A major part of the MoorLIFE project is conservation and stabilisation of the blanket bogs through practical works on the moors. The restoration section of the Moors for the Future website details the works that are and will be undertaken (click here for more information). Essentially there are four main actions we will be taking on the target areas of the South Pennine Moors SAC. These are:

1. Stabilisation of the remaining peat and blanket bog -
2. Lime, seed and fertiliser - To establish a nurse crop of grasses that will only live for a few years and will continue to stabilise the peat and allow dwarf shrubs (such as heather) to establish
3. Gully blocking - to affect the hydrology to re-wet the blanket bog. Bogs need water to work as an ecosystem, so this can be an essential part of the restoration process.
4. Diversification of the plants on restored areas - the seed we spread comprises of a few species of grasses so in order to diversify this we introduce small plug plants of cotton grass and other moorland plants. Towards the end of the project sphagnum will be spread using a newly developing technique (click here for more information).

Airlifting heather brash from Salters Brook to Bleaklow in the Peak District