Britain’s Lowland Bogs and the Chat Moss project

A lowland raised bog typically occurs in lowland areas on an impermeable substrate such as sand or clay, plant matter dies and goes through decomposition without fully decomposing which produces peat. Sphagnum moss find the acidic conditions of the peat favourable and as they grow in the bog they compress the peat and form a dome as the peat accumulates.

A recent seminar I attended given by Elspeth Ingleby highlighted the importance of lowland bogs for Britain’s biodiversity and gave examples of the ways in which schemes such as the Chat Moss project are helping to preserve and reestablish Britain’s lowland bogs.

A lowland bog in West Yorkshire

The importance of bogs can be found in their capacity to support many different species including breeding waders, wildfowl and many types of invertebrates. They are also extremely effective at absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon with around 20% more carbon capacity than our forests, this could prove useful in the fight against climate change particularly with many companies hoping to offset their carbon emissions by protecting sites such as lowland bogs. Peat bogs can also be effective buffers against potential floods are droughts due to their ability to soak up large quantities of water.

Unfortunately the business of peat extraction for use in gardening and the digging of drainage channels for agricultural purposes has led to a huge amount of destruction to natural bog habitats and a loss of the previously listed services that they can provide.

The Chat Moss project aims to secure the locations of several lowland bogs around the Manchester area and prevent any further damage being incurred upon these sites of natural beauty. Currently three sites are owned by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and work such as scrub clearance, blocking drainage ditches, removing invasive species and propagating the growth of sphagnum is being carrried out to ensure these lowland bogs recover.

I enjoyed the talk as it focused more on habitat improvement and preservation than some of the previous conservation talks, it was also a subject fairly close to home and I’m intrigued to go and visit the bogs myself.

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