Restoration of Degraded Blanket peatlands: Impacts on Runoff and Potential for Natural Flood Risk Management

Abstract:

Blanket peatlands are upland systems which are characteristically highly productive of runoff. The UK contains 15% of the global blanket peatland resource but these systems are characteristically highly degraded due to a range of anthropogenic impacts including pollution, overgrazing and the impact of fire. Over the past decade or more major efforts have been made to restore these systems through a range of methods including re-vegetation, gully blocking and the reestablishment of sphagnum. In this paper we report on a decade of hydrological monitoring of restored systems within a BACI experimental design. We demonstrate that standard restoration approaches reduce peak discharge from the restored peatland and increase the hydrograph lag time. Changes in surface roughness and in catchment storage are both important in driving these changes. We will also present preliminary evidence from a new experiment which is exploring the ways in which standard conservation approaches can be modified to optimise the Natural Flood Risk Management benefits of peatland restoration.