UK behind on peatland restoration: action needed for vital carbon sinks

Article written by: Tim Mooney

The UK is off target to restore or sustainably manage two million hectares of peatland by 2040, an essential tool of biological carbon capture.

According to the latest UK Peatland Strategy report, the past 5 years have seen a significant uplift in peatland restoration action and focus on the importance of peatlands. Regardless of this, restoration and management strategies have been slow and segmented.

Why do we need peatlands?

Peatlands are wetland areas across the UK which prevent plant material from fully decomposing. They are a highly effective biological carbon sink and among some of the most carbon rich ecosystems on Earth. It is estimated that peatlands have absorbed roughly 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon in the UK alone.

At present, peatlands cover 12 per cent of UK land area, equating to 3 million hectares. 22 per cent of these peatland has remained in near-natural condition, 41 per cent remain under semi-natural peatland vegetation but have been impacted by human activities, 16 per cent are covered by woodland, and 15 per cent is occupied by agricultural cropland.

What is the UK’s peatland strategy?

UK peatlands need to be protected as part of the UK’s climate strategy. Presently, human activity such as soil draining for crop growth and tree planting, the creation of ditches to enable drainage, and drying out of peat soil to allow for vegetation have placed peatlands under threat. The outcome: land use practices over the last century have drained the UK’s peatlands, releasing the equivalent of 20 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

This has resulted in 80 per cent of the UK’s peatlands being in “poor condition.”

Launching in 2018, the UK Peatland Programme has seen slow progress. Around 255,000 hectares of peatland restoration have been completed which brought us close to the milestone of “one million hectares in good condition by 2020.”

Overall, the UK Peatland Strategy report highlights three areas of progress:

• Conserve and restore: There has been minimal progress towards the goal of protecting 95 per cent of UK peatlands. Latest surveys have shown that just 16.4 per cent of UK peatlands are in good condition.
• Adapt and sustainably manage: Some progress has been made towards regulating the burning of peatlands. Concepts of ‘wetter farming’ are gaining traction to encourage maintenance of peatlands.
• Co-ordinate and communicate: The PICC have acknowledged the role of ‘peat’ in climate change mitigation. Peat-themed research projects have been awarded over £25mn since 2018.

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