BES Peatland Research Special Interest Group e-Newsletter...as a case study. The first is based...

Issue 1 Spring – Summer, 2015

British Ecological Society Peatland Research Special Interest Group Page 1

BES Peatland Research Special Interest

Group e-Newsletter

If you have received the e-newsletter indirectly, then you can sign up to receive

future issues by going here and clicking ‘Subscribe’.

GROUP CONTACTS:

Chair: Professor Ian D. Rotherham, Sheffield Hallam University,

[email protected]

Secretary / Publicity Officer: Rachael Maskill, Moors for the Future, The

Moorland Centre, Edale. Tel: 01629 816577 or 07917

392815:[email protected]

Or via: [email protected]

Committee members: Kieran Sheehan, JBA Consulting Ltd.; Dr Olivia Bragg,

University of Dundee; Professor Simon Caporn, Manchester Metropolitan

University.

CONTENTS

1. Events & Upcoming Meetings

2. Peatland SIG Events diary

3. Other events

4. Grants and Funding from IPS

5. Call for papers and support

6. Useful contacts and networks

7. Announcements

Copy for the next issue ASAP please!!!



EVENTS

We have another exciting year of events and activities covering a wide-range of

topics. Please come along and both enjoy and support. Visit www.ukeconet.org or

email [email protected] for more information.

Wild Thing? Managing Landscape Change & Future Ecologies: Cultural

Severance & Continuity 9th to 11th September 2015 at Sheffield

Showroom & Workstation, Sheffield, UK

Following the highly successful meeting in May 2014, Ian Rotherham and colleagues

are organising a major, international, 3-day conference on the theme of ‘wilder by

design’. The 2014 event raised fundamental issues including the following:

Understanding concepts of ‘wild’, ‘re-wilding’ and ‘wilderness’ in urban and rural

settings, as individuals and for different communities;

The language used to discuss concepts and how they are represented and

communicated to the wider world;

The political, economic and social contexts and drivers for change;

The short and longer-term impacts of change;

How underlying change affects ability to create, manage and sustain future

landscapes.

What wild and wilderness mean to individuals.



With a critical view of projects, issues and perspectives from across the world as

well as the UK, we will be developing these ideas and paradigms. The conference will

examine concepts of cultural severance and the eco-cultural nature of landscapes as

well as addressing critical issues around (re) wilding in both rural and urban

situations. The paradigms of wilder landscapes and the interactions between nature

and culture, between history and ecology, and between climate, people and nature, will

make for a continuing and rich discussion.

There will be a strong international dimension to this conference. However, we

welcome displays and posters from local community heritage groups as well as from

regional, national and international bodies. We also welcome posters from early-

career researchers as well as the more established. Please contact

[email protected] to discuss your ideas in the first instance, as space is

limited.

The first day (9th Sept.) starts mid-morning with presentations through the day and

a guest lecture with Tony Juniper in the evening. The following two days will mix

plenary and parallel sessions with a dedicated poster presentation session on the

Thursday afternoon (10th Sept). A conference dinner will be held on the Thursday

evening.

Confirmed speakers include Adrian Newton, Alastair Driver, Peter Bridgewater, Ted

Green, Keith Alexander, Jill Butler, Della Hooke, Ian Rotherham, Peter Taylor, Rob

Lambert, James Fenton, George Peterken, Sue Everett, Chris Spray, Jim McAdam,

Mauro Agnoletti, Tomasz Samojlik, Frans Vera, Kenneth Olwig and Tom Williamson.

Chris and Anne-Marie Smout will be attending as guests of honour.

Conference proceedings on cd-rom. will be available at the event; and a major book

will be published post-conference. The event is sponsored and supported by BES,

IPS, IUFRO, ESEH, Sheffield Hallam University, the Ancient Tree Forum, JBA

Consulting and the Landscape Conservation Forum.

An outline programme and a booking form are available on the website

www.ukeconet.org/event/ via email, [email protected] or telephone 0114

2724227.



