Britain’s highest bog: can we unlock its secrets?

Authors:
Olivia M. Bragg, Philip J. Basford, Andrew R. Black, Graeme M. Bragg, Jane K. Hart and Kirk Martinez

Book:
Proceedings of the 15th International Peat Congress

Venue:
Kuching

Keywords:
bare-peat, cairngorms, environmental-sensor-network, internet-of-things, vegetation

Documentfile:
ipc16p118-122a072braggbasford.etal_.pdf

Summary:

The Glenfeshie Mòine Mhór (Great Moss) is Britain‘s highest bog, the largest bog in the Cairngorm Mountains (Scotland) and a water source area for the River Spey. The area was managed primarily for sport hunting for about two centuries, but deer numbers have been heavily reduced in the last decade to allow regeneration of natural woodland and the return to more natural condition of all ecosystems including peatland. However, it may not be realistic to expect spontaneous improvement in peatland condition and ecosystem services provision in the harsh environment of the Mòine Mhór, which retains snow cover for more than half the year and differs floristically from lower-altitude bogs. To understand whether and where management intervention may be required, we need first to understand how the system works at scales ranging from microform to macro tope, and from sub-catchment to…