WORK to restore 60 hectares of peatland at the Cairngorm Mountain Resort in Glenmore is underway – and will give members of the public a rare chance to see the process for themselves.
The restoration, which will include two ha of land owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), will improve the overall condition of the bog, reduce carbon emissions from eroding and exposed peat, and increase the landscape value over time.
Situated adjacent to the resort’s top car park and with public paths all around, visitors to the centre will be able to watch some of the operation’s progress and see what is involved.
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Sarah Nicholas, Forestry and Land Scotland's (FLS) carbon projects manager, said: “Almost everyone now knows how important peatland restoration is as a contributing factor in Scotland’s Climate Emergency mitigation effort.
“But most of the work that is being done is in out of the way places where few people get a chance to see what it entails.
“Being right next to the Cairngorm Ski Centre means that people will be able to see for themselves what a degraded peat bog looks like and one of the ways that restoration can happen.
“This particular area of blanket bog is unusual in that the issues we need to deal with have arisen largely because it is in a very high exposed location on a slope, in an area with historically high deer numbers. This has meant that water has run off more quickly and has cut gullies into the peatland, leaving small, raised areas – or hags – of peat."
It was estimated that the project can generate about 3,500 tCO2e of emission reductions over a period of 55 years.
Sarah added: “Re-profiling the eroded hags and associated eroded gullies and put back the peatland vegetation on the tops and on the slopes will help to restore the blanket bog to its near natural state. Plugging the gullies floor, where appropriate, with small peat dams will slow down the water flow and help to disperse it to the flatter areas and rewet the site. This will help bog vegetation to recover with immediate benefits to wildlife and eventually restart the build-up of peat and carbon in the soils”
The Scottish Government is seeking the restoration of 600,000 ha of peatland across the country by 2045.
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