Meet the Bog Plants – Cotton Grass and Mosses – (1) date in August

at Thorne Moors near Doncaster, & (2) date in August in the Peak

District. Both supported by the BES SIGThese two 1-day events are being organised with the Thorne & Hatfield Moors

Conservation Forum and JBA Consulting. They will introduce people firstly to the

wildflowers of the peat bog and then to Sphagnum mosses and their importance in

conservation. More information on these will be available on the www.ukeconet.org

website and from the Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum.

Workshops on Waxcaps & Allied Fungi – Identification & Diversity;

15th & 29th October 2015, joint events with Forest Ecology SIG



The highly successful theme is continuing with further workshops in October 2015 on

Waxcaps & Allied Fungi. These will focus on the identification, recording and

diversity of these species using the Peak District area as a case study. The two

workshops are at different venues with site visits to different landscapes. The first

is based around Baslow with a visit to the Chatsworth area and the second to

Bamford and a site visit to the Upper Derwent.

They will provide hands-on experience both in the field and in microscopy to aid

identification and understanding of these species. Places are limited as groups are

kept small and pre-booking is essential. More information and a booking form will be

available on our website www.ukeconet.org or email [email protected] or

telephone 0114 2724227 to be put on the mailing list.

Workshops on Sphagnum Mosses, 11th & 26th November 2015 –

Identification and DiversityThe highly successful theme is continuing with further workshops in November 2015

on the Sphagnum mosses. These will focus on going back to basics with the

identification, recording and diversity of these species using the Peak District area

as a case study.

The first is based around Ringinglow Bog, and the second at White Edge. They will

provide hands-on experience both in the field and in microscopy to aid identification

and understanding of these species.



Places are limited as groups are kept small and pre-booking is essential. More

information and a booking form will be available on our website www.ukeconet.org or

email [email protected] or telephone 0114 2724227 to be put on the mailing list.

Managing Molinia: 3-day conference; Monday 14th – Wednesday 16th

September 2015, Huddersfield Town Hall. Details and booking from

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/marsdenmoor More Information: Marsden Moor Estate

Office, 01484 847016, [email protected]

Peat covers much of the flat or gently sloping uplands of the UK, forming blanket

mire that can host a number of vegetation types. The type favoured by

conservationists, and considered to be associated with the greatest rate of peat

formation, involves Eriophorum species, ericaceous shrubs and Sphagnum mosses. In

practice, this is lacking over large areas of upland where it might be expected, its

place being taken by very dominant Molinia caerulea. Conservation bodies expend

much effort in trying to replace Molinia with more desirable species and conservation

objectives are set with this in mind. This conference examines the place of Molinia

caerulea in UK plant communities, factors affecting its growth and experiments

looking at ways of adding greater diversity where appropriate. The aim is to gain a

clearer understanding, through discussion, of what types of conservation objective

should be applied and how to achieve them.

The conference will take place in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK, 14-16

September 2015 and will contain two days of presentations and discussion followed

by a field trip on Day 3 to look at diversification experiments set up in dominant

Molinia on the Marsden Moor Estate.

We look forward to welcoming you and your colleagues to the conference.

More information from: Craig Best, Lead Ranger, West Yorkshire Group, The

National Trust, Hardcastle Crags, Hollin Hall Office, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire,

HX7 7AP

Telephone: 01484 848024 (Marsden Moor)

Telephone: 01422 841025 (Hardcastle Crags)

Mobile: 07721762095



A Life in Ecology – A Celebration of the Work and Inspiration of Dr

Oliver Gilbert Pioneer Ecologist. Field visit & River Don lectures on 13th

November & 14th November at Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield, UK. Organised

with the British Lichen Society & the BES

It is ten years on from Ollie’s premature death. This 2-day conference is being

organised by Professor Ian Rotherham and Dr Paul Ardron both long-term friends

and associates of the late Dr Oliver Gilbert to encompass his many interests and as a

celebration of his contributions to urban ecology, lichenology, exotic plants, and

urban and post-industrial landscapes over a period of 50 years. Invited speakers will

deliver papers relating to topics, which reflect some of Oliver’s many interests that

included ‘alien’ species, lichens, urban woodlands, and the flora associated with post-

industrial sites. Oliver was one of the first academic ecologists to look in detail at

the urban environment and he established terms such as ‘the urban commons’, and his

book The Ecology of Urban Habitats still stands alone as the primary text in this

field. He also challenged much conventional thinking on the merits or otherwise of

invasive aliens such as sycamore and Japanese knotweed. Along with George Barker,

Oliver pioneered academic interest in urban habitats and in urban ecology.

