New investments and actions to improve lowland peat and reduce carbon emissions have been recently set out by the Government.

Peat soils contain over half the country’s terrestrial carbon stores and serve as a potent nature-based solution against climate change.

However, because of centuries of drainage to create land suitable for agriculture, peat soils are drying out, causing the organic matter they contain to decompose and release carbon into the atmosphere. Today, just 1% of England’s lowland peatlands remain in a near-natural state.

By rewetting lowland peat soils, Defra says it can deliver carbon emission reductions, improve food security, boost wetland biodiversity, and better protect communities from flooding. 

To support the preservation and sustainable management of lowland peatlands, the government has announced that it will take forward action on all the recommendations made by Robert Caudwell, independent Chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force, whose report was published on June 29.

This comes alongside over £7.5 million of new funding to kickstart improvements in how water resources are managed to rewet and preserve peat soils. 

The government says the measures it is taking will also "improve resilience to drought and safeguard productive farming on some of the country's most valuable agricultural lands, supporting our rural economy and those whose livelihoods are intrinsically tied to the land."

In 2020, the government established the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force to explore how to improve the condition of England’s lowland farmed peat whilst ensuring the continuation of productive agriculture for years to come. The Chair of the task force has put forward 14 recommendations to the government and the wider sector to ensure that lowland peat soils can be managed more sustainably.  

These recommendations include: 

  • New investment in water storage, management, and control  
  • Public money for wetter modes of farming on peat soils 
  • Technical advice on keeping peat soils wetter. 
  • Creating viable opportunities in private finance  
  • Raising the profile of lowland agricultural peat soils  

Adopting the task force’s roadmap to commercially viable plasticulture (farming on rewetted peat)

The new funding is distributed across two pilots: 

The Lowland Agricultural Peat Small Infrastructure Pilot (£5.45m) will support the installation of infrastructure and monitoring technology to enable more control of water levels for the preservation and rewetting of lowland peat. Delivery of this project is being supported by the Association of Drainage Authorities. 

The Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot (£2.2m), to be delivered by the Environment Agency, will allow local and water peatland partnerships to collaborate to develop costed water level management plans for lowland peat areas in England. 

In recognition of the environmental benefits and the key role lowland peat soils play in food production, the government will continue to work with the Chair of the task force as well as farmers, landowners, and the wider industry to take forward action on all the report’s recommendations for more sustainable forms of peatland management.