Why should we care about blanket bog?

There are lots of reasons why we should want to look after our blanket bog:

- Globally, blanket bog is an extremely rare and localised habitat, 10-15% of which occurs in Britain.

- Blanket bog supports a unique assemblage of plant, invertebrate, and bird species.

- Blanket bogs have been utilised by man over 1000s of years, making them an important link with our past.

- Blanket bogs are important carbon sinks, and over the years have stored huge quantities of carbon.

- Damaged blanket bogs release large quantities of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides, greenhouse gases that have been implicated in global warming.

- Blanket bogs store vast quantities of water, slowly releasing them into neighbouring watercourses. The loss or damage of blanket bogs may result in less reliable water supplies, increased droughts, or greater likelihood of flooding.

- The loss or damage of blanket bogs may result in increased runoff and greater sediment loads, reduced water quality, and increased sedimentation of lakes or reservoirs, or change in aquatic ecosystems down stream.