Welcome to the Exmoor Mire Restoration Project pages
Introduction to Mires
Mires are peatland habitats - Such as Blanket bogs, Valley bogs and Fens all of which occur in the Exmoor National Park. Blanket bog is a globally scarce habitat; 20% of the total world resource occurs in the UK. On Exmoor Blanket bog covers the central moorland but it has been dried out by centuries of moorland reclamation, agricultural drainage and domestic peat-cutting.
Historic Environment Officer Lee Bray watching Mire restoration at Exe Head
Restoration work at Roostitchen completed November 08
Hydrological and Ecological Restoration of the Bogs of Exmoor
The Mire project is re-wetting and restoring these interesting and valuable wildlife areas by ditch blocking and water management. Since initiation in 1998 as a pilot it has developed into the current 4 year (July 2006 – Jan 2009) project. This was possible due to the involvement of a new partner, South West Water (SWW) and a greatly enhanced budget of £400,000 (thanks to the financial and in kind commitments from all the partners and SWW in particular). The project is managed by a dedicated project officer Dr. David Smith with overall control via a Steering Group, comprised of representatives from the five main partners:-
- Environment Agency (EA) (Devon Area)
- Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA)
- Natural England (NE) (formerly English Nature)
- South West Water Limited (SWW)
- English Heritage
The 4 year project has now passed its mid-way point and restoration work has taken place at 8 moorland locations on Exmoor. This includes ENPA owned moorland at Blackpitts and Exe Head, National Trust owned Moorland at Aldermans Barrow Allotment and on privately owned moorland at Roostitchen, Broadmead, Squallacombe, Codsend moor and Hangley Cleave. In total 21.4km of ditch has been blocked so far with bales and over 1400 dams made from wood and peat. This has resulted in the re-wetting of over 158 hectares of Moorland. The work on these sites has been carried out by contractors and the ENPA Field Services team and has cost in the region of £114,000. The restoration costs have been met from the Mire Project budget and Natural England's Exmoor Environmental Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme which has funded 80% of the capital works on the privately owned moorlands.
The restoration so far has been on a small part of Exmoor’s dry and damaged moorland and there is a vast amount which remains to be addressed. Failure to do so will result in further drying out and damage. This will continue to cause:
- loss of SSSI wetland habitat and associated BAP species
- degradation of the peat and loss of carbon into the atmosphere
- drying out of archaeology and palaeo-ecology on the moors
- damage to moorland river hydrology and ecology with associated problems of erosion, drying out in summer, flooding and loss of key species and diversity.
There are 7 more planned restoration sites to complete by June 2009. In addition to this the project has identified a further 25 damaged peatland sites across Exmoor where hydrological restoration would be beneficial to the moorland.
Climate change is likely to increase the degradation of peatlands in the South West region. In order to address this problem the Mire Project Partners have been exploring ways of funding further phases of hydrological restoration work. This has been led by SWW and has centred on a joint South West partnership bid with Dartmoor.
The hydrology and restoration of damaged mires on Exmoor
Follow this link to more pictures of Exmoor blanket bog restoration (PDF, 1.3MB)
The many benefits of The Exmoor Mire Restoration Project include:
- Fighting global warming and climate change Worldwide peatlands are huge carbon stores, but damaged areas release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere through oxidation processes. Restoration halts oxidation and promotes active peat growth thus increasing the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere. The restoration of peatlands could play a major role in mitigating against atmospheric CO2 rises. Calculate your carbon use and see how much can be offset in mire restoration and other projects
- Restoring important habitats Mire restoration will improve the ecological condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI’s) benefiting wildlife in the moorlands and the wider Exmoor area. This will help to achieve targets set by Government for the improvement of SSSI condition and for the conservation of habitats and species identified in The Exmoor Biodiversity Action Plan
- Re-establishment of natural stream hydrology in Exmoor headwaters Encouraging water retention in the upland wetlands will delay and weaken peak river flows while augmenting low base flows at times of low rainfall.
- River environment and aquatic ecology improvement Re-establishing natural flow regimes improves water quality benefiting all river life including salmon and trout which are common in Exmoor river headwaters. More on how the Environment Agency is working to look after our aquatic environment
Find out more about the history of moorland drainage, peat cutting on Exmoor and the peat resources on Exmoor
Peat cuttings and drainage ditches in blanket peat at Blackpitts © R. Wilson-North / ENPA
Guided walk party exploring the re-wetted peat cuttings at Blackpitts
mid project report. Read the full progress report here (PDF, 5.3MB)
Getting involved with the Mire project
Are you a land owner, a National Park resident or and interested visitor? To find out how to become involved with the Exmoor Mire Restoration Project contact: DMSmith@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk