Yorkshire Peat Partnership

Restoring Peatlands, welcome to the Yorkshire Peat Partnership

The Yorkshire Peat Partnership aims to substantially increase the amount of peatlands restoration activity in the Yorkshire uplands through a combination of restoration, management and monitoring.

Peatlands are hugely important habitats that are home to an array of unique plants and animals. Peat contains a large amount of carbon, in fact, globally; peat contains the largest amount of carbon of all terrestrial ecosystems. In damaged peatlands carbon is released to the atmosphere in the form of CO₂. By restoring and conserving peatlands the amount of CO₂ released is reduced which may help to abate the effects of climate change. Peatlands also have potential economic value in terms of carbon credits, water storage and recreational activity.

Over recent decades thousands of hectares of peatlands have been lost and degraded. The Yorkshire region alone contains nearly 70,000 ha of upland peat which has been subject to drainage, extraction, grazing and recreational pressure, all of which have compounded the problem of peat erosion. Following the Second World War, thousands of kilometres of drainage channels were cut into Yorkshires peatlands to improve agricultural production and maintain sheep grazing. However, in most cases, the channels have served to compound peat erosion by drying out peatlands, resulting in a loss of carbon and valuable bog habitat.

Research Officer Astrid Hanlon said: “Restoring peatlands is vital not only for the unique animals and plants that they support but also to aid in the battle against climate change.”

The Yorkshire Peat Partnership not only aims to restore and enhance peatlands but also to collect vital information through monitoring and research that may contribute to the development of peatland restoration science and guide future restoration techniques. (Why not take a quick peek at our short video taken whilst surveying in Nidderdale).

The working partnership consists of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and North York Moors National Park Authority and the Environment Agency. The wider steering group consists of Moors for the Future, Pennine Prospects, National Trust, Yorkshire Water, Nidderdale AONB and the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, Moorland Association and the National Farmers Union.

The ultimate goal of the Yorkshire Peat Partnership is to contribute to the restoration of degraded peatland habitats to help to re-instate functioning, peat forming ecosystems. In turn, this will help increase biodiversity and reduce the amount of CO₂ being released into the atmosphere. Along with research, education and community engagement, careful restoration of our peatland habitats may ensure that they can be enjoyed by future generations to come.

Contact

For more information please contact Tim Thom, Yorkshire Peat Partnership Programme Manager by calling 01904 659570 or by email.

  
 

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