This innovative pilot project created a web portal called PeatSCOPE to faciliate targeted peatland restoration.
In collaboration with environmental and agricultural data consultancy Environment Systems, and Scottish consultancy Land & Habitats Tweed Forum helped deliver this innovative, high-tech pilot project to improve how we prioritise peatland and wetland restoration in Scotland through the creation of a new digital tool called PeatSCOPE.
Peatlands have a major role to play in the fight against the effects of climate change, in storing carbon, acting as a flood water store and filtering clean water and providing a rich habitat for wildlife. They make up around 20% of Scotland’s land cover but it is estimated that around 80% is damaged, releasing carbon instead of storing it and leading to poorer quality river water, reduced flood protection and diminished plant and wildlife biodiversity.
The project, which was carried out using data from across Scotland (including the Tweed catchment), involved the creation of a multi-function web-based portal that encompassed Environment Systems’ existing SENCE natural capital evaluation tool and uses satellite remote sensing technology to identify peatlands emitting the most carbon. This new data was combined with existing, but often disparate, information to prioritise areas in need of restoration. Tweed Forum’s role was to engage with local land managers, policy makers and peatland restoration contractors to ensure that the web portal is usable, and meaningful.
As well as indicating geographic areas of peatland and its condition and suitability for restoration, it is hoped that the portal will also model carbon values and other ecosystems benefits including biodiversity, water quality and flood mitigation. This information will be an extremely valuable resource for land managers and policy makers, enabling them to more accurately assess which sites are in most urgent need of work, and helping to optimise both resources and overall benefits.
This work was supported by the Scottish Government’s CivTech programme.
