A Protected Site Strategies Pilot is under way for Cumbrian lowland raised bogs, to address a complex range of issues preventing those sites achieving favourable condition.
The pilot is developing strategies for restoration of three representative SSSI raised mires in South Cumbria, which despite a long history of trying to achieve restoration, are in unfavourable or declining condition.
The strategies will be tested against similar sites to see whether an over-arching strategy can be adopted for other sites where the same issues apply, or whether bespoke strategies are needed for sites.

This partnership project brings together and supports those who live and work in the Brue Valley. It aims to facilitate the delivery of landscape-scale environmental and social benefits by developing a suite of adaptation options to overcome the challenges of climate change and economic uncertainty.
Somerset Wildlife Trust, Landowners, farmers and DEFRA are working together to explore how working with nature can bring benefits, including protecting peat resources to reduce carbon emissions, improving water quality and adapting to climate change. The project is also looking at developing sustainable green finance mechanisms to support landowners and communities in making long-term changes.

Aim
To agree with a IDB/hydrological unit ( at least 5,000ha with remaining peat soil – approx 40cm deep plus over 50% of the area) that are willing to raise the water table – all year to between 10 and 60cm below the surface, to create a mosaic of habitats and paludiculture trials.
Objective
To create 5,000 plus ha of rewetted peat/fen habitat in one hydrological unit
Outcome
Forecast huge GHG reductions
Biodiversity hotspot in the future
Successful trials of a mixture of paludiculture crops, that can be successfully marketed, including food crops.

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Trialling the viability of a commercial typha crop on an area of re-wetted lowland agricultural peat in Greater Manchester. Working with landowner Peel L&P and tenant farmer Steve Denneny, a 5 ha field has been re-wet using deep trench cell bunding and irrigation system fed by rain fed water storage reservoirs. A typha crop was sown using seed encapsulated in clay pellets or suspended in a cellulose gel in May 2024. Harvest is expected in 2026/7 with the seed heads to be used by materials science company Ponda® to create BioPuff®, a sustainable filling for padded jackets.

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The project aims to raise the water table in a 30ha marsh, restoring "peat-forming" fen vegetation. This will allow the marsh to function as a natural carbon sink, supporting climate change mitigation efforts. Additionally, the restored fen will provide valuable wildlife habitat. To achieve this, a wind-powered pump will be installed to raise the water levels, operating in winter and storing water in an on-site reservoir. This ensures a continuous water supply during the summer, without depleting river resources during dry periods. The approach ensures that the restoration process benefits the marsh while preserving the river ecosystem.

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This project is part of a national DEFRA strategy that explores the importance and context of protected sites within the wider landscape by engaging with local farmers, landowners and communities. Primarily, we are looking to understand the following:

• How lowland peat soils contribute to farm businesses
• How any changes to land management might impact farming or other local interests
• Any historic issues with land management in areas of lowland peat

We hope that our findings will help to inform options for lowland peat management that are beneficial for protected sites, viable within farm businesses, and supportive of local communities.

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The original restoration plan for the 83ha site was to create a reedbed and wetland area on Darlows to raise water levels on the site, improve the fen habitat and to polish water feeding into Woodwalton Fen (SSSI) thereby improving water quality for the site and rewetting peat on Darlows. This plan had to change due to the complexities of the plan when they were finally fully identified. The restoration work now will achieve greater water management control for the site, revegetate the site with fen wildflower species and be positioned ready for the future to continue the original plan.

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The EU LIFE Moorspace project is a collaboration between Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England on the Crowle/Thorne Moor SSSI, that runs to 2027.

The project as a whole aim to restore the England's largest remaining area of lowland raised bog and explore new models to gain log term funding for restoration and maintenance of the site and aid delivery of sympathetic management across the wider landscape.

Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes were measured at agricultural fields to compare greenhouse gas emissions under high- and business as usual water tables. The measurements were taken over the growing season of Celery and Chinese Leaf. The fields with a high water table emitted less CO2 and N2O than the control fields. Even though all the fields were CH4 sinks, the control fields were stronger sinks compared to the experimental fields. The project will also compare photosynthetic rates of the crops during the study period.

The England Peat Map (EPM) is a set of national-scale baseline maps showing the extent, depth, and condition (vegetation and land cover classes; upland surface drainage and erosion features) of England’s peaty soils. These maps will provide fundamental evidence on peatland natural capital assets, supporting a range of policy and delivery areas. Anticipated uses include peatland restoration targeting, nature recovery planning, greenhouse gas emissions reporting, regulation (e.g. burning activities in the uplands), land use planning and the future development of new peatland monitoring tools.

