The Peak District moorlands, transitioning from blanket bog, through wet and dry heath and across iconic rocky edges, down through the fringes to woodlands and pastures, offer the opportunity to demonstrate how our upland landscapes can be fit for the future.

Restoring and rewetting the blanket bog underpins this aim. Where the water table is lower, or peat gives way to mineral soils, there should be a diversity of dwarf shrub and other plant species of different ages, all adding something different, with no single species dominating overall. Scrub and trees can be incorporated amongst the dwarf shrub and bracken.

Habitats may not be clearly defined. What grows where will depend on the soils and geology, climate, weather and altitude, alongside grazing.

Climate change means that wildfire will be an increasing risk to our moorland wildlife. Many stakeholders work together to try and prevent wildfires from starting, through public messaging, engagement and education, and by identifying particularly vulnerable areas. However, it is unlikely that wildfires can be prevented altogether, so vegetation management can also help mitigate the impacts.

For nature

• Wet heath on the shallower peat can support dwarf shrubs, cotton grasses, sedges and mosses.
• Heather going through its natural life cycle creates structural diversity at an intimate scale - new leafy growth, flowering to provide nectar, some dying to leave areas of bare ground.
• Bilberry is the favoured food plant of the bilberry bumblebee (opens new window) and caterpillars of the green hairstreak butterfly (opens new window), for which the Peak District is an important stronghold.
• Bracken as part of the mix of species can be used by breeding whinchat and a variety of invertebrates.
• Mountain hare (opens new window) like a mix of habitats - the only population in England is here in the Peak District.
• Structural diversity at the transitional edge of the moorland is key for our local adder population - basking in open areas close to cover and hibernating in south-facing grass tussocks, holes or old walls.
• Structurally diverse moorlands provide vital nesting and feeding habitat for birds of prey including short-eared owl, merlin, hobby and hen harrier.
• Rough, diverse grassland with different sward heights, wet in some areas with rushes around flushes and springs can provide opportunities for waders to find cranefly larvae.

What else can structural diversity deliver?

• A diverse range of habitats, vegetation types and structure can enable habitats and species to be more resilient and respond to the effects of climate change, such as withstanding extreme weather events, or the increased likelihood of new pests and diseases.
• A diverse range of plant species at different stages can help stabilise the peat, particularly around the edges, and reduces sediment runoff, meaning cleaner water in the streams, rivers and reservoirs.
• Roots of different plant species, intertwined with mosses, help the structure of the soil and can increase water-holding capacity, slowing the flow and helping prevent flooding further downstream.
• Different plant species can vary livestock diet, and have many beneficial properties that can lead to reduced inputs.
• Grazing over a large area means less need for fencing and costly boundary maintenance.
• Structural diversity and mosaics can add to the feeling of wildness many people appreciate when visiting the Peak District moorlands.

In practice

• Gully blocking to raise the water table to more natural levels, and gully reprofiling.
• Explore opportunities for restoring or creating wet heath, and techniques for doing this.
• Plant reintroductions or translocations.
• Extensive grazing over large areas, using new technologies such as cattle collars.
• Bracken management which recognises its role as part of a habitat mosaic, whilst controlling its spread at the expense of other important habitats, including for tree and shrub establishment. Cattle can help with trampling and browsing.
• Plant or promote natural colonisation of native trees and scrub as part of a mosaic of habitats on mineral soils and shallow peat, in cloughs and down the slopes.
• Allow heather, as a component of a range of heathland plants, to complete its natural cycle - pioneer, building, mature, and degenerate.
• Mitigating the extent and severity of wildfires may require a combination of visitor engagement and vegetation management tools depending on location and risk.