1. 0 - Introduction
Within this series of blogs, I will be evaluating the conservation practices in use at Drumburgh Moss National Nature Reserve, located in Cumbria and which covers a large expanse of 121.50 hectares. At the site there is an 800m waymarked route across usually dry and level ground leads to a raised platform which provides fantastic views across the mire to the hills beyond. There is a circular route from Moss Cottage onto the moss, then to Whiteholme and back using the public footpath is approximately 3.2 km/2 miles.
Within this first blog post, I will be introducing the chosen location, describing how it is formed and most importantly why these environments are significant.
The chosen site is a peat bog that is composed mainly of intact lowland raised mire, which is then surrounded by wet woodland and grassland.
Drumburgh Moss is a designated SSSI as of 1986 (a Sight of Special Scientific Interest is a formal conservation designation. Usually, it describes an area that’s of particular interest to science due to the rare species of fauna or flora it contains - or even important geological or physiological features that may lie in its boundaries (Woodland Trust (2019)).
As detailed within the Drumburgh Moss Sight of Special Scientific Interest documentation (1986) it is one of four extensive lowland raised mires on the south Solway plain, which supports the largest area of this habitat left in Great Britain without significant loss or damage. This site is less affected by artificial drainage or peat cutting than the other Solway raised mires and it remains virtually intact as a hydrological unit. Drumburgh Moss also differs in its topography, which is more uniform and remarkably level, although rising slightly to the north and west, and in the large area of marginal heath and grassland.
Drumburgh Moss - Image Credits: Phoebe Johnson - Bird, 2018
1.1 - Formation
Firstly, peatland ecosystems such as the designated site, prosper largely in lowland areas like flood-plains by rivers or within depressions in the landscape. The formation process can take up to thousands of years, beginning with wet hollows filling up with dead flora. The water conditions are very anaerobic, hence the accumulation of partially decayed vegetation and organic matter, forming peat. The volume of peats grows and develops, moving upwards and outwards, forming a raised dome that rises above ground water level. This process is known as ecological succession, in which the framework of a biological community changes throughout time.
Lowland raised bogs within the UK characteristically found in cool and humid locations, as classified by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (2008) catalogued them commonly in the north-west lowlands of England. The central and north-east lowlands of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but remnants also occur in some southern and eastern localities, for example Somerset, South Yorkshire and Fenland.
1.2 - Why are Peat Bogs Important?
Today these peat bogs are the most efficient carbon sinks on the plant due to partly decayed plant material containing large sums of carbon. They also maintain an equilibrium because peatland plants capture CO2 naturally released from the peat. However if the peat were to become dried out the carbon would be exposed to oxygen and therefore form carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
According to the National Trust (2019) peat is of great importance to our planet:
As a carbon store – peat holds more carbon than the combined forests of Britain, France and Germany
For wildlife – many scarce species inhabit peatlands
For water management – peat holds up to 20 times its own weight in water
For archaeology – peat preserves a record of past vegetation, landscapes and people
Below is a short, animated video that summarises the formation of peat bogs and their importance:
Why Peat Matters - Video Credits: Indonesia Climate Change Centre, 2015