Mire Project Holds Water

A recent update reveals that more than 150 hectares in eight Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on Exmoor have now been restored to bouncing bogginess thanks to work undertaken by the Exmoor Mire Restoration Project.  

Years of peat-cutting and draining has resulted in many acres of peat bogs being lost and as they dry out carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere contributing to global warming.  

Within the eight SSSIs, mire restoration has taken place at 11 different locations. In total 20,000 metres of ditches have been blocked using over 10,000 moorland bales and 1,300 dams made from wood and peat. As a result 150 hectares of damaged mire has now been re-wetted.

Commenting on the success of the scheme, Mire Restoration Project officer  Dr. David Smith said: “We have already noticed an increase in the amount of bog loving plants that have returned to the re-wetted areas like Sphagnum mosses and the purple flowering Devil's-bit Scabious, which is the food plant of the rare Marsh Fritillary butterfly.

What happens with dry peat is that it oxidises in the environment and turns into carbon dioxide, and that's loading CO2 into the atmosphere which contributes to climate change which is the last thing we want. If you can re-wet these dry peats and drive the oxygen out you end up with a peat mass which is stable again."

The Exmoor Mire Restoration Project is partly funded by South West Water who have backed the project is because the peat bogs act as reservoirs trickling water down to the River Exe keeping its water levels stable. An added benefit is that winter flash floods can be avoided because the amount of time it takes for water to flow into the River Exe is increased.

At Codsend Moors, one of the most recently re-wetted sites, the project only used moorland bales to build the dams to avoid disturbing Bronze Age settlement patterns. The bales were made using moorland grass and rushes which were cut from the site using specialist equipment and used to block the ditches.

Dr. Smith says: “The total amount of carbon on these moors would be the equivalent of the output from the South West for a few years, so it's potentially a huge amount of carbon you're saving and not putting into the atmosphere.

"Effectively you are turning the clock back. Instead of losing the carbon, plants start accumulating peat so you take carbon out of the atmosphere and store it here."