Moors for the Future Partnership in collaboration with University of Derby students has launched an important science and data site at Combs Moss above the Peak District town of Buxton, integrating various research techniques for the first time. Monitoring high-altitude, exposed sites can be challenging; so the team are trialling how effective listening for biodiversity activity is, to monitor the success of moorland enhancement in increasing biodiversity. In this project, the Partnership’s extensive science and monitoring programme brings together, in one place, multiple established data-gathering techniques used in sites across the Peak District and South Pennines, now further improved by the addition of bioacoustic monitoring.
Onsite equipment measures water flow over the moorland surface and in gullies, allowing the Partnership to compare the flow of water from the site before and after enhancement works are carried out. This work will improve understanding of ‘peak flow’ and its impact downstream. Techniques include the monitoring of: water level variables – using both manual and automated dipwells; water storage, such as ground-ponding – using time-lapse cameras, depth gauge boards and dipwells; water flow – using V-notch weirs at the outflow point of each mini-catchment restoration area.
The Partnership’s science and monitoring team will be measuring water in (rainfall) and water out (streamflow) to analyse how the catchments respond to rainfall, and how that changes after enhancement works. The University of Derby will measure the impacts of different enhancement methods on hydrology, biodiversity and carbon, comparing the changes in water levels to the amount of carbon dioxide and methane the peatlands release.
As well as these techniques, the introduction of acoustic monitoring opens up exciting avenues for researchers to discover rich data offering fresh insights about animal activity and their interactions with the environment. The remote-sensing, acoustic devices provide an unobtrusive method for researching wildlife and can detect both audible and ultrasonic frequencies. The University of Derby began the monitoring of birds and bats using this new methodology at Combs Moss in 2022 to establish a baseline measurement before the restoration the Partnership’s moorland improvement works commenced. The moor is currently healthy and biodiverse so this baseline measurement provides an unbiased report that can be repeated to evidence and describe the benefits of moorland enhancement to wildlife over the next few years.
Each Spring, University of Derby students will now conduct an acoustic survey of the site during bird-breeding season, when human disturbance is minimised, collecting data to assess how moorland enhancement work can impact biodiversity. The University also has plans for future projects to investigate the diversity of species on the site, including invertebrates and aquatic organisms in newly formed ponds, as the restored habitat matures and evolves at this unique location. The expectation is that insects and aquatic organisms will start to inhabit the newly formed ponds as the enhanced moorland matures and evolves in this unique location.
Moors for the Future Partnership began enhancement works at Combs Moss in 2023. The site has large areas of habitat that are in good condition, and revegetation efforts will boost the site’s biodiversity by introducing more native plant species such as sphagnum moss, cotton grasses, and dwarf shrubs. Blocking erosion gullies with materials such as stones or peat helps increase water storage and retention on the Combs Moss plateau. Slowing the flow of water from the moors helps create conditions that allow water to be retained in the moorland for longer periods.
The Combs Moss project brings together Moors for the Future Partnership, Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages UK, The Environment Agency and landowners the Harris & Sheldon Group in a unique collaboration of public and private funding.
David Elliott, Associate Professor in Microbial Ecology at University of Derby said: “The baselining soundscape work by zoology student Frida Backstrom has helped determine the optimal deployment of monitors for a long-term study of biodiversity across different enhancement methods used at Combs Moss. Soundscape analyses can give unbiased, repeatable indications about biodiversity, whilst minimising human interference for making observations. We expect the restoration works to enhance biodiversity on site and want to be able to evidence this. The baseline data contribute to a better understanding of peatland soundscapes because similar studies have rarely been done elsewhere. Frida found that soundscapes from nearby pre-treatment sites differed, despite offering quite similar habitat. I am especially excited to see if we can hear a biodiversity-related signal as a result of the creation of pools, which I expect will provide habitat for a whole host of noise-making organisms including birds, amphibians, and invertebrates.”
Helen Saunders, Research & Monitoring Officer at Moors for the Future Partnership said: “The partnership that we have at Combs Moss, and the continued collaboration with University of Derby, has made this extension of our science and monitoring work possible. The baseline data that we have got from the site will set us up well to see how enhancements impact on biodiversity there, and will help to inform our knowledge as we look at our work on Combs Moss and other sites over the coming years.”