The project aims to enhance modern agricultural and land management strategies in the Cambridgeshire Fenlands by co-designing with local farmers and nature conservation institutions plans that incorporate long-term archaeological and palaeoecological insights from the region. The project will seek to improve the use and benefits derived from Environmental Improvement Schemes, particularly Biodiversity Net Gains and Countryside Stewardship Schemes.

Led Jointly by our National Peatland Team and Chief Scientist Group the LAP research and development fund has commissioned 2 research projects to build the evidence required to better understand what raising water tables under lowland agricultural peat will mean for the Environment Agency. This included the collection of new experimental, lab, field and modelling data and an exploration of the anticipated positive and negative impacts of raising water tables for the environment and how these will interact with our current systems of working.

Water is key to re-wetting peatland, the Environment Agency has a major role in flood risk management, water resources, water quality and biodiversity so it is vital we understand the challenges and opportunities around raising water tables in lowland agricultural peat. The Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilots are a £3 million grant scheme delivered by the Environment Agency. It is supporting 13 collaborative projects across the country to create costed water management plans for peatland water management that seek to preserve peat soil carbon and support continued agriculture.

Healthy and sustainably managed peatlands deliver positive benefits to the water environment and the community. As indicated by the 2023 Caudwell report the best way to protect the health and continuing productive use of lowland agricultural peatlands is to change how water is managed. As the regulator responsible for the water environment, we (the Environment Agency), will play a role in achieving this. Our LAP Water Discovery Pilots and Research and Development projects aim to build the evidence needed to support the raising of water tables where it is both safe and sustainable to do so.

The GFI Farmers Toolkit sets out a path towards investment readiness through natures recovery for farmers and land managers but requires specialist knowledge of the landscape & local markets. This project will test tools & resources that will complement the GFI toolkit and improve its accessibility, including establishing the most viable Natural Capital markets for different farms at a variety of scales. The project seeks a win-win outcome, supporting farmers to generate a sustainable income from nature recovery, with minimal capital costs for interventions for investors.

Fens 2100+ is a £9.8m programme to develop a Fens-wide flood resilience investment strategy that achieves long-term value for money and generates regional and national benefits. It’s being developed with, and for, Flood Risk Management Authorities so they can plan for the next 20-25 years.
We’re responsible for developing a strategic case for continued investment in flood risk management across the Fens and setting out the flood risk investment choices to ensure we have a vibrant and flourishing landscape. Fens 2100+ is also ensuring we invest now in the right places, so the landscape adapt to climate change

The project's primary objective is to develop the practical pathways to transform degraded peatlands from the UK's largest land-derived Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions source, into one of the most efficient GHG Removal (GGR) systems. This will build on current restoration-focused policy and practice to augment and accelerate the processes that lead to CO2 removal through peat formation, and to minimise the offsetting impacts of methane and nitrous oxide emission. This innovative approach integrates 'nature-based' solutions, such as high water-level management and high-productivity wetland agriculture, with geo-engineered strategies, including the production and application of biochar.

Trialling the viability of a commercial typha crop on an area of re-wetted lowland agricultural peat outside of Liverpool. Working with the tenant farmers, a 6 hectare field has been re-wet using only a boundary deep trench bund, and utilising the existing field drains to move water from the bordering drainage ditches. Harvest is expected in 2026/7 with the seed heads used by materials science company Ponda® to create BioPuff®, a sustainable filling for padded jackets. The site is also downstream from a water treatment plant and so water quality will be monitored entering and leaving the site.

A 3,700ha fenland wetland restoration project protecting peat soils and creating wetland habitats between Woodwalton and Holme Fen NNRs. Landscape scale restoration and a huge programme of public and technical engagement and outreach, Paludiculture trial sites expanding to field scale and work with a wide range of project partners to deliver academic research on a range research areas including carbon flux monitoring, species colonisation, soils, water quality, drone technology and product development.

The majority of the Chat Moss lowland peatlands of Greater Manchester have been damaged due to drainage and conversion to agriculture or peat extraction, with the associated loss of numerous species. The GM Wetlands Species Reintroduction project has been working on bringing some of these lost species back, especially the large heath butterfly, known locally as the Manchester argus which was reintroduced to Astley Moss in 2020 and now has a stable and increasing population. Other species which are looking to be reintroduced include the white faced darter dragonfly, bog bush cricket and numerous lost plant species.

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7 farms (1 in Yorkshire and 6 in Nottinghamshire), covering an area of 415ha will provide a representative sample of the types of farms and land use in the area and of other lowland peatlands used for agriculture in England. The project will deliver technically and economically robust long term water management plans which have been developed in consultation with key stakeholders, allowing farmers to make an informed decision on the long-term use of their land. The project development process and financing options identified will provide a 'test case' to other farms in the area, increasing likelihood of wider uptake.

The hydrological modelling was carried out in the Southery IDB by Cranfield University’s Ian Holman. Lidar was used to model how water moved through the IDB. This provided a greater understanding of how changes to water management practices in one area of the IDB could impact water levels in another area.

In the UK, there is currently huge interest in paludiculture: the productive use of wet and rewetted peatlands. Paludiculture is primarily framed as a way to extend the commercially viable lifespan of farmland and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; other impacts on the natural environment have been relatively neglected. This project will collate (a) observed and potential impacts of lowland paludiculture on the natural environment, (b) options to maximise positive impacts and minimise negative ones, and (c) open research questions. We are gathering ideas through literature reviews, workshops, and 1-to-1 discussions. Nigel (nt461@cam.ac.uk) would love to hear your comments or ideas!

The research aims to explore how the ‘lowland peatland management transition’ has been shaped this past decade. Then, this research aims to understand how the transition is manifested by different actors in the Northwest of England ‘on the ground’ and to explore how actors contribute to implementing and shaping policy interventions. An understanding of the relationships, practices, and processes that actors interact with to (re)produce the lowland peatland management transition in the Northwest will be investigated. Finally, this research will unpack how different actors perceive ‘responsible peatland management’ and what their various goals and agendas are in the transition

JUSTLANZ aims to develop transformative pathways for a just transition to net zero in the UK farming food sector. By integrating local, regional, and national priorities, JUSTLANZ collaborates with farmers, communities, experts, and policymakers to create sustainable land use strategies. The project focuses on achieving net zero by 2050 while addressing food security, biodiversity restoration, and social justice. Through participatory and transdisciplinary research, JUSTLANZ explores the impacts of different scenarios on carbon emissions, agricultural productivity, and community well-being, ensuring that transitions are equitable and effective across various socio-political scales.

The overall aim of the LAPWDP (Lowland Agriculture Peat Water Discovery Pilot) was much the same as for the PEF project, to explore the viability of a range of land-management options which have potential reduce Fenland peat degradation while maintaining commercial viability. However, here there was a greater focus on water management research, in particular how climate resilience might be built into the water-management system. There were five work streams all presented separately on this page.

This covered Connington & Holme, Holmewood and Whittlesey IDBs, totalling an area of 27,305ha. Roughly 50% of the total area has been mapped.
This project worked closely with farmers to work out which land-management solution best suited a particular local context. The maps created depict soil types, including peat depths and quality; quality of water infrastructure; and level of agricultural productivity.
Maps were created in two stages.
1. The “mapping stage”, farmers told us the soil type of each field, as well as the level of productivity and quality of water infrastructure.
2. Soil surveying teams ground truthing the data the farmers had provided. The soil survey data was shared with the England Peat Map team.
Ground-truthing was found to be essential to help calibrate the farmers’ interpretations of their soils. It did raise the question of how much weight to give to each data type where there was a difference.
At the end of the project a farmer workshop was held in each IDB, before a final workshop that covered all IDBs. The aim of these was to calibrate the qualitative data, as well as to strengthen the network of local farmers who were willing to engage in such initiatives.

A collaboration with the Middle Level Commissioners, the Whittlesey Consortium of Drainage Boards, Natural England, and the Wildlife Trust team at The Great Fen. It studied Pig Water, a drain that transfers water from the River Nene to Yaxley Lode. Pig Water has no direct land-drainage function but is crucial in supplying water for irrigation.
Five broad aims, to understand:
• The current constraints on the storage and conveyance capacity of Pig Water.
• How Pig Water might be affected by changes in water management in the catchment.
• How Pig Water might be improved to facilitate higher water quality and more complex peat management.
• The potential impact of these works on biodiversity, and how these might be mitigated.
• The cost of improvements, which could be used by other IDBs to model the potential cost of upgrading their water infrastructure to enable more dynamic water management.

This project was carried out by UKCEH and its aim was to understand the “rewettability” of peats that had been intensively farmed. It did this by measuring peat depth, bulk density, organic matter content, water level, soil moisture, and water retention and then creating hydrological models using these variables.

