Restoring peatland

UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man’s largest peat reserves, a vital carbon store, are located in its uplands. The lower slopes of Snaefell mountain and surrounding hills contain a significant peat reserve. As part of the Biosphere’s commitment to tackling climate change and biodiversity emergencies, it is embarking on restoring peatland.
An initial project to restore a minimum 400 hectares is under way, focusing on the most degraded site, ‘turbaries’, where peat was hand-cut, stacked and dried before being used for heating. The last public turbary closed in 2020.

Restoration is guided by field surveys, including ecological habitat condition assessments that not only provide current data, but future benchmarking to assess the impact of restoration. It is hoped that by restoring degraded peatland, the Biosphere will enhance biodiversity, including the breeding grounds of the majestic hen harrier, improve flood management, improve raw water quality and increase wildfire resilience.

País: Isle of Man

Reserva de la Biosfera:  Isle of Man

Ámbito de la experiencia: Applied research

Organismo responsable: Isle of Man BR

Años: Underway

Contacto: Jo Overty   jo.overty@gov.im