Speakers include Penny Anderson, Dr Rob Francis, Dr Peter Shaw, Professor Melvyn

Jones, Dr Anna Jorgensen, Dr John Barnatt, Dr Bruce Ing, Professor Mark Seaward

and others. There will be a celebratory volume of conference papers from the event.



More information and a booking form will be available from our website

www.ukeconet.org/events/ If you would like to be put on our mailing list for this

conference, please email [email protected] or telephone 0114 2724227.

*************************************************************

Peatland SIG EVENTS DIARY

2015

The Flood Untamed with Jeremy Purseglove - Thorne & Hatfield

Moors Conservation Forum - Friday 31st July 2015, the author revisits

the story of his classic book, which is being re-issued in June 2015. Additional talks

by Professor Paul Buckland and Professor Ian Rotherham; details on request email:

[email protected] or telephone 0114 2724227 to be put on the mailing list.

Meet the Cotton Grass, at Thorne Moors NNR date in August to be

announced. Will meet at Thorne, details from www.ukeconet.org ;organised with the Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum and JBA Consulting.

Thorne Moors peatlands research field day – details on request email:

[email protected] or telephone 0114 2724227 to be put on the mailing list.

Meet the Bog Mosses, at Big Moor, Peak District, date to be

announced in August, meet at Grouse Inn car park, details from www.ukeconet.org

; organised with the Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum and JBA

Consulting.

Wild Thing? Managing Landscape Change and Future Ecologies:

Cultural Severance and Continuity; 9th to 11th September, at Sheffield

Showroom and Workstation, Sheffield, UK.

Managing Molinia: 3-day conference; Monday 14th – Wednesday 16th

September 2015, at Huddersfield Town Hall. Details and booking from



www.nationaltrust.org.uk/marsdenmoor More Information: Marsden Moor Estate

Office, 01484 847016, [email protected]

A Life in Ecology: A Celebration of the Work and Inspiration of Dr

Oliver Gilbert Pioneer Ecologist; 13th & 14th November, at Sheffield

Hallam University (including River Don field visit & lectures on 13th November),

Sheffield, South Yorkshire; with the British Lichen Society.

Autumn Workshops on Waxcaps & Allied Fungi, 15th & 29th October

2015, Peak District, Derbyshire, with Forest Ecology SIG.

Autumn Workshops on Identification and Ecology of Sphagnum

Mosses, 11th & 26th November 2015, Peak District, Derbyshire; for

beginners and intermediate level.

One-day Interactive workshop on research issues and training needs

in peatland research Peatland SIG with Tropical Ecology SIG – with

networking event for the International Peat Society (UK), and with Moors for the

Future; at Sheffield Hallam University, date to be agreed.

OTHER EVENTS:

European Society for Environmental History (ESEH) BIENNIAL

CONFERENCE 2015: ESEH’s 8th biennial conference will be held in

Versailles, France, on 30th June – 3rd July 2015.The host institution is the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

(UVSQ), a green university that combines historical sciences and environmental

sciences at a very high level, located only 30 minutes by train from the city centre of

Paris. Gregory Quenet of UVSQ leads the Local Organising Committee and Ellen

Arnold of Ohio Wesleyan University chairs the Programme Committee. The draft

conference programme listing all of the sessions and papers for the upcoming meeting

in Versailles is now available online: http://eseh.org/eseh-2015-draft-programme/.

This is going to be an exciting meeting! If you are not yet registered to attend, you

can still do so at the Late Registration price of €265 (€135 for students). Register at

http://www.eseh2015.eu/register/.



