Anyone for a slice of Blanket Bog cake?

Antony (pictured) with his blanket bog cake

More than a million tonnes of carbon are stored in Marsden Moor, in West Yorkshire – and the peatlands can  hold the equivalent annual emissions released by one million cars.

These were findings of a four year study by Dr Antony Blundell, Senior Researcher and Martin Gilpin, Senior Research Technician, at University of Leeds revealed on World Bog Day.

They have been working with National Trust volunteers and rangers to survey peat depths and stratigraphy – the make-up of different peat layers that were created over time – to estimate a total peat volume and a mass of carbon that is presently stored on the estate.

The researchers estimated the moorland has a total of around 21 million cubic tonnes of peatland after assessing 2,290 locations.

A good carbon storage estimate is extremely important as it can illustrate the value of these moorlands and their role in mitigating climate change.

Peat on average forms at up to 1mm per year, and the deepest areas of peat discovered were over five metres deep.

School of Geography, University of Leeds

On Bog Day (28 July) they joined a public event at Marden Moor, organised by the National Trust, to raise awareness about the benefits of peatland and help members of the public gain a greater appreciation for their local environment.

The study highlights the importance of preserving and restoring the moorlands to prevent vast amounts of carbon from being released into the atmosphere.

Visitors talked to the team about the significant of their work and had a chance to examine the peat cores. One of them was set up for the last 600 years with an historical timeline so that children and adults could relate peat depths to historical events such as the time of Henry VIII or Charles I being beheaded.

A huge poster has been displayed at Marsden Visitor Centre which features some of the palaeo  work.

To celebrate the completion of the work, Antony and his team were presented with ‘an honourary’ blanket bog cake. Their work has been featured in many newspapers including The Independent

Restoration efforts on the West Yorkshire moor are ongoing and it is an urgent issue on a global scale.

National Trust rangers have been working alongside Moors for the FutureYorkshire Water, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to restore bare patches of peat, to plant Sphagnum moss and other native species of plant, and to lower the risk of moorland fires, which can damage the peat and allow carbon to disperse.