United Utilities SCaMP Project A Decade of Monitoring Blanket Bog - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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United Utilities SCaMP Project A Decade of Monitoring Blanket Bog - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Jul 31, 2023 105 likes •356 views

United Utilities SCaMP Project A Decade of Monitoring Blanket Bog Restoration - what have we seen and what have we learnt? S. Ross 1 , G. Hammond 1 , A. Keen 1 & C. Bullen 2 1 Penny Anderson Associates 2 United Utilities Our knowledge is

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Our knowledge is your advantage

United Utilities’ SCaMP Project

A Decade of Monitoring Blanket Bog Restoration - what have we seen and what have we learnt?

  • S. Ross1, G. Hammond1, A. Keen1 & C. Bullen2

1Penny Anderson Associates 2United Utilities

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Introduction – what is SCaMP?

  • Sustainable

Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP).

  • The project began

in 2005/06 and continues to 2020.

  • Monitoring

restoration approaches.

  • Long term dataset
  • begin to consider

trajectories.

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Prior to Restoration

  • Significant artificial

drainage (‘grips’) and gully erosion.

  • Areas of extensive

bare peat.

  • Vegetation in poor

condition.

  • Loss of peat from

the moorland.

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Restoration Measures

Restoration measures applied across 12,300ha blanket bog:

  • 85km grips blocked

with peat or plastic dams.

  • 470ha eroding bare

peat treated with grass ‘nurse’ crop, heather brash, and/or geojute textile.

  • ‘novel’ coir roll

installation.

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Monitoring Approach

  • Hydrology - peat

water levels, stage discharge, rainfall gauges.

  • Water colour

(DOC), turbidity (POC). Spectrolyser deployed in the field.

  • Vegetation

quadrats within plots, including reference plots, & fixed point photography

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What have we seen?

  • Present the effects of:

(1) grip blocking at Brennand and Goyt. (2) bare peat restoration at North Longdendale.

  • What did we observe on the ground?
  • What changes did we record in the vegetation?
  • What changes did we monitor in terms of water levels in the peat?
  • What can we say about trajectories of blanket bog restoration under

these different restoration scenarios?

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Results

Goyt – grip blocking

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Goyt: Grip Blocking

On Goyt there is visible evidence of the benefits of blocking grips:

Heather expands. Hare’s-tail cottongrass is filling in the grip. Sphagnum (bog-moss) is developing in the pools formed by grip blocking.

2006 2008 2009 2010 2012 2014

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Goyt: Grip Blocking

Significant increases in Sphagnum cover at Goyt

  • BB1 & BB2 =

grips blocked 2006, with peat dams.

  • BB3 = grips left

un-blocked until 2010, then blocked with peat dams.

  • BB5 = grips

blocked 2006, with peat & plastic dams.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 BB1 BB2 BB3 BB5

Plot Code Sphagnum spp. cover (%)

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

* * * * * *

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Goyt: Grip Blocking

The Goyt monitoring shows consistent trend towards higher and more stable peat water levels over time

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 26/03/2007 26/05/2007 26/07/2007 26/09/2007 26/11/2007 26/01/2008 26/03/2008 26/05/2008 26/07/2008 26/09/2008 26/11/2008 26/01/2009 26/03/2009 26/05/2009 26/07/2009 26/09/2009 26/11/2009 26/01/2010 26/03/2010 26/05/2010 26/07/2010 26/09/2010 26/11/2010 26/01/2011 26/03/2011 26/05/2011 26/07/2011 26/09/2011 26/11/2011 26/01/2012 26/03/2012 26/05/2012 26/07/2012 26/09/2012 26/11/2012 26/01/2013 26/03/2013 26/05/2013 26/07/2013 26/09/2013 26/11/2013 DATE WATER TABLE DEPTH BELOW SURFACE (cm)

Water Table Level (below surface, cm) Mean annual WTL (cm)

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Results

Brennand – grip blocking

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On Brennand there is also visible evidence of the benefits of blocking grips, even on large drains/grips.

Heather and hare’s- tail cottongrass increase along the edges. Sphagnum (bog- moss) forms patches within the deeper pooled water, expanding from the edges.

Brennand: Grip Blocking

June 2016

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Brennand: Grip Blocking

  • Significant increases in

Sphagnum cover over time.

  • Small increases in some

typical bog plants.