In collaboration with Laurie Friday and Hamidreza Rahimi from CLR. It was carried out in IDBs within the Middle and South Levels of the Fens.
Broad aims:
1. Visualise how drainage regime may be affected by climate change.
2. Model how IDBs might change drainage regimes to increase climate resilience, which could be applied to other IDBs.
3. Create guidance on optimising ditch profiles and vegetation development for drainage capacity
4. Create a model for how biodiversity in the Fens may be best enhanced using the blue-green corridors of drains and headlands.
Achieved by:
• Characterising the hydrological structure and function of the drainage networks.
• Investigating effectiveness of remote sensing techniques at determining water-table depths and ditch discharge, when combined with existing data.
• Modelling how water tables, discharge patterns, pumping requirements may change if IDBs can be divided or redesigned.
• Modelling the effect of ditch reprofiling on water capacity, draw-down and flow within the scope of standard drainage management techniques.
• Modelling how vegetation differentially effects flow in ditches of different profiles and slubbing regimes.
• Modelling how ditches can best be managed to enhance biodiversity.

This work was carried out in collaboration with Prof Lynn Dicks (University of Cambridge), Prof Brian Eversham (Wildlife Trusts BCN), Alan Kell (National Trust, Wicken Fen), Bethany Kiamil (RSPB), and Tom Clarke (TWH Clarke and Sons Ltd).
The aim was to look at the effect that widening and reprofiling of ditches may have on local biodiversity, and thus the potential for a co-benefit being created due to the increased storage and conveyance capacity that wider ditches result in.

An ex-peat extraction site, Little Wolden Moss has undergone nearly 15 years of restoration to bring it back to a flourishing peatland brimming with life. The site is used as an exemplar to show that heavily damaged peatlands (with as little as 30cm of peat remaining) can still be restored. The site is also used for engagement, especially through the A Bog’s Life project which is transforming an area of the site into a physical timeline from the peatlands’ first formation, through peat extraction, and finally to restoration.

The project will develop understanding of the feasibility and net impacts of changing lowland peat management practices. These include:
• Raising water table levels (permanently and dynamically);
• Irrigation methods;
• Applying mulches;
• Regenerative agriculture techniques.
Project outputs will be used to improve Government understanding of viable management options for lowland peat; help design policies for peatland management; and consider the net impacts of restoring lowland peatlands. Recognising the need to balance implications for carbon and climate, food and farming, biodiversity, floods and water, we will use the project outputs to inform different solutions which can be rolled-out in combination at a landscape-scale.

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A pilot project to determine the extent and condition of lowland peat within the Cayton and Flixton Carrs area within the Vale of Pickering. The project will undertake initial scoping surveys for lowland peat using peatland code protocol and habitat assessment using UK Habs methodology. The project will engage with five landowners on the project and discuss the opportunities for ecosystem services. The project will install peat monitoring equipment on five farms and collect data for a period of 12 months. The project was kindly funded by North Yorkshire Council through the Local Investment in Natural Capital (LINC) fund.

The Defra Lowland Peat 3 (LP3) project is bringing together expertise from institutes, universities, consultancies, NGOs and the farming sector to deliver an integrated England-wide assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of raising water levels and other interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural peatlands. The work centres on paired field-scale trials on different peat types (bog/fen, thick/thin/wasted), land-uses (arable/horticulture/grassland) and regions (Fens, Broads, Somerset, Shropshire, Lancashire). It also includes an assessment of water availability, practicability of managing water levels at the field scale, and economic viability of managing agricultural peatlands with higher water levels.

Middle Level Commissioners is an Internal Drainage Board who manage water levels in the Cambridgeshire Fens for: flood risk; drainage; navigation; water resources; and the built and natural environment. Within their Drainage District is the nationally important lowland deep peat areas of the Great Fen, including Holme Fen and Woodwalton Fen. Our LAPSIP project replaces a small aging sluice with a large 4m wide automated tilting weir at Horsey Toll to optimise water level management in the Pig Water / Old River Nene to facilitate future land and catchment management. Future land and water management is critical for the fenland landscape.

Moss Side Farm is an opportunity to connect key peatland sites on Chat Moss. Natural England have purchased a 154ha lowland peat farm and buildings which secures a peat-based land holding as part of a proposed NNR across Mossland. We will investigate options for carbon and habitat banking across the site hand in hand with community and volunteer engagement. The farm will also provide a propagation hub for mossland species to aid and support the restoration work and we will maximise the use of this site for research purposes, working with our local academic partners.

Support to thatchers and the improvement of the supply of British water reed (Phragmites australis), to reduce the import of reeds from overseas. There is a requirement of around six million bundles of reed with the potential increase due to cereal straw shortages due to climatic change.

