnum moss, heathers and cotton grass thrive. In turn this will help our populations of Golden Plover and Merlin - two species for which the North York Moors is designated as a Special Protection Area - as well as threatened species of wading birds such as Curlew. Restoring peatlands will also make a huge contribution to enhancing our resilience to climate change, preventing further carbon loss and providing food and water for wildlife in periods of drought.”