Protecting our Peatlands in Partnership
The Manx Peat Partnership has been established to enable the protection and restoration of peatlands, which are so important for the Isle of Man and its residents.
The Manx uplands are blanketed in a layer of peat, laid down over thousands of years. Not only are these peatlands a valuable habitat for wildlife and a really long term carbon store, they have many benefits for people: they are a working environment, they are the source of our drinking water, they provide recreational opportunities, they can reduce downslope flooding and they make us more resilient to drought. Our uplands are part of our identity, with locals sometimes described as ‘Manx as the hills’.
Our Peatlands
Sphagnum mosses are the key peat-forming plant species in our uplands. Like a sponge, they soak up rainwater and create the damp, acidic conditions needed for peat formation. Blanket Bog habitat, comprised largely of sphagnum mosses, is increasingly rare on the Isle of Man. There is now a Biodiversity Action Plan to protect and restore this habitat through peatland restoration measures.
We also have lowland peatlands, such as the Ballaugh Curraghs. These can form when a shallow lake fills in with partially decomposed vegetation over thousands of years. Many of our lowland peatlands are now covered with willow scrub.
It is thought that our upland peat started forming during the Bronze Age, around 5000 years ago, due to a combination of cooler, wetter weather and deforestation.
Wildlife
Our peatlands support a range of rare and specialist plant and animal species.
The carnivorous sundew traps insects on its sticky ‘dew’ to gain nutrients not available in the peat. Common lizards are often found in peatlands, basking in the sun during the spring and summer and feeding on insects that thrive in peatland habitats. Bird species that inhabit peatlands include curlew, hen harrier, common snipe, red grouse, meadow pipit and skylark, which can be heard and seen in our peatlands during the spring and summer months. All of these species rely on peatlands being wet. Craneflies, one of the most important food sources, need moist conditions for their eggs and larvae, so rewetting peatlands is crucial for wildlife.
Climate Change
Peatlands have an important role to play in reducing our carbon emissions, as well as sequestering and storing carbon. The waterlogged, acidic conditions mean that vegetation is not fully decomposed, and the carbon sequestered by the vegetation is stored as peat.
Despite only covering around 3% of the earths land surface, peatlands store more carbon than all terrestrial vegetation combined. This carbon can be stored for thousands of years if the peatlands are in good condition.
Some of our peatlands are in a degraded condition due to historic land management. This includes the cutting of peat for fuel, the digging of drainage ditches to improve the land for agriculture, the creation of roads through peatland areas, localised overgrazing and recreational pressure. When they’re degraded, peatlands emit carbon. This is often lost through erosion by wind and water, but also through the drying out of the peat and loss of peat-forming vegetation.
The restoration of peatlands, through re-wetting and restoring vegetation, can reduce carbon emissions and increase sequestration, as well as protecting the large amount of carbon stored in the peat.
Flooding and Wildfire
Heavy rainfall events are likely to become more common as our climate changes. Drainage ditches and the loss of peatland vegetation means rain moves from our hills into our rivers faster, increasing the likelihood of downstream flooding.
When peatlands dry out, they become vulnerable to wildfire, which doesn’t just burn the vegetation but can also burn the peat. Shallow peat with dry heath vegetation is particularly vulnerable to damage.
The restoration of peatlands aims to keep more water on the hills, reducing the likelihood and severity of flooding, as well as reducing the impact of wildfire.
Water Quality and Supply Resilience
All of our water comes from upland areas. When these peatlands are degraded and eroding, sediment enters the streams and is carried down to our reservoirs, increasing the need for expensive water treatment.
Restoration of peatland areas reduces the erosion of peat and the vegetation acts like a filter, trapping sediment before it reaches the streams. Reducing the sediment load helps to maintain the capacity of reservoirs and reduces the amount of treatment required.
Wet peatlands act like a giant sponge, slowly releasing water even in dry periods. This, along with retained reservoir capacity, improves the resilience of the water supply during periods of drought.