We are currently updating 'Conserving Bogs; The Management Handbook', a handbook of methods and techniques to effectively manage and conserve bogs. We hope to have the revised version online in the first half of 2019.

This edition of the newsletter focuses on the historic environment record of peatlands, showcasing some recent projects and studies in the UK, with a diversion across the Channel to the Netherlands. I must admit, the term ‘historic environment’ always strike me as a slightly bland term for the wide array of archaeological, palaeoecological, geographical and historical methodologies that are included under its descriptive umbrella. However, there are few other comparable general terms so it will have to do for now!

The abundance of organic archaeological artefacts and paleoenvironmental evidence found in waterlogged environments exists largely because the lack of oxygen (caused by waterlogging) severely slows deterioration. For peatlands themselves, the negative consequences of losing this waterlogging through drainage and land use change are well documented. But what happens to the unique historic archive when these changes occur?

Peat has developed on the moors of South West Britain over millennia - the wet and exposed moors being conducive environments for peat formation. However, it is strongly suspected that human activity in the uplands also contributed to the breakdown of the thin soils that proceeded the peat and contributed to its spread. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the peat has been heavily damaged by erosion and drainage.

A range of recent excavation and assessment projects have demonstrated the significance of upland wetlands in Dartmoor’s past, for both extractive industry in the recent past and for social or spiritual activities in prehistory.

New excavations in the Somerset Levels demonstrate continued preservation and survival of internationally important archaeological sites in lowland wetlands.

In their current state the UK’s peatlands are a source of around 20 million tonnes of CO2 (equivalent) per year – this is the same as the yearly emissions from electricity use in two and a half million homes. A new short film premiers possibilities for achieving a brighter carbon future.