Rehabilitation of Bord na Móna industrial cutaway peatland

at Ballycon, Co Offaly
Ballycon, County Offaly, Ireland
(UTM 621396, 590545; Lat 53 deg, 17 min, 3.9 sec, Long –7 deg 10 min 44.5 sec)

McCorry Mark and Catherine Farrell,

Bord na Móna, Ireland

©FAO/Marc Mc Corry
Wetland development on a rehabilitated cutaway bog.
Summary
Bord na Móna (the Irish Peat Company) owns extensive areas of Irish peatlands (around 80 000 ha), primarily in
the midlands of Ireland. These lands have been developed at an industrial scale for fuel, energy and horticultural
growing media. Rehabilitation is being carried out in areas where peat production has ceased. One such site is
Ballycon, Co. Offaly. The main aims of the rehabilitation are to:
• ensure the stabilization of the former peat production areas,
• minimize potential peat runoff and
• encourage the re–establishment of a diversity of semi–natural habitats appropriate to the characteristics of
the site.
Natural colonization of vegetation can begin very quickly when peat production ceases. The main strategy of
Bord na Móna is to encourage this natural colonization so as to to stabilize bare peat and other substrates.
Targeted management such as drain–blocking, blocking of outfalls and turning off pumps is also used to
enhance natural colonization.
Peat production in Ballycon bog finally ceased in 2001, although some of the site was likely to have been out of
production and beginning the the process of natural colonisiation prior to this date. Part of the site is still used
as an industrial railway. Ballycon bog formerly had a pumped drainage system so when pumps were turned
off, water levels rose in part of the site to create pioneer wetlands. The natural topography of the site aided
wetland creation as it was a basin. The extent of wetlands was enhanced using a berm (constructed 2005–2006)
to hold water over previously unflooded sections of the site, along with some drain–blocking and hydrological
management at the main outfall. Natural coloniisation and habitat development has contined to create a
cutaway dominated by a mosaic of wetland habitats. Some additional rehabilitiation was carried out in 2013.
Rehabilitation at Ballycon has created a site that now provideecosystem services including habitats that have
high biodiversity value with species of conservation interest. Rewetting industrial cutaway may also offset
carbon emissions and this is currently being investigated at other sites. Rehabilitation can also be combined
with alternative land uses such as renewable energy, industrial development, forestry, agriculture, amenity use
and biodiversity. Ballycon has now been designated as a Biodiversity Area by Bord na Móna.
1. Practice description
Area of the site 281.5 ha
Current land cover/use Re–wetted peatland , forestry, industrial
Previous land cover/use Raised bog, then industrial peat production
Origin of intervention Bord na Móna (land–owner)
 Rewetting
 Drainage
Types of intervention used in  Cultivation of crops

the area  Grazing

 Forestry
 Aquaculture
 Fishery

Duration of implementation Rewetting rehabilitation carried out in 2005–2006.

Main purpose of the practice The main aim was to increase area of re–wetted cutaway.
 Low
Level of technical knowledge  Medium
 High
Water table depth from surface from -0.5 m to 0.5 m
Width of channels No channels
Present active drainage system
Distance between channels –

