England’s first super nature reserve set for Dorset

The first phase of the Dorset Peat Partnership is focused on Agglestone Mire and Greenlands Mire near Studland in Purbeck.

It is one of 16 sites that aims to reinstate 172 hectares of peatland, equivalent to more than 240 football pitches.

Heather bales, timber and bunds of peaty soils will be used to create “leaky dams” to block old ditches.

These were originally dug to drain marshes for conifer plantations or to graze farm animals.

The new leaky dams will force the water to flow across the mire rather than down artificial channels.

David Brown, the National Trust’s lead ecologist in Purbeck, said: “Spreading the flow of water across the mires will create a wetter habitat where mosses and other rare plants like marsh saxifrage and tiny bog orchids can thrive.

“Under the acidic, waterlogged conditions, mosses and other plants never fully decompose, and over time they turn into new peat, which keeps their carbon locked up instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

“Purbeck’s peat forming mires have enormous significance for rare insects, plants and other wildlife, including bog hoverflies and birds such as skylarks, as well as one of our few long-term carbon storage habitats.”

Mr Brown added re-wetting the mires would improve drought and fire resilience by holding more water during the summer.

It will also help to prevent flooding by soaking up heavy rainfall.

He said: “A new wetland ecosystem should establish itself quite quickly, providing a lifeline for many rare species that have been under threat due to the disappearance of these boggy habitats across the country.”

This includes rare species such as the raft spider, which floats on the bog pools and is a “very aggressive hunter”.

These insects attract birds and mammals, including rare nightjars that nest on the heathland and feed over the mires.

This benefits some rare plant species that grow on the peat bogs, such as carnivorous plants, which rely on digesting insects on the nutrient-poor bog.

“Many people don’t realise they grow in Dorset, but one is actually called the Godlingston Sundew, because it was originally found on Godlingston Heath in Purbeck,” said Mr Brown.

He added the project would involve cutting back invasive purple moor grass, which had thrived in the face of recent droughts conditions and was threatening to smother other more delicate wetland species.

The Dorset Peat Programme is led by Dorset Wildlife Trust and involves Natural England, Forestry England, the Environment Agency, BCP Council, the National Trust and the RSPB.

It also includes one private landowner who has been funded by £787,320 from Defra’s Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS), and £262,500 from other partners.