Highlights video - Demonstrating Best Practice in Raised Bog Restoration in Ireland

Video produced by Tailored Films.
Please visit www.raisedbogrestoration.ie for more information.
'Demonstrating Best Practice in Raised Bog Restoration in Ireland' is Coillte's fourth LIFE project and it's second on Raised Bog. The project began in 2011. It's main aim is to restore 636 hectares of bog habitat on 17 conservation sites. Raised bogs have become increasingly rare, and Ireland is among the last of the European countries where a range of peatlands still exist.
This project, which is co-ordinated by Coillte, is jointly funded by the European Directorate General for the Environment under the EU LIFE Nature programme and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Bogs are really important and have many benefits. Bogs are really valuable for historians to help them learn about our past. A bog is high in acidity and can preserve items for thousands of years.
Bogs act as natural carbon sinks. This means that they absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as peat.
Bogs are also an extremely important ecosystem and provide habitat for many of Ireland's plants and animals.
Raised bogs are most common in the central lowlands of Ireland. At one time, they covered three hundred and ten thousand hectares. Over the last 200 years, about 92% of Ireland's raised bogs have been lost. Human activity is largely responsible for this.
During the 20th century, the commercial harvesting of peat was very common. This has led to widespread and sometimes total loss of our bogs. Coillte and the National Parks and Wildlife Service have taken an active role in raising awareness about the importance of conserving bogs, and the implications of exploiting them.
Along with peat harvesting, drainage has also caused immense damage to bogs. For many years, ditches were dug, which drained the water. This dried out the bog and almost completely destroyed them. One of Coillte's most important objectives is to restore the natural wetness of the bog so that it is able to produce peat. To do this, the drains need to be blocked. There are two methods which the project team have used to block drains, one is to install peat dams using machinery. In areas where the bogland is too wet for machinery to travel, plastic dams are installed manually.
Afforestation, or the planting of trees, have also damaged bogs, but on a much smaller scale. About 2% of Ireland's raised bogs were planted with trees. Most of these afforested areas are owned by Coillte. Coillte and the National Parks and Widlife Service have worked hard to remove plantation forests and re-wet dry areas.
Once the actions are carried out, the water levels and vegetation need to be monitored and recorded.
As part of the project, dipwells were installed to compare water levels before and after tree removal. Before the trees were felled, water levels were at their lowest. Results have shown a very dramatic increase in water table levels within a year of tree removal. The dipwells are read on a monthly basis to record water levels.
Aside from human destruction, bogs face many other threats including animal trespass and fires. In order to combat this problem, Coillte have fenced off sites where animal trespass is problematic and installed firebreaks.Coillte have also taken an active role in removing invasive species such as lodgepole pine which dry out the bog.
Over the course of the project, there has been a huge improvement in the quality of raised bog habitat. It was found that once the trees were removed, and the drains blocked, the water levels rose quite rapidly, allowing the moss to grow and reclaim the bog.
With the Raised Bog Restoration project drawing to an end, Coillte will continue to maintain and monitor these sites. Bogs are scarce resources which need to be protected and conserved, and action needs to be taken now before it's too late.
From their value to the environment in retaining carbon dioxide, to the wildlife that they house, there is so much more to a bog than most of us realise. The work that Coillte has undertaken should be viewed as a blueprint for future conservation.
It is now up to the people of Ireland to share with others the importance of conserving our raised bog habitat. Together, we will ensure that bogs continue to thrive in all their beauty, for future generations to enjoy.