Since the beginning of the 19thC the extent of lowland raised bog in the UK has declined by 94%
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Lowland Raised Bogs
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Lowland raised bogs are areas of deep peat which have developed on low-lying, level ground, mostly on marine, estuarine or fluvial deposits adjacent to estuaries or on the floodplains of rivers, but also over sites of shallow glacial lakes which became infilled and occupied by fen vegetation. Over many thousands of years the decay of wetland vegetation and the growth of specialised bog plants has led to the development of raised mounds of peat with a veneer of surface vegetation. As the bog surface is higher than the surrounding land these bogs receive all their water from rainfall. As a result a characteristic vegetation, adapted to nutrient-poor, acidic conditions has developed.
Current Status
Intact lowland raised bogs are one of Europe’s rarest and most threatened habitats. Since the beginning of the 19th century the extent of active raised bog has declined from 94,000ha to 6,000ha, a decline of 94%. Prior to this decline, North West England supported a large proportion of the entire UK lowland raised bog resource; extensive areas of this habitat were found around the Solway and Duddon estuaries, Morecambe Bay, the Lancashire Coastal Plain, the Mersey Valley and to a lesser extent the Cheshire Plain.
Over the last few centuries, much of this resource has been lost, in NW England as elsewhere, by its conversion into high-grade agricultural land.
For further information please see the document for download on this page.
