{"id":36894,"date":"2024-05-08T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c223bcd8-f580-4741-8ee1-6b2dbc33cecd"},"modified":"2024-05-08T02:39:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T00:39:21","slug":"strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves\/","title":{"rendered":"Strange bumps are appearing on a legendary hill in England \u2013 and they’re changing the way water moves"},"content":{"rendered":"

By 2025, there will be 800,000 of these odd humps and bumps on Kinder Scout \u2013 the highest point in the Peak District. They’re part of a vast peatland restoration project that is aiming to reduce flooding, improve water quality and provide a home for wildlife.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 08 May 2024 at 00:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Kinder Scout<\/a> is perhaps best known for the famous Mass Trespass<\/a> of 1932, an act that sought to improve public access rights in the British countryside. Almost 100 years on and the highest point in the Peak District<\/a> is returning to the limelight once more \u2013 this time thanks to thousands of odd mounds that are appearing across the slopes of the 636m-high plateau. <\/p>

The strange bumps are balls of sphagnum moss. By 2025, 800,000 of these bog mosses will be planted on Kinder Scout, acting as \u2018speed-bumps\u2019 to slow the flow of water across the landscape and reduce flood risk, whilst\u00a0creating a home for wildlife. It’s all part of a new project that will see 526 hectares of peatland restored on the iconic peak.<\/p>

Kinder Scout: restoration in action. Credit: National Trust<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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Spectacular sphagnum<\/h2>
Around 130,000 sphagnum moss plug plants have already been planted in the first phase of the restoration project. <\/p>
The moss will slow the flow of rainwater across the landscape, helping to create healthier blanket bog and protect the area\u2019s precious peat.<\/p>
Once established, the newly planted sphagnum moss will act as ‘speed-bumps’ for rainwater, forcing it to weave its way slowly down the moorland slopes instead of running in a straight line, reducing the chances of flooding in the valley towns and villages below.<\/p>
Eventually, the sphagnum moss will foster conditions conducive to peat formation, enhancing carbon sequestration and wildlife habitats.<\/p>
Sphagnum is a genus of more than 300 species of mosses, also referred to as sphagnum moss, bog moss and quacker moss. Credit: Tim Allott<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The latest restoration project builds on findings gained in a study carried out by Moors for the Future Partnership<\/a> and The University of Manchester<\/a> as part of MoorLIFE 2020<\/a>, which found that fully grown sphagnum moss slows the progression of water down the hillside by two hours, compared to when rain falls on bare peat.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to see our natural flood management research from the outdoor laboratory having a real-world impact in helping to shape the next phase of restoration on Kinder Scout,” says Dr Emma Shuttleworth, peatland scientist and a senior lecturer from the University of Manchester, who played a key role in the research project.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLandscape-scale experiments like this are rare, but they are so important for providing robust scientific evidence for the benefits of peatland restoration and showcasing the importance of these landscapes in helping us tackle the climate emergency,” adds Shuttleworth. “It is vital we continue to work together to protect and learn from this often-overlooked environment.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Craig Best, general manager for the National Trust in the Peak District says: \u201cIt is absolutely critical that this work happens now. This year alone, we\u2019ve seen dramatic weather events seriously affect thousands of households across the midlands and beyond.<\/p>
“As we\u2019re faced with the likelihood of more significant bouts of extreme rainfall, it is stark reminder that we need urgent action to increase our resilience in a changing climate.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIn good condition, the moorlands of the Peak District can offer part of the solution to reduce carbon emissions and reduce the risk of flooding for people living downstream, so it\u2019s vital that we continue to do as much restoration as quickly as we can.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Sphagnum$
Sphagnum moss planting on Kinder Scout. Credit: National Trust<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Clean water, wild creatures<\/h2>
Reduced flooding is not the only benefit of planting sphagnum moss. The plant filters peat sediment from water before it reaches reservoirs, thus improving the quality of the water. <\/p>
The moss also creates a wet environment that allows a mix of moorland plants such as heather<\/a>, bilberry and cotton grass to thrive, while creating a home for other wildlife, including dragonflies<\/a>, golden plover, frogs<\/a> and lizards<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
The work on the National Nature Reserve (NNR) at Kinder Scout is the latest part of the National Trust\u2019s ongoing work to restore blanket bog across the Peak District.\u00a0<\/p>
Control plot showing bare peat without restoration. Credit: National Trust<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Tia Crouch, peat ecologist at the National Trust says that “the peatlands of the Peak District make up over 20% of the peatlands in our care. This project is another step forward towards delivering on our commitment to have all the degraded peatlands in our care under restoration by 2040. <\/p>
“We want to see them all move to a favourable condition by reducing the area of exposed peat, raising the water table and increasing the diversity of wildlife species found there which help to make healthy blanket bog.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Restored$
Restored peatland on Kinder Scout in 2019 showing the spread of planted sphagnum along water flowlines. Credit: Tim Allott<\/figcaption><\/figure>
What’s next?<\/h2>
To prevent disruption of the area\u2019s ground nesting bird populations during their breeding season, works are now paused from April until August. After this period, the sphagnum moss planting will continue, along with other works including the building of dams in gullies and the distribution of brash, lime, seed and fertiliser, which will stabilise bare peat by creating the right conditions for moorland plants to grow.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The project is expected to be completed in 2025.\u00a0\u00a0To find out more about the Preserving our peatland<\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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By 2025, there will be 800,000 of these odd humps and bumps on Kinder Scout \u2013 the highest point in the Peak District. They’re part of a vast peatland restoration project that is aiming to reduce flooding, improve water quality and provide a home for wildlife.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":36895,"template":"","categories":[1,27],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/05\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves.jpg",1350,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/05\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/05\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/05\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/05\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/05\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves.jpg",1350,900,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/05\/strange-bumps-are-appearing-on-a-legendary-hill-in-england-and-theyre-changing-the-way-water-moves.jpg",1350,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By 2025, there will be 800,000 of these odd humps and bumps on Kinder Scout \u2013 the highest point in the Peak District. They're part of a vast peatland restoration project that is aiming to reduce flooding, improve water quality and provide a home for wildlife.\u00a0\u00a0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/36894"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Clean water, wild creatures<\/h2>Reduced flooding is not the only benefit of planting sphagnum moss. The plant filters peat sediment from water before it reaches reservoirs, thus improving the quality of the water. <\/p>