Peatland covers 12% of the UK land area and supports unique communities of plants and animals. Degraded peatlands contribute significantly to carbon emissions, and their restoration benefits both climate and wildlife welfare.
Peatland restoration welfare benefits are both direct — restoring habitat for wading birds and invertebrates — and indirect — reducing carbon emissions that drive climate impacts on all animal communities globally. Wading birds that have lost breeding habitat on drained peatlands face the welfare consequences of reproductive failure and chronic food stress. Invertebrate communities that depend on sphagnum moss and waterlogged conditions lose food web support when drainage dries peatlands. Restoration can reverse these welfare impacts within 5 to 10 years in responsive peatland systems — making it one of the highest-welfare-benefit landscape interventions per hectare available in Britain.