The UK Government has extended the ban on burning vegetation on deep peat in England. This means three times more peatland is now legally protected from this damaging, outdated practice. Banning burning will help in the work to keep peatlands wet. This not only protects precious peatland habitats but also improves air quality for local communities and can reduce flood risk.
Unfortunately, some burning is still allowed on peat less than 30cm deep.
Why are peatlands important?
Peatlands are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth, storing twice as much carbon as the world’s forests.
Healthy peatlands:
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- Capture CO2 through photosynthesis and store an estimated 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon in the UK alone
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- Have a net cooling effect on climate
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- Slow the flow of water, cleaning it naturally and reducing flood risk
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- Provide floodplain storage in the lowlands
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- Support plant life, which provide habitats for wildlife
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- Support biodiversity.
What peatlands do we have in the UK?
There are three broad types found in the UK:
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- Blanket bog – large areas of peat found mainly in uplands that ‘blanket’ the landscape
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- Raised bog – localised domes of peat in lowland areas
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- Fen – peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water.
Peatland habitat covers around 10% of the UK land area – nearly three million hectares.
Why are peatlands at risk?
Many of the food and fibre crops that support human life require dry conditions to flourish. As a result, farmers and foresters have drained large areas of upland and lowland peat.
Around 80% of UK peatland has been affected due to a range of human activities, which includes:
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- Draining peat for agriculture, leading to decomposition of plant material, peat shrinkage and release of carbon into the air as CO2.
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- The drainage of large areas of lowland peat, such as the East Anglian Fens, which are now below sea level and are flood risks
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- The creation of ditches for drainage which provides channels for the flow of water and may increase flood risk downstream
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- Drying out peat soil to allow shrubby vegetation to grow, which makes the land more vulnerable to wildfires
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- Fire caused by managed burning or accidental spread, which increases CO2 loss from the ecosystem.
Hidden Peat: Selling Peat
Targets to phase out peat use were first introduced in 2011. After little progress, a decade later, UK Government announced it would ban the sale of bagged peat compost by 2024. However, there is currently no legislation in place to achieve this.
Many people are now aware that switching to peat-free composts is an easy way to protect peatlands.