The name of the game? Moss toss. How far you can throw a clump of sphagnum moss into a newly re-wetted area of peat bog?

We recently welcomed Klorane Botanical Foundation to Little Woolden Moss to take part in a corporate volunteering day, helping us translocate sphagnum moss from one area of the nature reserve to another. How did we do this? We threw it of course.

The volunteers gathered handfuls of sphagnum from one area of the reserve, squeezing out the water that was stored within the plant and placing the clumps into a bucket. After gathering a few buckets full, we walked over to the newly restored area of Little Woolden Moss and began throwing the moss into pools of water. High and far, short and low, the aim was to get an even coverage.

This may seem like an unusual way to carry out practical conservation, but there is a good explanation as to why.

Moss is boss

Sphagnum moss is the keystone species of a peatland. These nutrient poor habitats are home to an incredible array of wildlife, wildlife that has adapted in unique ways to survive in these wet, acidic landscapes, and sphagnum moss creates the foundations for the rest to thrive.

There are around 34 species of sphagnum moss in the UK and they come in all shapes and colours. It is an underappreciated plant that plays an important role in the capturing of carbon and the protection of our planet. Sphagnum doesn’t have roots, and this is why we are able to simply pick up a clump and move it to a different location, where it will establish and continue to grow as if nothing happened, if the conditions are suitable. But why do we throw it? Because its fun of course.

Recent restoration work, which was match funded by Klorane Botanical Foundation, was carried out on Little Woolden Moss to help restore the hydrology. Now the water table was at a higher level, the conditions were suitable to translocate the sphagnum moss.

The specific species we were translocating was sphagnum cuspidatum, a species that loves to get its feet wet and will happily grow in water. Sphagnum moss can hold up to 20 times its own weight in water, making it perfectly adapted to life in water. Once the moss has settled in the water, it will establish in the new pools and begin to spread over time.

The problem

However, 98 per cent of the lowland peatlands in our region have been damaged or destroyed, and the plants and wildlife have suffered because of this. In Greater Manchester, the historic peat bog region of Chat Moss has been fragmented for agriculture, housing development and even the extraction of the peat itself.

Not only does this annihilate these ecosystems, but the carbon rich peat soil that has built up over thousands of years is then exposed, oxidising with the atmosphere and releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide, with lowland peatlands alone contributing 3 per cent of the UK’s annual greenhouse gas emissions*.

Learn more about our precious peatlands

Think you have what it takes to throw the furthest? We are always looking for volunteers to help restore our precious peatlands. Keep an eye out for our upcoming volunteer opportunities to get involved.

*Lowland peatlands | CEH