Natural England will be carrying out vital works to allow the Duddon Mosses lowland raised peat bog to thrive once again.
Peat bogs provide important ecosystem services such as carbon storage, water filtration and regulation of water flows. Lowland raised bogs are a rare habitat and support specialist plants such as the carnivorous sundew as well as rare and threatened animals including large heath butterflies, bog bush cricket and adders.
National Nature Reserves were established to protect some of our most important habitats, species and geology, to provide ‘outdoor laboratories’ for research and for members of the public to enjoy.
Natural England has been working over the last thirty years to restore more natural conditions in the Duddon Mosses NNR in order to protect the rare habitat and species, conserve the carbon and historical record in the peat and to reestablish the bog’s ability to lay down more peat.
Starting in November and for four months, Natural England will be beginning works to bring these bogs back to life. Felling the trees will let rainwater reach areas of drying peat and provide space for future work to stabilise collapsing peat-cutting faces and block historic ditches and cracks in the peat. These works will enable peat-forming plants such as sphagnum moss and cotton grasses to thrive.
Steve Benn, Senior Reserve Manager for Natural England said: “Lowland raised bogs are a rare habitat this is because over 90% has been destroyed and we are unable to recreate them. Lowland raised bogs, such as at Duddon Moss NNR support specialised plants and animals and also provide an important historical record of past climate and vegetation.
“Over the last thirty years, Natural England has been working to restore more natural conditions in the Duddon Mosses in order to protect the rare habitat and species, conserve the carbon and historical record in the peat re-establish the bog’s ability to lay down more peat over the coming generations.
“Beginning in November work will start to remove trees and to explain more, Natural England are holding a drop-in session for local residents today at the Victory Hall in Broughton-in-Furness, from 10.30am to 4pm to talk through the works in more detail. ”
England’s peatlands are our largest terrestrial carbon store. They provide a home for rare wildlife, regulate our water supply and provide a record of the past. However, only 13% of our peatlands are in a near-natural state.
The England Peat Action Plan sets out actions to reverse this decline. It is a blueprint for how we will take action to ensure our peatlands are functioning healthily for the needs of wildlife, people and planet.
