MoorLIFE Conservation

A major part of the MoorLIFE project was the conservation and stabilisation of the blanket bogs through practical works on the moors.

There were four main actions that took place on the target areas of the South Pennine Moors Special Area of Conservation.

These were:

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 comprised of a few species of grasses so to help the diversification small plug plants of cotton grass and other moorland plants were introduced. Towards the end of the project sphagnum was spread using new application techniques.