Cutting peat: the historical ecology and dissection of the Chat Moss ecosystem

Osborne, Andrew W ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6338-6295, Marsden, Stuart ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0205-960X, Caporn, Simon J M ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4963-5360 and Coulthard, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8935-9092 (2024) Cutting peat: the historical ecology and dissection of the Chat Moss ecosystem. Mires and Peat, 31. 21. ISSN 1819-754X

Preview

Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Peatland is a biotope of international importance because of its unique flora and fauna and, when in good condition, the potential for globally significant carbon sequestration and storage. Chat Moss is a peatland on the edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation in the north-west of England, and the largest of a system of peatlands along the Mersey Valley. Peatland habitat on Chat Moss has been decimated over the past 200–300 years. However, it is now the site of a landscape scale ecosystem restoration programme. This investigation was conducted using historical written accounts, maps and biological recordings, supplemented by modern studies to examine the evidence for the original extent, landscape and species of the Chat Moss ecosystem, and define the mechanisms and timeframe of anthropogenic impacts on the landscape and ecology. The cartographic evidence shows that the maximum extent of Chat Moss was 36 square kilometres. Land use change with drainage, peat cutting and conversion to agriculture was most rapid between 1779 and 1897, resulting in complete loss of primaeval peatland habitat and associated flora and fauna by the middle of the 20th century. Chat Moss is located at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution. During the 1800s Merseyside and south Lancashire were one of the UK’s largest generators of sulphur pollution due to unregulated chemical works employing the Leblanc alkali process. The resulting acid rain (HCl, SO2, H2S) contributed to the habitat degradation and loss of Sphagnum moss on the neighbouring lowland peatlands. Having a clear understanding of an ecosystem’s baseline condition, as well as the factors responsible for habitat degradation, is essential for informing habitat restoration efforts and species reintroduction programmes.