2. Implementation of activities, inputs and cost

N Establishment Input/materials Duration Cost
of activities
Targeted hydrological management (2005–2006): Various heavy
raising water levels and enhancing wetlands by machinery 63000
1 decommissioning pumps, blocking drains, raising 50 days
including excavators USD
a small embankment across the site and adjusting and bulldozers
level of main drainage outfall.
Targeted once–off fertilizer application (2013) on Fertilizer; tractor, 1200
2 drier area to enhance natural recoloniziation and fertilizer spreader 1 day USD
stabilize bare peat of headland
Remarks
Some conifer forestry (24 ha) was developed on a small section of higher ground in the 1980’s
while peat production was ongoing over the rest of the site. Natural colonisation began relatively
soon after peat production creased, although peat production ended at Ballycon on a phased
basis. Construction of the berm and drain-blocking raised water-levels over previously unflooded
sections of the site and this rehabilitation has created a site with predominantly wetland habitats.
The general cost of this type of wetland rehabilitation is about 340 USD/ha.
This rehabilitation has been very successful and the site has now predominantly re-vegetated or
has surface water. There is a mosaic of wetland vegetation types along with Birch and Willow
scrub, although much of the site is still relatively young and in the pioneer stages of habitat
development. Red List bird species recorded breeding at the site include Redshank (Tringa
totanus) and Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), which are wetland wader species ,and Meadow Pipit
(Anthus pratensis) and Skylark (Alauda arvensis), which are ground–nesting songbirds.
There is potential to raise water-levels to a higher level at the site when an industrial railway has
ceased use in the future.
A small drier area (30 ha) around the margin of the site was treated with a once-off fertiliser
application to help natural colonisation as this bare peat area had been slow to recolonise. This
has already begun to help recolonisation (May 2014).
3. Environmental characteristics
 Tropical
Climate  Temperate

 Boreal

Average annual rainfall 800–1000 mm

Altitude 70 m a.s.l.
Slope 0–5 % (generally flat)

 ≤ 30

 30–50
Peat depth (cm)  50–100

 100–300

 >300

Peatland type  Fen

 Bog
based on the water source
 Undefined

Hydrologic network –
Before practice
Calluna vulgaris, Eriophurum
vagination, Sphagnum spp.
Main vegetation species Betula pubesens, Juncus effusus,
During practice Eriophurum angustifolium, Carex spp.
Phragmites australis.
Water pH 7.1
Water quality Water turbidity –
Dissolved organic carbon content –

4. Socio–economic dimension
Local stakeholders Local communities, local authorities.
Owned by Bord na Móna. Bord na Móna is a semi–
Land tenure
state organisation.
Land, water, and other natural No general public access or use rights as site still
resource access and use rights being used by industrial railway

Conflicts No conflicts
Conflict resolution mechanism –
EPA Act 1992 (IPPC licensing for BnM peat production
Legal framework activities requires development and implantation of a
rehabilitation plan).
Energy peat pre–rehabilitation; post rehabilitation no
Products derived from the peatland products derived.
Current objectives are to allow site to continue
to develop semi–natural habitats and develop its
Market orientation biodiversity value. There may be opportunities in the
future to develop amenity pathways at this site.
5. Assessment of impacts on ecosystem services
1 highly decreasing/ 2 moderately decreasing/ 3 slightly decreasing/ 4 neutral/ 5 slightly increasing/ 6 moderately
increasing/ 7 highly increasing
Agricultural production 4
Food security and nutrition 4
Employment 4
Provisioning services Income 4
Non–timber forest products yield 4
Livelihoods opportunities 5
Resilience and capacity to adapt to climate change 5
Level of conflicts 4
Socio–cultural services Gender equality 4
Learning and innovation 6
Waterborne carbon (DOC) loss 1
Fire frequency 3
Regulating services
Biodiversity 7
Subsidence rate 4
Water quality 6
Off–site benefits
Frequency of flooding 4

6. Climate change mitigation potential

1 highly decreasing/ 2 moderately decreasing/ 3 slightly decreasing/ 4 neutral/ 5 slightly increasing/ 6 moderately
increasing/ 7 highly increasing

Estimate
Impact Rate (t ha–1 year –1, CO –eq) Remarks
2

Net GHG emission 2 –

Rewetting and creating new
CH4 emission wetlands increases CH4 emissions for
6 –
a time, but these may decline over
time.
Rewetting helps to reduce CO2
emissions from the remaining peat
CO2 emission 2 – and, in some instances, sites may
also become carbon sinks once
again.

