Information relating to the extent, condition and use of peatlands in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, was collated to inform the multi-agency Partnership Project to Protect and Enhance Peat Soils. This exposed a general paucity of information on the extent of gripping (moorland drainage), rotational burning, erosion, bare peat and other upland peatland condition and land use features in England, and revealed no consistent and comprehensive data sources across the country.
To address this problem, Natural England commissioned this project to deliver an assessment of the extent of gripping, rotational burning, erosion, bare peat and peat cutting affecting deep peatlands in upland England. The approach involved identifying areas of deep peat within the Moorland Line using soil, geological drift and habitat mapping, and using aerial photographs taken between 1999-2008, to create maps of visible peatland status and land use.