The carbon balance of gullied and hagged blanket peatlands

Peatlands are a globally important carbon store, hosting at least one third of terrestrial soil carbon. However, many of these systems have been degraded through human action. Restoration investment seeks to protect the ecosystem and carbon store and encourage enhanced carbon sequestration and minimise adverse greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing. Blanket peatlands are a type of peatland most commonly found in wet temperate oceanic climates, but are subject to much erosion if the vegetation is disturbed because they often occur on sloping terrain.

This PhD would investigate the carbon balance of eroded blanket peatlands where there are peat ‘haggs’ (high remnant points) surrounded by lower eroded components such as gullies. The study will examine hagged peatlands incorporating hagg top and gully bottom locations, for a range of hagg heights, in three key states: i) eroding/stable with no active restoration or ‘self-healing’; ii) managed through active peatland restoration management; iii) naturally self-healing sites where revegetation is occurring.

For further details please see: https://panorama-dtp.ac.uk/research/the-carbon-balance-of-gullied-and-hagged-blanket-peatlands/

The application instructions are here: https://panorama-dtp.ac.uk/how-to-apply/