N2O emission Rewetting of drained organic soils

1 –
reduces N2O emissions.
Creating pioneer wetlands can
initially lead to increased CH4
Carbon sequestration/ emissions. Pioneer wetlands may
5 –
storage abovegrounds in future develop into fen habitats
with increased –rates of carbon
sequestration
7. Additional information
Ballycon is just one of 130 individual bog units owned by Bord na Móna and rehabilitiation plans have
now been prepared for each of these bog units. The Bord na Móna baseline ecology survey showed
that the emerging cutaway was a diverse mosaic of different vegetation types and habitats developing
in diverse environments as a result of a variety of factors, such as hydrology, local topography and
remaining peat depths (Bord na Móna 2010). By slowing surface water drainage through these sites,
wetland development within the cutaway can also be very beneficial in mitigating silt runoff. However,
the entire cutaway cannot be rewetted or managed in such a way. It will not be possible to apply any
one particular rehabilitation tool to an entire site, as there is such a broad range of environmental
conditions within sites (e.g. peat depth, drainage). Flat areas that are wet revegetate with relative
ease. However, sloping, higher areas that tend to dry out in summer months must also be taken into
consideration. Each bog unit is likely to have site–specific issues.
Other ecosystem services provided by rehabilitiated cutaway include providing refuge areas for more
common species under increasing pressure by various land uses in the wider landscape, the creation of
wildlife corridors, and water filtration and the regulation of water flow.
Estimating GHG fluxes in cutaway peatlands is quite difficult due to the wide variety of different
environmental factors including, hydrology, topography, the remaining peat depths and pioneer
vegetation types and habitats. A significant amount of work has been carried out to determine GHG
fluxes from the different cutaway vegetation types and habitats at other sites to determine emission
factors (Wilson et al. 2013a). However, there are still significant gaps in research and estimated
emission factors have large uncertainties. For example, Wilson et al. (2013a) estimated that rewetted
nutrient–poor industrial cutaways in the Republic of Ireland are a carbon sink of 4 120 tonnes per year
with an uncertainty range of 6 125 (source) to 14 365 (sink) tonnes per year. Rewetted nutrient–rich
industrial cutaways are a source of 17 544 tonnes of carbon per year with a range of 1 754 (source) to
33 334 (source) tonnes. Much of the variation within these two land–use categories can be attributed
to differences in microsite composition following rewetting (e.g. bare peat, vegetation communities),
hydrological conditions and time since rewetting.
Work remains to develop accurate emission factors for the variety of cutaway habitats that are
developing and to accurately map these habitats in order to estimate overall carbon emissions from
Bord na Móna cutaways. Research has shown that rewetting cutaways does lower carbon emissions
(Wilson et al. 2013b), although not all the cutaway has the potential to be rewetted. Rewetting
cutaways may also develop habitats that will provide suitable conditions for carbon sequestration
in the future. Ultimately, rehabilitation of the Bord na Móna cutaways will have to balance issues of
carbon emissions and local hydrology with sustainable management and the natural development of
emerging habitats. Their compatibility with the development of other land uses such as renewable
energy and the needs of local communities will also need to be taken into consideration. The
developing cutaway landscape will develop signficant natural capita into the future.

Bord na Móna (2010). Bord na Móna Biodiversity Action Plan 2010–2015.

www.bordnamona.ie
www.loughbooraparklands.com

Wilson, D., Müller, C., & Renou–Wilson, F. (2013a): Carbon emissions and removals from Irish
peatlands: present trends and future mitigation measures. Irish Geography, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/
00750778.2013.848542

Wilson, D., Farrell, C., Mueller, C., Hepp S. and Renou–Wilson F. (2013b). Rewetted industrial cutaway
peatlands in Western Ireland: Prime location for climate change mitigation? Mires and Peat, 11, 1–22.
http://www.mires–and–peat.net/.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression
of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
I4427E/1/02.15

concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning
the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers,
whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in
preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are
those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.

© FAO, 2015

© FAO, 2015