1. Peatlands –
unique environments,
unique challenges
Burtscher, M.M.; Branagan, M.T.M.; Batchelli, S.;Crowe,S.E.; Goodyer, E.;
Jackson, A.C.; Muller, F.L.L.; Gibb,S.W.

2. Why peatlands?
• Peatlands cover 1.9 million ha in Scotland = 1/3 of
Scotland’s land area
• Biodiversity Home to many rare and endemic species
• Conservation ~20% designated under national &
international wildlife conservation legislation
• Economy Key to the economy and communities of the
H&I e.g. agriculture & crofting, forestry, fishing &
shooting, renewable energy etc.
• Carbon Largest terrestrial carbon store in the UK

3. ‘Wet deserts’ of Caithness and Sutherland
• Flow country: 4000km2
i.e. 52 % of Caithness and Sutherland
• Largest + most intact area of blanket bog in Europe & the world
• Large areas designated as SSSIs; listed as ‘Wetlands of International
Importance’ and proposed a UNESCO ‘World Heritage Site’
• The flows are similar to the northern boreal peatlands of Finland/Canada
• Issues: Drainage, peat extraction and forestry plantation, wind farms
development i.e. land management; climate change

4. Scotland’s peatlands carbon stores
• Contain > 75% of the UK’s total soil carbon ( ~ 3 billion tonnes)
= 20 times that in all of the forests in the UK
≡ 150-190 years of Scotland’s C emissions via fossil fuel combustion
• (Human) impacts such as drainage, burning, grazing, afforestation, erosion
alter their ability to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere
• Clear predictions are not yet possible on the impact of climate change on the
carbon storage potential of peatlands
• Use, management & value have been poorly studied (as they are often
considered unproductive areas and distant from urban settings ?)

5. The needs
• Base line information on the structure and functioning of ‘intact peatlands’
• Impact of different types of disturbances and potential mitigation
• Susceptibility and response to climatic and environmental change
• Communication and translation into policy and land management
Scottish peatlands have vast environmental,
conservation & economic value –Global importance
• Conflicting pressures on integrity & quality of peatland ecosystems
• e.g. drainage for agriculture, forestry, or peat production…
environmental problems without economic benefit…
• Issues: Climate change, biodiversity, renewable energy, policy and
management
• Sustainable development !

6. Current research projects
at ERI

7. Effects of Disturbance on Diversity and Function
of Blanket Bogs
ARC PhD project: Marcella Branagan
• Assessment of natural variability of intact peat microbial communities
• Influence of surface vegetation and hydrological situation on the community
composition below the surface
•Response: Analysis of microbial community and main physicochemical
parameters at impacted compared to intact sites
•Resilience? Monitoring of peat microbial community during process of recovery
after disturbance
Establish a good understanding of the current status of peatlands
Predict the changes of peatlands based on different management regimes
 Recommendations and advice on peatland management strategies

8. Effects of Disturbance on Blanket Bogs
Sampling sites
Dunnet Head
• Burning
• Recovery?
Forsinard
• Drainage
Bad a Cheo
• Forestation

9. Effects of Disturbance on Blanket Bogs
• Belt transects
• Water table measurement
• Identification of vegetation
communities
• Sampling of peat cores from pristine
and disturbed sites
 Physicochemical parameters
 Microbial diversity
Frozen sample
Peat Core
50 cm in length
Segmented into 4 cm slices
DNA extracted
from peat
PCR-DGGE analysis

10. Effects of Disturbance on Blanket Bogs
surface water table 8 cm below water table

11. • Preliminary inventory of desmid species richness for Scottish peatlands
• Quantification of variation in desmid assemblages according to spatially-nested
environmental drivers, from micro-topographic variation to climatic settings
• Modelling the response of desmids to hierarchical factors, and project the response
based on climate change scenarios
• Relationship between desmid diversity and ecosystem function
• Advice and recommendations on peatland habitat management with respect to
desmid conservation
•Field-guide to indicator species representative of contrasting climatic settings, mire-
water properties, and stages of mire regeneration and their functional attributes
© Wim van Egmond
SNH/SEPA PhD project: Emma Goodyer
Quantifying the Climate Change Response of
Micro-organism (Desmid) Diversity in Scotland’s
Blanket Mires

12. Desmid diversity in blanket mires
…characterising the pattern and response of diversity to
environmental change
Characterisation of desmid community structure (composition and richness) with
respect to interacting and hierarchically-scaled environmental drivers
Location of sampling sites
across Scotland covering
different climatic zones
Novel conservation focus on a charismatic section of
microbial diversity abundant in patterned blanket mires
© Wim van Egmond

13. Peatland-derived humic substances transport
biologically essential iron from land to sea…
ARC PhD project: Silvia Batchelli
 The Flow country contains DOM-rich rivers which link peatland carbon stores to
the marine environment, creating DOM-rich plumes which travel away from the
river mouth and undergo both ‘aging’ and dilution by surrounding Atlantic waters
 DOM was found to be resistant to flocculation during estuarine mixing between
River Thurso and Atlantic waters → humic substances greatly enhance the iron-
carrying capacity of these waters
 Peatlands = significant source of dissolved iron to marine ecosystems

14. … in both soluble and colloidal forms
Salinity
29 30 31 32 33 34 35
[Fe-HS](nM)
0
50
100
150
200
250
Bulk
Permeate
Retentate
Amount of iron bound to humic
substances (HS) was found to
decrease linearly with salinity
in each of the size fractions
↓
Terrestrial input of iron-bound
humics occurring in both the
permeate (low MW fraction)
and retentate (high MW)
appears to mix conservatively
with surrounding waters in
Thurso Bay

15. Properties of peat-derived organic substances
which can also influence coastal ecosystems:
DOM carried by River Thurso can affect marine ecosystems in 3 ways:
 DOM absorbs light, especially ultraviolet (UV) and blue light. This means there is
less light available for algal growth. At the same time, aquatic organisms are
protected from UV radiation
 Bound to DOM are nitrogen, phosphorous, manganese, iron, zinc etc… just what
the algae need to grow!
 The main component of DOM is organic carbon (= main building block of all
living matter) which bacteria use as a source of energy!
However, peat-derived DOM is too unwieldy to be used directly → it must
be broken down

16. Northern Peatlands Research Centre
• Centre of ‘peatland sciences’ that, through national collaboration will:
- provide a focal point for Scottish Peatland science
- address key knowledge gaps to
- address issues that impinge upon the functionality, use & management
- generate internationally recognised outputs
- inform policy & management
- contribute to the sustainability of the region and its peoples
• Flow Country field unit: Dedicated platform for collaborative peatland
science across Scotland
Urgently need - a pristine site as “exemplar” for restoration
- large, internationally important and recognised site
- Flow Country research platform (focal point)

17. Acknowledgements