Average Sphagnum species cover across 5 sample sites, pre-grip blocking

37.5%

Average Sphagnum species cover across 5 sample sites, post-grip-blocking

10.1% Brennand 2007 Brennand 2017

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Brennand: Grip Blocking

Peat water levels at Brennand show a trend towards increasing annual mean and more stable water levels, but some variation

  • ver time.

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 13/07/2007 13/10/2007 13/01/2008 13/04/2008 13/07/2008 13/10/2008 13/01/2009 13/04/2009 13/07/2009 13/10/2009 13/01/2010 13/04/2010 13/07/2010 13/10/2010 13/01/2011 13/04/2011 13/07/2011 13/10/2011 13/01/2012 13/04/2012 13/07/2012 13/10/2012 13/01/2013 13/04/2013 13/07/2013 13/10/2013 13/01/2014 13/04/2014 13/07/2014 13/10/2014 13/01/2015 13/04/2015 13/07/2015 13/10/2015 13/01/2016 13/04/2016 13/07/2016 13/10/2016 DATE PEAT WATER TABLE DEPTH (cm)

Water Table Depth (cm) Mean Annual Water Table Depth (cm)

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Results

Ashway Gap, Quiet Shepherd & Arnfield – bare peat restoration

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Ashway Gap: Bare Peat Restoration

2008 2007 2012 2014

  • Ashway Gap = mounds of

bare peat with exposed mineral ground in the gullies.

  • Applied lime, ‘nurse’ grass

seed and fertiliser (LSF).

  • Over 90% revegetation with

mix of ‘dry bog’ plant species.

  • Little Sphagnum moss to

date.

2017

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Quiet Shepherd: Bare Peat Restoration

2009 2008 2012 2017

  • Quiet Shepherd = gullies with bare peat sides.
  • Applied LSF with heather brash and geotextile.
  • Revegetated with ‘dry bog’ plant species.
  • Good general moss cover.
  • Little Sphagnum moss to date.
  • Some ‘non-bog’ plants occur.
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Ashway Gap: Bare Peat Restoration

The peat water levels at Ashway Gap remain compromised due to highly degraded nature of the site, and vulnerable to local weather conditions.

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 22/02/2008 22/05/2008 22/08/2008 22/11/2008 22/02/2009 22/05/2009 22/08/2009 22/11/2009 22/02/2010 22/05/2010 22/08/2010 22/11/2010 22/02/2011 22/05/2011 22/08/2011 22/11/2011 22/02/2012 22/05/2012 22/08/2012 22/11/2012 22/02/2013 22/05/2013 22/08/2013 22/11/2013 22/02/2014 22/05/2014 22/08/2014 22/11/2014 22/02/2015 22/05/2015 22/08/2015 22/11/2015 22/02/2016 22/05/2016 22/08/2016 22/11/2016 DATE PEAT WATER TABLE DEPTH BELOW SURFACE (cm)

Water Table Depth (cm) Mean Annual Water Table Depth 9cm)

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When to return to management?

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Limited Intervention

2008 2014 2017

– Arnfield Moor – area retained with minimal treatment (no LSF, etc) – Shows some gradual expansion of vegetation, largely common cotton-grass. – Mostly on the more shallow slopes. – Very few ‘non-bog’ plants. – A very long term option.

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Limited Intervention

2007 2013 2017

– Ashway Gap – area retained with minimal treatment until 2013. – Shows very limited re-vegetation – largely common cotton-grass. – Treated with LSF sometime between 2014 and 2016. – Good re-vegetation by 2017.

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What have we learnt?

  • Sphagnum cover increases where present, can respond quickly (within 5 years) if

there is a greater original cover (c.10% or more) under grip blocking.

  • Significant reductions in bare peat and increases in vegetation cover can occur within

5 years under LSF. Nurse crop does diminish over time.

  • Adding heather brash to LSF areas encourages more rapid re-vegetation of slopes,

and geojute is important on steeper slopes.

  • Plant diversity increases over 5 to 10 years, on LSF areas this includes some ‘non-

bog’ plants – introduced by seed and/or encouraged by lime and fertiliser treatments?

  • Limited intervention can be appropriate on some sites.
  • Water table levels are generally increasing (+12cm) and stabilising under grip

blocking over the 10 year period. Some variation due to annual weather variation – generally within 10cm of the surface on average.

  • Water tables responding only slightly (+5cm) on highly eroded areas after 10 years,

still 60cm below surface on average.

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Many thanks to all those involved in the monitoring project over the last decade. Thank you for listening!