Restoring 215Ha (England’s largest lowland peat restoration project to date) within the modified East Anglian ‘Fens’ landscape. The project focusses on the restoration of undrained fen and reclaimed fen at National Trust Wicken Fen, through embankment repairs; installation of clay bunds around/across paleochannels; installation of water control sluices and new solar water pump. These features, alongside existing winter abstractions, will maximise the opportunity for restoring hydrological function providing carbon, biodiversity and access benefits. The project also supports the evidence of understanding of fenland archaeology across the reserve and baselining of an additional 43Ha site set for restoration in 2025/26.
Funded predominately funded through DEFRA’s Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS) managed by Fens East Peatland Partnership (FEPP) lead partner; Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, with match funding from grants/philanthropy/corporate partners, restricted property/central funds and unrestricted property reserves.

Conducting a meta data analysis of existing learnings and research from Lancashire Wildlife Trust paludiculture and lowland peat restoration projects to create a practical farm toolkit which will support the sustainable management of lowland agricultural peat at a landscape scale. The toolkit will encompass the development and accessing of green finance options from the variety of crop choice data and varied re-wetting techniques to create a mosaic of sustainable land management options. Consideration will also be given to the differing cultural drivers involved in farming lowland peat.

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Provision of a new tilting weir to an IDB watercourse providing water level control to aid in the hydration of sub soil peat layers. The scheme is part of the LAPSIP project run by DEFRA, with installation of the device scheduled for January 2025.

Provision of a new tilting weir to an IDB watercourse providing water level control to aid in the hydration of sub soil peat layers. The scheme is part of the LAPSIP project run by DEFRA, with installation of the device scheduled for January 2025.

The North and South Streams at Northbourne, near Deal, are part of a Chalk Stream system, fed by groundwater springs, flowing to an area of deep peat. Our project was devised to help to protect and restore approximately 23 hectares of the peat, which is periodically subject to severe dry periods. Two simple stopboard structures, an offtake structure and nine leaky dams will enable water levels to be held at a higher level to keep the peat wetted, which as well as reducing CO2 emissions will provide wider benefits for local biodiversity.

Our project focuses on promoting paludiculture in the North West region that contains extensive lowland farming on peat. Together with our OPENpeat partners we are actively engaging with the farming demographic in the region with wetter farming projects to develop the paludiculture knowledge base.

The workstream covered the Swaffham (5234 ha), Middle Fen and Mere (8244ha), Upwell (4847ha) and Southery (9790 ha) IDBs, giving a total study area of 28,115 ha.
This project worked closely with farmers to work out which land-management solution best suited a particular local context. The maps created depict soil types, including peat depths and quality; quality of water infrastructure; and level of agricultural productivity.
Just under 13,000ha of the are was mapped. However, much of the southern part of Swaffham was not critical to the project as the soil was chalky. Many of the other unmapped areas were covered by small holders, making them hard to contact.
Maps were created in two stages. The first of these was the “mapping stage”, in which farmers told us the soil type of each field, as well as the level of productivity and quality of water infrastructure. The second stage involved our soil surveying teams ground truthing the soil data the farmers had provided. The soil survey data was shared with the England Peat Map team.
Ground-truthing was found to be essential to help calibrate the farmers’ different interpretations of what their soils were. It did raise the question though of how much weight to give to each data type where there was a difference.
At the end of the project a farmer workshop was held in each IDB, before a final workshop that covered all IDBs. The aim of these was to calibrate the qualitative data, as well as to strengthen the network of local farmers who were willing to engage in such initiatives.

Our partnership of 8 land managers and 3 environmental NGOs is undertaking a 2-year Landscape Recovery Development Stage. Working with DEFRA we will secure a blend of public and private finance to implement a 20-year period of habitat creation and management to tackle the joint nature and climate crisis across 4000ha landscape.
Through financially sustainable land management we can provide habitat for species threatened by deteriorating condition of Ouse Washes SSSI, whilst significantly reducing carbon emissions through land use changes, improving flood water management, and providing local community benefits.

Financial viability models for paludiculture suggest that revenues generated from the crops alone are lower than high value cropping on drained peat, making it an unattractive business model to adopt. Direct governmental support and other revenue streams (e.g. carbon credits) are likely to be needed to make paludiculture profitable and adoptable. Biochar incorporation with paludiculture could overcome these financial barriers by accessing additional revenue streams through ecosystem service markets and/or governmental payment schemes.

The projects aims to establish the commercial viability of paludiculture cropping (specifically typha latifolia) on pockets of land across the Somerset Levels and Moors, to allow productive farming with raised water levels and reduce legacy phosphate issues. Three trial sites have been established on peat, including a micro trial looking at rhizome establishment, a 1ha site researching establishment methods and impacts for use on designated sites, and a 10ha commercial scale site. Outcomes include researching best establishment and harvesting methodologies, designing and testing specialised harvesting equipment, quantifying impacts on ecology and nutrient stripping, and knowledge sharing with farmers.

