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For the love of peat

Holcombe Moor, by the National Trust

The National Trust are a vital member of the Lancashire Peat Partnership, find out about their amazing work restoring Holcombe Moor.

The costs of restoring peatlands can be significant, labour intensive and time consuming. So why are we so committed? 

Peatlands are amongst the most overlooked natural resources in the world, and many are unaware of their significance and important role in tackling today’s global climate change. Back in 2020 the Holcombe Moor National Trust team embarked on our biggest journey yet as part of a nationwide effort to restore the UK’s moorland. A few years in and the team will agree, not much makes us happier than a water filled peat bund, happily growing sphagnum, and a working stone dam.

The importance of a healthy peat bog

A healthy peat bog that’s wet and covered by specialist plants is important not only because they trap large volumes of carbon, but also because they help slow the flow of water and prevent flooding further downstream. They’re also important habitats for special and protected species of plants and animals. Golden plover, curlew, dunlin, and the common lizard, are just a few examples.

Person in a red t-shirt reaching into a pool of water on Holcombe Moor

Bog pool at Holcombe Moor, by the National Trust

Peat bunds and sphagnum moss

Over the last few years the team have been busy creating 3,500 peat bunds up on Holcombe Moor, with a further 750 planned. The bunds are large scallop shapes, approximately 7 metres long, that are dug out of the peat. These are designed to slow the flow of surface run off and in doing so create pools of water.

Sphagnum moss plugs are then planted around the bunds, another technique designed to hold water on the moor. Since work began, we can see the planted sphagnum moss growing as it starts to spread around the bunds. This is important because when the plant eventually dies it decays very slowly in wet conditions forming peat and storing an increased amount of carbon from the atmosphere – an essential process helping to combat the current climate change crisis. So far 500,000 sphagnum moss plugs have been planted, with work already having started on an additional 500,000.

A person in a red tshirt holding dripping green sphagnum moss

Sphagnum moss at Holcombe Moor, by the National Trust

Stone dams blocking gullies at Holcombe Moor

Stone dams at Holcombe Moor, by the National Trust

Stone and peat dams

The creation of 500 stone and peat dams was a job that required more than just ground machinery. Helicopters were brought in to airlift approximately 500 tonnes of locally quarried stone and expertly position the drops to create these permeable structures.

These dams help to slow water movement during high rainfall and keep water on the peatland for longer, reducing the risk of flooding further downstream. So far 500 stone and peat dams have been created, with plans to build a further 60 in place. 

 

This is only a small part of the conservation work we’ve carried out so far, and with the help of our partners, we look forward to continuing our mission of reducing carbon in the atmosphere, improving habitats for wildlife and protecting local communities from flooding.

 

Our partners

Funded by DEFRA’s Moor Carbon fund, so far, we’ve worked closely with Natural England, Moors for the Future, the Holcombe Moor Commoners’ Association and Environment Agency.  More recently our academic partner, The University of Manchester has joined the team to establish a long-term monitoring programme. Works planned from winter 2023 to spring 2025 are part funded by National Trust and Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme.  

 

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