6th World Conference on Ecological Restoration Towards Resilient

Ecosystems: Restoring the Urban, the Rural and the Wild

SER 2015 in Manchester aims to be the major restoration event of the year. Building

on recent successful world congresses and regional meetings such as SER Europe

2013 in Finland, we hope to attract a large number of academics and practitioners

who will share good practice and network successfully in one of the homes of the

industrial revolution. The title: “Towards resilient ecosystems: restoring the urban,

the rural and the wild” should provide something for everyone, whether working in

highly urbanised, ex-agricultural, or natural wild environments. We mean this

conference to be as inclusive as possible and are keen to showcase not only the

important scientific developments, issues and solutions, but also the cultural,

educational and artistic aspects of restoration ecology. We are hosting a wide range

of different types of events during the conference period, with pre-conference

training workshops, conference symposia posters, workshops, and oral presentations,

as well as half day field trips to see landscapes at first hand. A large range of

different organisations have given us their support and indicated their intention to

participate. So whether you are a student of restoration ecology, a practitioner in

the field, have an academic interest in the subject area, or whether you publish or

provide equipment related to this topic, or are part of an allied organisation, we hold

out a warm welcome and invite you to SER 2015 in Manchester next August.

More information from http://www.ser2015.org/

Plus lots on peat!! More information to follow

Upcoming 2016

What ‘Capability’ Brown did for ecology Capability Brown’s legacy in

ecology and nature conservation; (a tercentenary event); 15th to 17th

June, at Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield; call for support and papers;

details from www.ukeconet.org .



******************************

Call for interest & support:

Issues of Energy, History, Landscape & Environmental Change

A number of us are looking to organise a series of events beginning in 2016 on the

broad themes of energy use / fuel use through history and its impacts on landscapes

and environments. We are particularly interested in the scales of fuelwood and peat

or turf exploitation and the issues of community / domestic vs commercial /

industrial usage. The scope could extend to other energy sources such as mineral

coal, water power, wind power, nuclear power etc, but for now, the focus is on

historic uses and especially the often overlooked aspects of domestic fuel

exploitation. Coppice exploitation frequently maintained ‘woods’ for centuries, but

with their ecologies radically changed. Furthermore, industrial-scale charcoal

manufacture involving stripping and burning of locally cut ‘turf’ in the woods and

transformed both sols and vegetation. Many of these impacts are still unseen by most

ecologists.

From a socio-economic perspective, the competition between fuel resources and their

exploitation provides a fascinating topic for environmental historians to research.

Additionally, most of the environmental impacts and indeed the implications for

triggering environmental and climate changes, or at lead mitigating negative effects

of changes, are overlooked.

A suggestion, which several of us have considered for a number of years, is that

domestic peat and turf use were far more extensive that is currently recognised, and

indeed, that landscapes have been dramatically transformed by domestic and other

extraction. The environmental impacts of the scale of peat use could be hugely

important in understanding aspects of carbon-related climate change, and the

compromised ability of peatlands to moderate water behaviour in the landscape –

flood and drought. Peatland drainage and peat removal where deep peats occurred,

and paring and burning for example, on shallow turf for agricultural ‘improvement’

have had major effects which seem to be largely ignored.

As discussed at previous meetings, such as in Sheffield, but also at the first World

Environmental History Congress in Copenhagen, in 2009, the combined usage of

fuelwood and of peat / turf were massive in Medieval Europe. Similar issues were



raised at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study

of Commons at Cheltenham in 2008. Moreover, as suggested previously, the scale of

human exploitation of peatlands has caused a landscape transformation so radical

that the very existence of peat in many areas is totally overlooked. However, the

historical and environmental history sources confirm the past occurrence of bog,

moor, heath, fen and common.

FUTURE EVENTS: It was suggested at the In The Bog conference in Sheffield

in 2014, that it would be good to bring key people together to discuss and to debate

these issues. Through the British Ecological Society’s Peatland Special Interest

Group, we are suggesting a series of focussed seminars or workshop events to take

the discussions forward. To this end, we are now inviting offers of support and

expressions of interest, to [email protected] . I would like to have an outline

programme put together by this autumn to begin in 2016. Thoughts, suggestions,

offer ….money / sponsorship (!), all welcome.

Ian Rotherham

Look out too, for details of two major events:

2016 & 2017 ON ISSUES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PEATLANDS

RAPTORS (2016) AND THEN PEATLAND BIRDS (2017), both in

partnership with Natural England and other key stakeholders.



