Wicken Fen celebrates 125 years with peat restoration scheme
The National Trust has begun a £1.8m peat restoration project at Wicken Fen to mark the acquisition of what was its first nature reserve some 125 years ago.
The charity acquired 0.8 ha of land at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire in 1899 – and it now extends across more than 830 ha. It plans to restore 215 ha of peat at the site to retain rainwater and manage water tables to create saturated, healthy peat.
The charity said without action, the majority of the remaining peat in The Fens could be lost within 30 years, emitting harmful carbon as it degrades.
Wicken Fen is a 254.5-ha biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire (Andrew Stawarz).
Fenland haven
Peat restoration project manager, Ellis Selway, said: "It's about balancing that water in the peat. When it is used for agricultural use, it starts to dry out and disappear.
"What we're going to try to do is bring that water back into the peat, it soaks it up like a sponge and when the vegetation starts to break down, it starts to form peat."
Nearly 9,500 species have been recorded at Wicken Fen, including 2,072 species of flies, 1,775 species of beetles and 1,252 species of moths. Last year, the National Trust acquired 28 ha of land to be managed for European Turtle Dove.
Vast wetland
Alan Kell, countryside manager at Wicken Fen, said: "Despite now being considered one of the driest areas of the UK, the East Anglian fens was once a vast wetland covering more than 3,800 sq km, larger than Cambridgeshire, consisting of deep peat soils, before being widely drained for agriculture in the 17th century.
"Across The Fens, it's estimated that we lose 10-15 mm of peat a year, which would take 10 to 15 years to generate."
The project hopes to stop peat from drying out by repairing and installing clay banks to retain rainwater, and managing water tables to create saturated, healthy peat.
It has been made possible due to fundraising, legacies, donations and a grant of more than £1.3 million from Natural England.