HAU to create PIP, a paludiculture resource of national significance
- Re-wetting for paludiculture and habitat restoration as opportunities to mitigate the issues facing lowland peat
- Short-term goal - Conversion from dryland farming to paludiculture (wet-farming)
- Long-term goal - Development of a paludiculture facility

This project took place on G S Shropshire & Sons farm. The aim was to explore which crops might be commercially viable at a field-scale, if grown under paludiculture conditions.
The crops studied were Chinese Leaf, Celery and Miscanthus. Chinese Leaf and Celery were chosen because they were already part of the farm’s rotation. This meant that suitable control sites existed and that there would be a market for the crops, if grown to a high enough standard. The latter crop was chosen as it is becoming increasingly popular as a biomass crop.
The water-table was also monitored at the site and compared to the control sites. This was to observe the effectiveness of the trial’s water management strategy.
Finally, GHG emission readings were taken at the control and trial sites, to calculate the potential carbon savings of pursuing paludiculture in this context.
In the summer, open days were held for the trial, which aimed to show the work being carried out, as well as to educate stakeholders about paludiculture and the initial findings of the research.

The project focuses on a 3ha wet meadow adjacent to Waxham Cut in the Northern Broads, historically used for grazing. Five polders are planted with paludiculture crops, including Typha and Phragmites. This initiative acts as a demonstrator for paludiculture farming in the Broads, assessing its feasibility, with the first harvest of fibres to be used in construction materials in 2025. The project also filters ochreous water to mitigate the impact of drainage waters from upstream farmland on downstream waterbodies. By integrating sustainable farming and water management, it aims to improve local biodiversity, water quality, and showcase the benefits of paludiculture.

The Patchy Peat Solutions Project is a 1 year feasibility study which aims to explore farm based natural capital opportunities and paludiculture on rewetted lowland peat in the Shropshire area where peat is typically patchy in its distribution. The project is working across a landscape of 6 focal farms with different enterprises and intensities of farming and a total of area of 1875 ha land (556 ha of lowland peat). The project is working with the Strine Internal Drainage Board and the North Shropshire Farmers Group and has a large consortium of stakeholders contributing to work packages on carbon, biodiversity, hydrology, farm business and socioeconomics with Harper Adams University as the lead academic institution.

The project involves a network of 22 peat level cameras across the Broads National Park, monitoring the watertable and peat shrinkage. Using telemetry and advanced monitoring systems, it collects real-time data, providing valuable insights for farmers and land managers. The data also enables the Broads Peat Partnership to track changes in water levels and assess the impact on peatland health and carbon storage capacity. By offering continuous, accurate monitoring, the project supports better land management practices and contributes to understanding how peatlands respond to environmental changes, helping to preserve their role in carbon sequestration and climate mitigation.

Peatland Progress is a 5-year project aiming to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and future generations' concerns in the Cambridgeshire Fens. The project will restore 120ha across Speechly's Farm, forming the north and south halves of the Great Fen, and create new wetland habitats for wildlife. The project will also demonstrate paludiculture at farm-scale. This will feature paludi-crops like Typha and Sphagnum moss, which will inform conservation and farming practices on peat soils. The project will also create a people-friendly landscape in the Great Fen, allowing people to experience nature in close-up.

Our research explores the ecosystem service benefits of having functional peatlands in upland, lowland and coastal settings, using innovative imaging platforms (3D X-Ray CT, Hyperspectral Remote Sensing) to understand functional behaviour carbon sequestration and storage, resilience of restoration and evaluating optimal methods of restoration. We apply our research towards developing best practice tools to account for the carbon costs and gains associated with restoration, and to improve on the existing measures for evaluating ‘success’ in peatland restoration.

The Design Guide was created to support feasibility studies for water management in floodplains. It covers key topics such as Water Resources Licences, including Abstraction, Impoundment, Environmental Permits for Flood Risk Activity, and Ordinary Water Consent/Land Drainage Consent. Over the past month, we trialed the guide with various stakeholders and potential users. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with users noting the document as both informative and essential. We are currently incorporating the feedback into the final version of the Design Guide to ensure it meets the needs of all involved in floodplain water management.

