Naturally, at your service: - RSPB
Naturally, at your service: - RSPB
Naturally, at your service: - RSPB
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Case Studies – The UK Uplands<br />
There is enormous interest in the<br />
ability of pe<strong>at</strong>lands to sequester and<br />
store carbon, the degree to which<br />
this property can be compromised<br />
by drainage, and whether this can<br />
be remedied by restor<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
Academics are capitalising on the<br />
restor<strong>at</strong>ion activity <strong>at</strong> the site to<br />
measure and compare the<br />
greenhouse gas emissions from<br />
intact, drained and restored pe<strong>at</strong>.<br />
The reserve <strong>at</strong> Lake Vyrnwy is also<br />
the largest organic farm in England<br />
and Wales. Owned by Severn Trent<br />
W<strong>at</strong>er, and managed by the <strong>RSPB</strong>,<br />
the farm demonstr<strong>at</strong>es th<strong>at</strong> it is<br />
possible to run a profitable, efficient<br />
farm while benefiting local wildlife<br />
and people, and protecting an<br />
important source of drinking w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
By considering how management<br />
can better deliver a range of<br />
ecosystem <strong>service</strong>s, Lake Vyrnwy<br />
exemplifies an ecosystem approach<br />
to land management.<br />
Cuilcagh Mountain<br />
The upland blanket bog of the<br />
Cuilcagh Mountain, which straddles<br />
the intern<strong>at</strong>ional border between<br />
Northern Ireland and the Republic<br />
of Ireland, is one of the best and<br />
most extensive pe<strong>at</strong>land areas on<br />
the island.<br />
In the l<strong>at</strong>e 1980s, the blanket bog<br />
suffered unsustainable pressure<br />
from pe<strong>at</strong> extraction, overgrazing,<br />
uncontrolled burning of surface<br />
veget<strong>at</strong>ion and the damaging use<br />
of all-terrain vehicles. This damage<br />
reduced the bog's ability to retain<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er, resulting in flooding and<br />
abnormally high w<strong>at</strong>er levels in the<br />
caves downstream. This, in turn,<br />
reduced tourist activity <strong>at</strong> the<br />
Marble Arch caves, a major<br />
<strong>at</strong>traction in County Fermanagh<br />
with over 53,000 visitors in 2007.<br />
In 1997, a European Commission<br />
funded project to protect the<br />
blanket bog in Northern Ireland and<br />
Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)<br />
Scotland was approved. In Northern<br />
Ireland, the project was a partnership<br />
between the Fermanagh District<br />
Council and the <strong>RSPB</strong>. This led to the<br />
restor<strong>at</strong>ion of 28 hectares of cut-over<br />
blanket bog on Cuilcagh Mountain.<br />
The ecosystem <strong>service</strong>s provided by<br />
the restored pe<strong>at</strong>land will help to<br />
maximise the future tourism<br />
potential of the Marble Arch caves as<br />
well as conserving an important<br />
habit<strong>at</strong> th<strong>at</strong> supports a wealth of<br />
wildlife, including the hen harrier and<br />
golden plover.<br />
Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)<br />
David Wootton (rspb-images.com)<br />
31
Change language