Upcoming 2018

Reconstructing Nature – a landscape approach to a

future ecology

Major conference probably July or September 2018 but events building towards this

through 2016 & 2017. Conference venue – Sheffield / Doncaster with field visit

coaches to Old Moor, Potteric Carr & Thorne Moors / Humberhead Levels

This will be a major international conference to showcase experiences in the

restoration of functioning ecosystems at a landscape level. The event will hopefully

be supported by BES, ESEH, IUFRO, WTs, RSPB, National Trust, Natural England,

Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, with Thorne & Hatfield Moors

Conservation Forum, South Yorkshire Biodiversity Research Group and others such as

JBA Consulting.

The event will address key themes such as wilding / re-wilding, ecosystem services

and functions, wildlife tourism and regional economies, water management and carbon

sequestration, community engagement & education, grazed and ungrazed landscapes,

reintroductions vs letting nature take its course, responses to climate change &

climate change mitigation.

MORE INFORMATION www.ukeconet.org OR email

[email protected] & offers of interest and support please!!



International Peat Society:

The IPS has launched new Grants for Research Students and Young Professionals

in Peatland Management, named after Allan Robertson, Honorary President of the

IPS. The Grants are targeted towards all persons who have carried out or are still

carrying out major research or practical work on behalf of peat and peatlands.

Applicants will normally be younger than 30 on application deadline and the grants

amount to 2 x € 500 annually. This can be extended if additional funds are obtained.

Applications can be sent by email to the IPS Secretariat, [email protected]

Grant applications appear to be annual with submissions in March each year.

References, project plans and other documentary can be submitted additionally.

Decisions will be made by the IPS Executive Board. A report on the project or work

shall be submitted for Peatlands International and/or a presentation should be given

at an international IPS event at the latest 12 months after the grant has been

provided by bank transfer.

If your networks would like to provide additional funding for the grants, please do

not hesitate to contact us.

For more information: http://www.peatsociety.org/about-us/allan-robertson-grants

More information from:

Susann Warnecke

Communications Manager | viestintäpäällikkö

International Peat Society | Kansainvälinen Turveyhdistys ry

Kauppakatu 19 D 31, 40100 Jyväskylä, Finland, mobile: +358 40 418 4075

e-mail: [email protected] web: www.peatsociety.org

fb: www.facebook.com/peatsociety lnk: linkd.in/peatsociety tw: peatsocietyips

Please note that the IPS Secretariat will have a new address as of 22 May 2015:

International Peat Society

Nisulankatu 78

40720 Jyväskylä

Finland



Useful contacts and networks

IUCN Peatlands Programme:

http://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/

Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation News:

https://thmcf.wordpress.com/

Moors for the Future:

Website: moorsforthefuture.org.uk

Facebook: Moors for the Future

Twitter: @moorsforfuture

Announcements:

1) Sarah Edwards has stepped down as Group Secretary and is thanked for her hardwork and enthusiasm. Rachael Maskill is combining the Secretariat role with that ofPublicity Officer.

2) We are keen to extend the committee membership – so if you are interested,please get in touch with Ian. If you would benefit from group support for events innext years’ programme, please contact Ian before September 2015.

3) I have been asked to coordinate and to edit a major volume in the RoutledgeHandbooks Series, ‘Routledge Handbook of Temperate Peatlands ‘. Pleasecontact me if you are interested in contributing. Ian Rotherham



Sphagnum trials on Kinder Scout

Globally important trials are underway on an 80-hectare site on Kinder Scout toinvestigate the best ways to reintroduce Sphagnum moss - a key to rebuildingblanket bogs.

The Moors for the Future Partnership is working with the Environment Agency andNational Trust, as part of the Peatland Restoration Project, to pioneer these trials.Re-introducing sphagnum, and increasing the wetness of the bog, helps reverse thedamage caused by atmospheric pollution and wildfires.

Matt Buckler, conservation programme manager for MFFP, said: “These trials are theculmination of six years research and development with our partners.”

The trials aim to establish the best way to do that over the next three to five years –providing evidence for use on other damaged sites worldwide.

The scientists are testing four different methods: green slime, gel beads, plug plantsand hummocks; as well as leaving one patch untouched to assess the cost-effectiveness of the different methods.

