It may not be to everybody’s taste, but I love the new fountain in the centre of Ilkley. Juliet Gutch and husband, Jamie, were behind the winning design, which features a representation of Sphagnum, found growing on Ilkley Moor – of which more later. The original Victorian fountain was installed in 1886 but removed sixty years ago after damage by vandals, and the remaining stone bowl turned into a flower bed.
The new fountain design is a 5ft (1.5m) galvanised steel structure which is gravity-fed, recycling water coming down the hill from Ilkley Moor. The fountain will be officially unveiled on 30th April, by Ilkley born local lad Alan Titchmarsh, and longstanding Wharfedale Naturalist member.
Sphagnum is a moss - a primitive non-flowering plant evolving over 400 million years ago. Like all mosses, sphagnum is a non-vascular plant which means that it grows without true roots and absorbs all the water and nutrients it needs directly through the surface of its leaflike scales.
There are 30 species of Sphagnum in the UK, with an amazing array of colours. They form an important constituent of blanket bogs found on both Ilkley and Denton Moors, having the capacity to store more carbon than the equivalent area of rainforest. With the UK accounting for 20% of the world’s blanket bogs, it is an important habitat we need to protect. Absorbing 20x its weight in water it acts as a sponge, so also plays an important role in flood prevention.
Blanket bogs began developing 5,000-6,000 years ago as the climate became wetter and warmer. They are generally found over acidic bedrock in places where rainfall exceeds the loss of water through evaporation and plant transpiration. This leads to near-constant saturation, perfect for both Sphagnum moss and Cottongrasses. Both plants do not readily decay because of the phenolic compounds embedded in the moss’s cell walls, and the anaerobic water-saturated conditions. As they die, they form peat, which under favourable conditions increases at a rate of 1mm per year, which over time can develop to many metres in depth.
Blanket bogs may have an atmosphere of wonderful desolation, but are biodiverse, especially the rich microbial community which grows amongst its ‘foliage’. There is an array of plants not just Sphagnum and Cottongrass, including insectivorous Sundew, Cranberry, Crowberry, Bog Asphodel and in slightly drier areas Common Heather, Crossed-leaved Heaths, sedges, and Purple Moor grass. Add into the mix waders such as Golden Plover, birds of prey including Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owls and an array of aquatic insects including dragonflies and you can see why they are truly magical places.
Although the area of blanket bog in the UK is substantial, a significant amount has been degraded or lost. There have been many factors at play:
Industrial peat extraction both as a fuel and use in horticulture
Tax breaks in the 1980’s led to afforestation, with large conifer plantations planted on blanket bogs
Government subsides for drainage resulted in shallow drains or grips being dug, with subsidised over-grazing by sheep
Burning to promote fresh growth for livestock or for grouse on sporting estates has a longer history
Past air pollution from surrounding industrial towns
All of this is not uplifting, but I want to finish on a positive note, about how the Yorkshire Peat Partnership working with landowners is undertaking peat restoration. Current plans are well underway (see YPP website), including locally on both Ilkley and Denton Moors.
Each area of moorland and blanket bog will vary, requiring a different approach, methods of which include the following:
Bunding – used on large areas of bare denuded peat. Coir logs are used to break up the flow of surface water, rainfall is retained on the moors, allowing vegetation to re-establish on the bare peat
Grip and Gully blocking – there are number of ways to block these channels, including peat, stone, timber, and heather bales
Re-profiling – steep slopes make it impossible for vegetation to reestablish. Using earth moving machinery, the slope angle is reduced to below 30 degrees followed by re-vegetation (see below)
Re-vegetation – In the case of bare peat it can be difficult for vegetation to re-colonise and grow. Under these circumstances heather brash, seed and plants plugs – both sphagnum and cotton grass are used, often with the addition of lime and fertiliser to kick start plant growth
Finally, a story of how Sphagnum was used in medical treatment in WWI. Dried moss can take in up to twenty times its own weight in liquid, and although the idea of moss in hospitals may sound odd today, its powers of absorption made it ideal for wound dressing, being more effective than cotton and easier to obtain. It also has antiseptic qualities, which were crucial in WW1 when soldiers lived in unsanitary conditions and wounds often became infected. The moss was harvested in Scotland, England, Ireland and Canada. While Sphagnum had been used in medicine for several centuries, WW1 saw it employed on an industrial scale for the first time; tens of millions of dressings were produced. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh assisted in determining the best species of moss to use and how to prepare it.
Sphagnum has also been used for bedding, lamp wicks, in babies' nappies, and as tinder. Its history of use by humans, as well as the range of organisms which depend on the peat bog habitat, demonstrate how even a tiny moss can be vital to the species that live alongside it, not forgetting its important role helping us fight climate change.
Note: I am thankful to the YPP website for information about techniques used in peat restoration: https://www.yppartnership.org.uk/