Wigeon (Anas penelope) and Teal (Anas crecca) swimming and standing near frosted Bullrushes (Typha latifolia) in flooded marshland on a foggy winter morning. Greylake RSPB reserve, Somerset Levels, UK, January. - Nick Upton/2020VISION/naturepl.com
Land Management and agriculture on functioning peatlands
Optimal management of lowland peat
Optimal management of lowland peat aims to maintain constant water levels between 10cm and 30cm preventing shrinkage and carbon release. Apart from during very wet periods or on land that is significantly low lying (usually due to peat shrinkage from previous intensive management), this means the surface is still covered in grassland swards and requires grazing continuing to provide an agricultural output.
Large grazing animals are important to maintain habitats and increase opportunities for a broader range of wildlife.
For lower land there are wet agricultural opportunities (known as paludiculture) growing wet crops such as typha. There are trials happening across Somerset to test the commercial viability of these crops through FWAG. Somerset Wildlife Trust is working with farmers in the Brue Valley, as part of a Landscape Recovery development project, to identify income streams that also support actions to protect peat. The RSPB are also working with farmers in the Greater Sedgmoor area as part of a Landscape Recovery project. Read more about these projects below.
Ham Wall RSPB Nature Reserve, Somersel Levels, Somerset, June 2011 - Paul Harris/2020VISION
The story of peat
Our UK peatlands store an amazing 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon. When considered globally, this is even more impressive, as they cover just 3% of land area but in that pack 30% of all soil carbon.
Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Reserves category winner (18 and over) - Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve, 2024. Image: Frances Barr
Peatland habitats
Most wetlands are peat-forming. When the ground is too wet for vegetation to decompose, a dark, organic matter called peat forms.
Photo: Alison Hoare
Westhay Moor
Reclaimed from the remnants of industrial-scale peat extraction, Westhay Moor is home to the largest surviving remnant of lowland acid mire in the South West.
