In this month’s Manx Wildlife Trust article, Sarah Hickey, the conservation officer for Manx mires, and education officer Dawn Colley tells us about the work being carried out to protect our peat lands.

In our monthly articles from the Manx Wildlife Trust this year we are bringing you the more up-beat and success stories of what is happening in our Manx landscapes and how we are helping the island’s rich biodiversity.

The Manx Wildlife Trust alongside its volunteers have been busy surveying upland peat in the island and have identified some key areas that would benefit from restoration.

We have surveyed one of these in depth, the old turbary site on Beinn-y-Phott.

From it a restoration plan has been produced which DEFA have used to start restoration work.

This is the first of a series of planned, very exciting restoration projects, which aim to restore habitats and protect the carbon stored within the peat itself.

Blanket bog and other peat-forming habitats once covered large parts of the uplands, laying down a ’blanket’ of carbon-rich peat.

Blanket bog habitats take carbon from the atmosphere and can store it in the peat for thousands of years if the peat is in good condition.

Our peatlands are generally not in a great condition for forming peat due to a variety of reasons, including historic land-use practises, such as digging drainage ditches, resulting in the peat drying out.

Once the peat dries out it becomes more easily eroded, releasing its carbon into the atmosphere.

One of the aims of the restoration work is to re-wet the areas of peat and protect the carbon stored there.

Restoration can also encourage peat-forming habitats to re-establish and start forming peat again.

Sphagnum moss is one of the key components of peat-forming habitats.

It is an ecosystem engineer, helping to create the waterlogged conditions in which it thrives.

It can hold up to 20 times its own weight in water and areas rich in sphagnum can remain waterlogged even after long periods of dry weather.

The uneven ground surface created by sphagnum hummocks reduces the flow of rainwater over the ground and helps to reduce flooding downstream.

Another part of restoration work is the blocking of drainage ditches and gullies.

These can be blocked by a series of dams, creating small pools which eventually get re-colonised by sphagnum and other water-loving species.

Creating these dams helps to re-wet the peat and reduce the speed of rainwater reaching the rivers, whilst also helping to reduce flooding.

Not only do our peatland areas help us in the challenges of tackling global warming and the associated flooding problems but they are also home to a range of amazing species, including the insect-eating Sundew, Deergrass, Cottongrass, Heather, Billberry, Crowberry and many species of sphagnum moss.

Wetland birds, such as Snipe and Curlew can often be found in peatland habitats, as can the Mountain Hare.

So next time you are walking on our hills, spare a thought for all that the peatbogs do for us and nature.

For more information, visit mwt.im