MoorLIFE 2020 conservation works

MoorLIFE 2020 conservation

Our ambitious programme of conservation work aims to improve the condition of blanket bog at a landscape scale.

Under the MoorLIFE2020 Project, we are:

stabilising and revegetating half a square km of bare peat to stop erosion
installing 15,000 mini-dams in drainage channels to help rewet the blanket bog
tackling areas of over-dominant plant species, like heather, by cutting dense areas on nearly square km of moorland and introducing other bog species
Planting approximately 1.7 million plug plants of sphagnum moss (a major component of blanket bog)
Controlling invasive species, like rhododendron
Working with land managers to share best practice

From April 2018 to December 2018 MoorLIFE 2020 work delivered:

707 bags of heather brash spread on bare peat to stabilise it
1515 mini-dams installed
0.5 square km of cutting for sward diversification (cutting areas where one species is too dominant, usually heather, purple moor-grass and cotton grass)
5.5 square km planted with sphagnum (that’s over 600,000 plug plants)
4.5 square km cleared of rhododendron
0.7 square km cleared of sitka spruce

Digger on the moors

MoorLife 2020: tackling bare peat

We’re tackling nearly half a square kilometre of bare peat in the South Pennine Moors Special Area of Conservation as part of MoorLIFE 2020’s conservation work

MoorLIFE 2020: blocking drainage channels

We’re aiming to build at least 15,000 mini dams to block 107 km of drainage channels

MoorLIFE 2020: cutting to reduce dominant plant species

We’re cutting dense patches of heather, cotton grass and purple moor grass to allow a mixture of other species to return, making for a healthier mix of moorland plants

MoorLIFE 2020 sphagnum planting

We're planting at least 1.7 million sphagnum plug plants as part of MoorLIFE 2020

Guidance for land managers

At the end of 2018, our land manager engagement programme has seen us engage with over 250 landowners and managers

Over the life of the project, sphagnum moss will be reintroduced to over 17 square km of the Peak District National Park and South Pennines, with around 1.7 million plugs planted

MoorLIFE 2020 conservation works