Achieving mire restoration success: Determining change in above and below ground biodiversity and ecosystem functions

Peatlands are globally important habitats providing a range of ecosystem services, most notably carbon sequestration and storage, but also clean water and natural flood defenses as well as supporting a range of specialist and protected species. However, over the last few centuries they have undergone significant losses and degradation. In recent years there has been increasing effort to restore the biodiversity and ecosystem functions on degraded peatlands with a view to enhancing and maintaining provision ecosystem services into the future. This project aims to understand the abiotic and biotic changes that take place when a site is under restoration to a lowland raised mire habitat. The project will seek to make management recommendations to stakeholders involved in mire and peatland restoration, e.g. on rates of change towards expected mire vegetation, soil and invertebrate communities and on success of restoration in the variety of habitats within the restored site, which may not change at the same rate. The project will take place at Edge Green, a small area (7ha) of common land managed by Wigan Council. Led by Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Edge Green is due to undergo restoration to lowland raised mire in October 2021. This provides a unique opportunity to study a mire restoration in the early stages of the restoration process, including the crucial pre-restoration data collection period. Over four years, the project will work closely with stakeholders at Wigan Council and Lancashire Wildlife Trust along with a multidisciplinary team from Edge Hill University to explore ecosystem response and function in this internationally important habitat.