PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The area of relatively undisturbed lowland raised bog in the UK has diminished by about 94%, from 95 000 ha to 6 000 ha, over the past century. Up to 90% of lowland raised bogs have been modified, damaged or destroyed by past management activities such as peat cutting, drainage, and forestry or agriculture, while three quarters of the habitat area is in poor condition. The county of Cumbria in north-west England still has 5 480 ha of lowland raised bog, of which 1 178 ha is degraded. These degraded bogs are hydrologically impaired, denuded of natural vegetation, or colonised by scrub and invasive rhododendron. Therefore, there is an urgent conservation need to restore these raised bogs.
OBJECTIVES
The Cumbrian BogsLIFE+ project targeted the restoration of degraded lowland raised bog within three Natura 2000 network sites (SACs) in the UK: Bolton Fell Moss, South Solway Mosses, and Roudsea Wood and Mosses. These sites have a combined area of 2 807 ha, and represent around 50% of lowland raised bogs in Cumbria. The project focussed on two Habitats Directive habitat types - Degraded raised bog capable of natural regeneration and Active raised bog and aimed todemonstrate a variety of techniques for the complete restoration of lowland raised bog habitats, including the restoration of natural hydrological systems and biodiversity. The long-term aim is to achieve favourable conservation status of Natura 2000 raised bog habitats on the Roudsea Wood and Mosses and South Solway Mosses sites by 2035, and on the Bolton Fell Moss site by 2039. The restoration will also help to increase the resilience of the sites to climate change.
RESULTS
The Cumbrian BogsLIFE+ project restored 608 ha of degraded raised bog in three Natura 2000 network sites in Cumbria, north-west England. It addressed the problems of vegetated but damaged peatland, including scrub, tree and invasive rhododendron removal, and the problems on former-industrial milled peat sites where all vegetation had been removed.
By creating and employing a Framework Agreement for raised bog restoration in northern England, the project was able to drive innovation and develop good working relations with experienced contractors. Additional funding support of over 1 million from the UK government allowed the project to meet its targets, extend its work at Roudsea Wood and Mosses Natura 2000 site with 20 ha more tree-felling and 76 ha more rewetting work, provide a 1.5 km boardwalk and viewing platform at the Bolton Fell Moss National Nature Reserve, and extended the monitoring programme. Habitat restoration targets were met, with 139 ha of tree felling, 70.5 ha of invasive alien rhododendron removal, 303 ha of rewetting of vegetated mires, and 308 ha of rewetting and re-vegetating of bare peat surfaces. The techniques for re-establishing vegetation on bare peat required actions to control water levels, create a new surface profile and spread a 'living carpet' of mosses and grasses taken from other wet heath and bog sites. The technique appears to be successful and has withstood severe storm events and prolonged droughts. By the end of the project, at Bolton Fell Moss the cover of bare peat was reduced from 80% in 2016 to about 50% by 2018 and the cover of peat-forming Sphagnum species had increased from 0% in 2016 to 6% in 2018. The long-term aim is to achieve a fully restored ecosystem at this site by 2039, so a good start has been made.
The projects successful demonstration actions were linked to habitat restoration, monitoring studies, and innovative trials of Paludiculture (growing Sphagnum mosses in peat beds for harvesting as a sustainable crop). A series of Technical Information Notes, linked to short videos, were published to disseminate project experience. The Cumbrian BogsLIFE+ project, along with a series of other mire (raised bog, blanket bog and fen) projects in the UK, including a number of LIFE projects, shared its work through the IUCN UK Peatland Programme.
Given the scale of the project, with over 6 million in contractors costs, the comprehensive costing analysis can help inform future national programmes. In UK currency the average costs were 6 476/ha for tree and scrub clearance, 1 860/ha for rhododendron flailing, 325/ha for rhododendron spraying, 2 204/ha for drain blocking and peat bunding on vegetated bogs, and 10 543/ha for rewetting and revegetating milled peat areas.
The monitoring programme included both site-specific monitoring of hydrology, vegetation and the effects of management; these studies will be continued through site management plans. Other studies of wider relevance included measuring greenhouse gas fluxes in response to restoration work, measuring the loss of particulate organic carbon in exit drains, and taking peat cores to establish carbon stocks. The studies confirm the value of peatland restoration as a means of preventing further carbon loss and of reinitiating peat-forming processes.
An extensive communication programme involved local schools and communities, and researchers and practitioners. Awareness was raised about the intrinsic value of the raised bogs (as wild landscapes) and the value of habitat restoration (for regulating and cultural ecosystem services). Cumbrian BogsLIFE+ helped implement the Habitats Directive, in particular by restoring the habitat types Degraded raised bog capable of natural regeneration and Active raised bog.
The projects socio-economic study showed that the cessation of an active peat mini ng industry led to job losses, but some former employees found work with the local restoration contractors. paludiculture also has the potential to develop into a local industry.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Conservation Plan (see "Read more" section).
