Practical Guide: Managing Peatlands and Upland Habitats

Practical Guide: Managing Peatlands and Upland Habitats

Scotland’s peatlands store 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon – more than 30 times the amount of carbon in our forests and other vegetation. Unfortunately, because much of our peatland is degraded, it is thought that around 1.6 million tonnes of carbon is released from peatland each year, through drying, erosion and oxidation. This is equivalent to more than 10% of Scotland’s total carbon emissions.

Managing our peatlands to restore previous damage and prevent new damage therefore helps to reduce carbon emissions and creates a carbon sink.