A new map of England’s peatlands has revealed that 80% of these vital habitats are dry and degraded.

Created using satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and detailed data analysis, the map offers the most comprehensive view of England’s peat and peaty soils to date, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Published on the government’s website, the open-source map models the extent, depth, and condition of peat across England. It includes information on vegetation, erosion features, and both natural and artificial drainage channels.

Peatlands play a crucial role in addressing climate change, reducing flood risk, improving water quality, and supporting rare wildlife like golden plovers, curlews, and numerous dragonfly species. However, when peatlands are degraded, they release stored carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.

Peaty soils cover around 8.5% of England’s land surface, with significant peatland areas located in the Pennines, North York Moors, parts of the Lake District, and uplands in the south-west. But the findings show that most of these areas are no longer in a healthy state.

While about 75% of the peatlands are covered by vegetation typical of drier conditions, just 1% are home to peat-forming plants like sphagnum moss, which are essential for healthy, functioning peat ecosystems.

Dr Sallie Bailey, Natural England’s chief scientist, said: “Trying to map something that’s largely underground, changes in volume depending on whether it’s rained recently and tries to swallow you up every time you set foot in it comes with its challenges, which makes this map extraordinary in its accomplishment and something of a global first.

“Mapping peat to this level of detail will help us maximise the benefits of peat and massively advances our understanding of the role our peatlands are playing in a changing climate.”

Defra says that understanding the extent and condition of peat is a key step in measuring how much carbon it stores—and releases.

The map is also intended to guide land managers in restoring peatlands, such as by re-wetting drained areas, and to help policymakers balance carbon storage, biodiversity, and food production.

Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, said: “The benefits of healthy peatlands are well documented. They are our biggest natural carbon stores, essential to the water cycle and refuge to some of our rarest plants and wildlife, such as the carnivorous sundew plant, marsh violet, and charismatic birds like golden plover and curlew.

“The England peat map will allow us to make far better and more informed decisions when it comes to managing peatlands – targeting restoration efforts to the most degraded peat and identifying the best opportunities for nature recovery.”

Caroline Thorogood, the National Trust’s lead for peatlands, said: “The data in the map will help us take a significant step forward to more accurately map peatlands that we own and care for in England and understand their condition.

“This will allow us to better identify priorities and action future work to recover our precious peatlands, helping nature thrive and providing benefits such as carbon storage and water regulation.”

 

 

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At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.

 

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