Sunday 26 July marked International Bog Day. Now I know what you’re thinking, there’s a lot of awareness days, but of all the habitats worth celebrating bogs are one of the most important, for climate change mitigation and protecting precious species. 

What is a bog? 

What do you picture in your mind when you hear the word bog? Maybe wet, mossy, muddy? And you’re not far off, but there is so much more to these habitats than that.  

Most bogs are characterised by waterlogged, low-oxygen acidic soil and the presence of peat. Bogs are formed in areas of high rainfall and humidity, plants in the area grow and die, being compressed in the wet conditions and not fully decomposing to form peat. Not many plants can grow in such a harsh environment, but there are bog specialists that have developed creative ways to thrive. 

What plants live on bogs?

Sphagnum moss

Sphagnum mosses are beautiful when viewed up close, they can be shades of green, pink, red or orange. These mosses are also true survivors, they can hold up to eight times their own weight in water but can also survive being fully dried out during the summer months. They contribute to the formation of peat through their lifecycle over hundreds of years. 

Round-leaved sundew

Bogs and climate change 

Peat is an incredible store of carbon, with peatlands in the UK holding around 3 billion tonnes of carbon. The high water table in bogs, which is the point below the surface of the soil where is becomes saturated with water, keeps the peat wet and stops the plants from fully decomposing, which is essential for the peat’s maintenance. However, intense drainage of our bogs means that peatlands are being dried out, and the carbon is released instead of stored. One of the easiest ways to help protect our bogs is to buy peat-free compost for your garden and check that plants you’re buying haven’t been grown in peat – why not visit Avon Wildlife Trust’s nursery at Grow Wilder for some peat-free treats for your garden. 

Bogs are also an essential part of our ecosystem. They slow the flow of water from the uplands and in the lowland - the kinds of bogs we have here in the south west - they store water which might otherwise cause flooding. In the recent awful fires that have ravaged Scotland, ariel footage shows the bogs as bright green spots among the burned moorland. Restoration of bogs and peatlands are essential to building climate resilience as well protecting multiple vulnerable species that depend on them. 

At Avon Wildlife Trust we are working to protect and restore peatland across the region. Our Somerset Moor Futures Project is one of 13 lowland agricultural peat water discovery projects being delivered across the country funded by the Environment Agency.  

If you’d like to find out more about how we’re working with farmers and landowners to protect peat on the North Somerset Levels and Moors, visit www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/somerset-moor-futures