Skip to main content
Log in

Validity of managing peatlands with fire

  • Matters Arising
  • Published:

From Nature Geoscience

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Matters Arising to this article was published on 28 October 2019

The Original Article was published on 03 December 2018

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1: The Hard Hill Plots at Moor House in the North Pennines, northern England.

Infoterra Ltd & Bluesky, Google Earth

References

  1. Marrs, R. H. et al. Experimental evidence for sustained carbon sequestration in fire-managed, peat moorlands. Nat. Geosci. 12, 108–112 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Price, J. Soil moisture, water tension, and water table relationships in a managed cutover bog. J. Hydrol. 202, 21–32 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Granath, G., Moore, P. A., Lukenbach, M. C. & Waddington, J. M. Mitigating wildfire carbon loss in managed northern peatlands through restoration. Sci. Rep. 6, 28498 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Rochefort, L. & Lode, E. in Boreal Peatland Ecosystems (eds Wieder, R. K. & Vitt, D. H.) 382–423 (Springer, 2006).

  5. MoorLIFE 2020 (Moors for the Future, 2015); www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/moorlife2020

  6. Averis, A. M. et al. An Illustrated Guide to British Upland Vegetation (Pelagic Publishing, 2004).

  7. Lindsay, R. A. et al. The Flow Country: The Peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland (Nature Conservancy Council, 1988).

  8. Boatman, D. J. The Silver Flowe National Nature Reserve, Galloway, Scotland. J. Biogeogr. 10, 163–274 (1983).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bannister, P. The water relations of certain heath plants with reference to their ecological amplitude. III. Experimental studies: general conclusions. J. Ecol. 52, 499–509 (1964).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Common Standards Monitoring Guidance for Upland Habitats (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2009).

  11. Noble, A. et al. Prescribed burning, atmospheric pollution and grazing effects on peatland vegetation composition. J. Appl. Ecol. 55, 559–569 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Holden, J. Piping and woody plants in peatlands: cause or effect? Water Resour. Res. 41, W06009 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Clay, G. D., Worrall, F., Clark, E. & Fraser, E. D. G. Hydrological responses to managed burning and grazing in an upland blanket bog. J. Hydrol. 376, 486–495 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Turetsky, M. R., Donahue, W. F. & Benscoter, B. W. Experimental drying intensifies burning and carbon losses in a northern peatland. Nat. Commun. 2, 514 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Wilkinson, S. L., Moore, P. A., Flannigan, M. D., Wotton, B. M. & Waddington, J. M. Did enhanced afforestation cause high severity peat burn in the Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire? Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 014018 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

All authors are involved in peatland research and conservation. Between them they have received funding from a range of governmental and non-governmental organizations and companies for research into fundamental peatland processes and conservation and restoration methods and impacts, although this Matters Arising article was not funded and is not sponsored by any organization. Governmental organizations include the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (UK), Natural Resources Wales and its predecessors, Natural England, Natural Resources Canada, the Natural Environment Research Council (UK), the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Council and the Scottish and Welsh Governments. Non-governmental organizations and companies include the Dutch Foundation for the Conservation of Irish Bogs, the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association, FP Innovations, Global Water Futures, the National Trust, Peat Resources Ltd, Premier Tech Ltd, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, Syncrude Canada Ltd, Pattern Energy Ltd, the Quaternary Research Association and The Royal Society. M.R. is the Research Lead for the IUCN-UK Peatland Programme, which promotes the conservation and restoration of peatlands.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

All authors designed and wrote the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. J. Baird.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Peer review information Primary Handling Editor(s): Xujia Jiang.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Baird, A.J., Evans, C.D., Mills, R. et al. Validity of managing peatlands with fire. Nat. Geosci. 12, 884–885 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0477-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0477-5

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Navigation