Scottish raised bogs - Restoration of Scottish raised bogs

The project aimed to bring 1256 ha of active raised bog back up to a favourable condition by reducing existing or potential threats within eleven SCIs (12 individual sites) in Scotland, UK and to increase the area of raised bog by a further 315 ha through the clearance of trees, scrub and heather. The project has achieved the removal of 430ha of trees, clearance of 253ha of encroaching scrub, installation of 2,153 dams into ditches, erection of 12,101m of fencing and removal of 3.6ha of rank heather. A number of local open days were held on sites, information sheets were produced and an international conference organised to disseminate the project results to other site managers and stakeholders. Local Operational Planning Teams (LOPTs) were set up to provide additional support. Alternative solutions were explored to birch control by cutting and chemical treatment. The interpretation work on and around the sites has been valuable. Existing conservation/land management organizations can ensure the future management of each one of the project sites. All the sites shall be monitored as part of their site condition monitoring programme and this can indicate whether the sites are in, or moving towards, favourable conservation status.