Maximising Manchester’s Mosslands

Maximising Manchester’s Mosslands - The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside

dragonfly resting on a reed — Male white-faced darter dragonfly - Vicky Nall

International construction company, Mace, are funding the restoration of 157 hectares of precious mossland habitat in Greater Manchester over the next five years.

The ‘mosslands’ of Greater Manchester were once 35 km2 of lowland raised peat bog, a habitat that was home to rare and specialised wildlife, along with soaking up excess rainfall, and storing and sequestering millions of tonnes of carbon. But 99 per cent of this amazing habitat has been lost to drainage for peat extraction and conversion to agriculture. The remaining fragments are isolated and in need of restoration.

Manchester’s mosslands need our help.

Global consultancy and construction company, Mace, is funding an ambitious five-year project to restore 157 hectares of damaged mossland habitat across Greater Manchester, with the aim of bringing biodiversity back to these rare and precious places.

Works will include:

Scrub management – mosslands should be wet, but once they are damaged and start to dry out scrub vegetation such as willow and birch can take hold, their root systems further drying out the peat. Controlling this can stop the natural mossland plants from being outcompeted and provide the vital first layer that wildlife relies upon.
Invasive species control – plants such as bracken and Himalayan balsam can invade degraded mosslands, again outcompeting the native flora. Controlling these species is vital to restoring a healthy mossland.
Mossland plant introduction – sphagnum mosses, cotton grasses and heathers will be planted to bring Manchester’s mosslands back to life. These native species flourish in the naturally wet and acidic conditions of our mosslands, forming carpets of green, white and pink throughout the year.
Bog pool creation and improvement – dragonfly and damselfly larva, frogs, toads and a plethora of other amazing invertebrates rely on bog pools, so the project will create new, and improve existing, bog pools across Manchester’s mosslands.