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Lidar-based remote sensing and spatial data analysis are being used to estimate water levels throughout lowland peatland drainage networks; and average field-scale freeboard and drain spacing. This is being used within a soil water balance model (WaSim) to simulate past daily watertable depth for each field. The potential efficacy of raising peatland watertable depth and the additional water requirements are being estimated together with implications for GHG emissions

We will deliver an investigation of farm diversification opportunities, developing a financial model that maintains farm productivity in terms of calories produced whilst restoring lowland peatland soils and habitats. We will explore markets for alternative products to existing beef, sheep and dairy production that are preventing peatland restoration at scale, and investigating opportunities for restoration alongside sustainable food production i.e. woodland creation for nuts, brown hay. We will improve accessibility to peatland restoration maintenance funds by developing our earth observation tools to create a monitoring strategy for peatland restoration, making it viable for regular, large-scale peatland monitoring

This project is a Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust project to restore the Epworth Turbary SSSI site. This site was historically cut as a turbary for the local community. For the last 50years LWT has been working to restore the site to an open peatland.

The biggest obstacles have been silver birch encroachment and drainage for the surrounding farmlands. Through the project a baseline was established and we are currently working to reduce the tree cover on the peat areas and updating our water level management plan to determine the next steps.

The Lapwing Estate has developed a new model for “Rethinking peatlands”, which sequesters and abates significant quantities of carbon, and also produces food with measurable positive environmental and social impact. Reverse Coal is a radical whole systems approach that transitions from traditional organic farming on degraded lowland peat, towards climate resilient, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) with a broad array of interlinked societal, environmental and economic benefits. Reverse Coal uses paludiculture to capture CO2 through photosynthesis, and stabilises the biomass through pyrolysis to produce biochar, green electricity, and heat. The biochar can be used for abatement or stored for geological time.

Paludiculture trial focussing on growing traditional food crops. These include celery, lettuce and blueberries, with the hope for more species to be trialled in the future such as kale and wild rice. The water table has been raised to different levels (ground level, 30cm below and 50cm below) to try and find the optimal level which produces a good crop, with the lowest emissions. Different varieties of the plants are also being trialled e.g. five different varieties of blueberries were planted, and whilst four are doing well, one didn’t survive. Different methods of sowing and harvesting are also being investigated.

The SEAD Artists consortium via the Paludiculture Exploration Fund have developed an initiative to support drones as part of an evidence-based data approach to the environment and agriculture - within Peatland restoration this is through our project DroneRePeat.
We have increased the awareness of drones as a business-as-usual tool through Paludiculture:
• Fully mechanised spraying and seeding capabilities across 3 projects including Typha and Biochar
• Operating drones at greater distances with regulatory permission to increase efficiencies.
• Creating a framework to allow scalability and easier drone adoption for industry
• Building a Commercial Market for Lowland Land owners through sensor data

A three year first-of it’s-kind for the SW lowland raised bog restoration project. Shapwick Heath is in the Somerset Levels, a landscape with a long history of drainage for peat extraction and farming. Shapwick Heath holds fragments of remnant raised bog, which have been in declining condition for many years. The restoration has included tree and scrub removal and rewetting using deep trench cell bunding. This is a partnership project with Somerset Wildlife Trust, who have been restoring similar fragments on Westhay Moor.

The Soil Health and Carbon Dynamics Topic Advisory Group (TAG) is a research community which aims to identify and address the critical questions relating to soil within the Land Use for Net Zero Hub. The main objective of the Soils TAG evidence are to collate reviews on soil health and carbon dynamics, lead workshops to define healthy soil systems, assess new and novel indicators, and to produce gap analyses of soil monitoring tools and technologies.

We aim to scale up the production of Sphagnum Farming to produce high-quality and sustainable growing media to replace environmentally harmful peat and support the UK horticulture sector, whilst also supporting lowland peat farmers with this sustainable, profitable Sphagnum crop for their land. We will create a commercially sustainable demonstration farm and overcome our identified barriers throughout the supply chain.

The Somerset and North Somerset Levels & Moors contain 20,000+ ha of deep peat, artificially drained and primarily used for extensive summer grazing. Formulating strategies to sustain agriculture whilst preserving peat and increasing biodiversity are key, through development of a mosaic of land uses.
The project aims to form Moor Associations (MAs), landowner groups with a shared hydrological focus, for knowledge sharing, co-creation, and development of scalable models for governance / delivery, by developing and trialling a farmer-led model for collaboration / consensus building, focused around creating costed plans exploring how land management could change across a whole moor.

Sphagnum mosses and other vascular peatland species play an integral role in strengthening the ecosystem services provided by healthy peatlands. The diversity of potential future funding streams for peatland restoration projects presents the opportunity to access the full benefits of these ecosystem services and carry out comprehensive restoration. Here we explore these opportunities and the mechanisms by which they may be applied to funding holistic revegetation using sustainably produced micropropagated material, which can be supplied as required for large scale projects.