For more information go to www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk

Restoration of blanket bogs; flood risk reduction and other benefits

The final results conference for the Making Space for Water project welcomed over100 delegates to the University of Manchester.

The conference provided a platform to report on the effects of restoration activitieson vegetation, hydrology, water quality and multiple benefits. Models predicted thepotential effect of re-vegetation on downstream discharge and the effect of gullyblock design.

To find out more and to have a look at presentations from the day visitwww.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/final-results-conference-april-2015

The Making Space for Water Project – commissioned by the Environment Agencyand managed by the Moors for the Future Partnership – was one of one of threeDefra-funded Multi-objective Flood Management Demonstration Projects.

It is situated on the north edge of Kinder plateau, part of the headwater catchmentof the Upper Derwent Valley in the Peak District, Derbyshire.



5th May 2015 Let’s stick together - MoorLIFE conference demonstratesbenefits of partnership working

Results from the successful MoorLIFE project show the benefits of partnershipworking. The well-attended final conference, ‘An Integrated Approach to UplandBiodiversity Conservation’ in March, highlighted the impressive results of the fiveyear project, which restored four areas of Europe’s most degraded blanket bog -Turley Holes, Rishworth Common, Black Hill and Bleaklow.

Co-funded by the European Commission’s LIFE+ Programme, project partnersinclude Environment Agency, Natural England, National Trust, United Utilities andYorkshire Water. Working in partnership has brought benefits to all. Watercompanies now have scientific evidence that restoration can have a positive effecton water quality, and landowners can see the potential for flood mitigation.

The scale of works – over 886 hectares of moorland – provided incentive forcontractors to come up with innovations. “Improvements over the five year projectincluded new ways of distributing Sphagnum mosses and native moorland plantspecies, which will be useful for the partnership in future projects,” said MoorLIFEContracts Manager Brendon Wittram.

One of MoorLIFE’s key missions was to protect moorlands by educating the publicabout the risk of wildfires. The ‘Be Fire Aware’ campaign, developed with Universityof Manchester, Wide Sky Design and Peak District Fire Operations group, took aninnovative approach – using science and weather data to demonstrate real-timewildfire risk, combined with games, interactive maps and videos. There has beeninterest in setting up something similar in the Netherlands.

Sarah Fowler, Chief Executive of Peak District National Park explained how importantfinancial support from the LIFE programme has been: "European funding helpsbroaden our scope beyond just England or the UK and work closer with partners.And that’s been critical to the global element, the global innovation and the sciencerevolution we are doing here.”

MoorLIFE achieved its goals, but work continues. Partnership Manager Chris Deansaid “Our original objectives still apply. Science-led, evidence based conservationallows methods to continually evolve and improve. We need to maintain scientificmomentum, and our partnerships are the key to that.”

Notes

MoorLIFE is a £5.5 million, EU Life+ project. Its aim is to protect active blanket bogby conserving bare and eroding peat in the South Pennines Special Area ofConservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA). It is co-funded by the



European Union’s Life+ Programme and delivered by the Moors for the FuturePartnership. Partners in the MoorLIFE Project include the Environment Agency,Natural England, National Trust, Peak District National Park Authority, United Utilitiesand Yorkshire Water.Healthy peat moors:

Provide good quality drinking water – 70% of our drinking water comes fromthese landscapes. Damaged peat erodes into the reservoirs so that watercompanies have to spend more money cleaning the water for consumption.

Provide a unique habitat for a wide range of wildlife. Absorb and store carbon – peat is the single biggest store of carbon in the UK,

storing the equivalent of 20 years of all UK CO2 emissions and keeping it out ofthe atmosphere.

Potentially help reduce the risk of flooding.

Media contact:

Debra Wilson, MoorLIFE Communications Officer. [email protected] 816586Laura King, MoorLIFE Project Manager. [email protected] 01629816596

More information about the MoorLIFE project

www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/moorlife

A range of photographs from both days is available on request.

For more information about our moorland conservation and restoration techniquesand Moors for the Future Partnership projects please visit our websitewww.moorsforthefuture.org.uk



Date post:	04-Dec-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	0 times
Download:	0 times

BES Peatland Research Special Interest Group e-Newsletter...as a case study. The first is based...

Documents