Project overview: Farmers and landowners will benefit from low-cost support in the early stages of planning schemes for raising lowland peat watertables that demonstrates potential practicality and effectiveness. Combining lidar-based remote sensing, spatial analysis and modelling, we have developed regional opportunity maps and a simple-to-use Excel tool. The Excel tool, using the results from over 3000 model runs, illustrates how potential management interventions (ditch water level rising, ditch creation, changed landcover and irrigation) change the watertable depth through the year. It also shows the simulated changes in runoff (given concerns about flooding) and the increased water requirements at weekly and annual timescale

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A composite of various studies undertake by Simon Ward of Increment Limited on developing economic paludiculture opportunities. Simon Ward is also a mentor of a number of start-up companies related to the agricultural industry.

Eunomia is leading on two UK-level scenario development projects in which the role of lowland peatland restoration is crucial:
• The Land Climate Programme identifies four land use change pathways that contribute to Net Zero by 2050. Within the 52 emission-reduction measures considered, five entail lowland peatland management, including 1) conventional agriculture with raised water tables; 2) paludiculture; 3) peatland restoration on cropland and 4) intensive grassland; and 5) ending industrial peat extraction and restoring these sites.
• The LUNZ Hub Futures Platform takes a stakeholder-led approach to developing pathways for Net Zero, nature, and people.

Working with local community groups via the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership, the Lindow Moss project is set within the boundaries of the historic Lindow Common, once one of the largest wetlands in Cheshire. The partnership aims to conserve, restore and interpret this ecologically and historically important landscape. We are currently working on baselining the soils, water and ecology of the site with a view to improving the area for people, nature and climate.

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With PEF support, ponda are tackling three key areas to enable scaled paludiculture at:
1. Paludiculture markets: development of processing technology for our BioPuff insulation product, producing cleaned, high quality fibre for the fashion industry.
2. Typha agronomy: paludiculture must be practically and financially viable for farmers. Here we partnered with ADAS to carry out Typha growth trials to inform growing guidance and enhance fibre yields for farmers. Promoting flowering of the Typha crop could increase fibre yields up to 20X.
3. Seed supply: Technology developed in WP1 extracts Typha seed at scale. This WP explores viability of this seed and potential markets.

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Through the WWF Basket, WWF is working with retailers to halve the environmental impact of the UK shopping basket by 2030. The WWF Basket sets out a series of outcomes and measures and a Blueprint for Action, which outlines priority actions for retailers to address climate and nature impacts. Through this initiative, WWF is encouraging retailers to explore ways to move certain crops in their supply chains off lowland peat to enable raising the water level and restoring the peat's carbon storing functions.

Wessex Water are delivering a five-year WINEP project. The aims of this investigation are two-fold:
1) To review the areas of Wessex Water landholding that are located on peatland and produce an options appraisal/feasibility study for management/restoration. Enhancement interventions would be delivered in 2030-2035.
2) To review the extent of peatland within Wessex Water supply catchments, assess the potential impact that WW’s functions have on these peatlands, and review options for mitigating/controlling any impacts.

2 hectare trial growing a permanent cover crop of sphagnum moss on an area of re-wetted lowland agricultural peat in North Lancashire. Initially created in 2020 there is now 4 years of greenhouse gas data from the site, showing that carbon emissions reduced by 80-90% compared to an adjacent control area of drained and grazed peat. This aims to support the possibility of a non-harvested sphagnum crop which could be grown to sell the carbon credits or underwrite statutory carbon payments.

Winmarleigh Moss SSSI is the best preserved example of a lowland raised peat bog in Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside, but years of drainage and management for game bird shooting left it requiring restoration. Surrounding areas have been purchased and restored via re-wetting and the introduction of peatland plant species, including a number of lost carnivorous sundews species.

A collaboration between landowners and stakeholders exploring opportunities to conserve peatland, improve water quality and security, and increase biodiversity across 1,000 hectares of the Yare Valley. Spearheaded by Langley Abbey Environment Project, a developer-funded nature reserve spanning 250 hectares in South Norfolk and The Broads.

The Greater Sedgemoor project is one of Defra’s second round ELM ‘Landscape Recovery’ projects, working with multiple landowners, farmers, statuory agencies and communities across 5,000ha of the Somerset Levels and Moors. Over 2,000ha of farmland on deep peat lie within the project area, situated to the south of the Polden Hills. One of the core aims is to support a transition in land use to climate-resilient, nature-friendly farming and other land management practices that significantly reduce the green house gas emissions from this peat. Reductions will be delivered primarily through changes to summer water level management across large hydrological blocks.