Identification and classification of unmapped blanket bogs in the Cordillera Cantábrica, northern Spain

Chico, G ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5915-3373, Clutterbuck, B ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3239-8220, Lindsay, R, Midgley, NG ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0076-1785 and Labadz, J ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1574-7540, 2019. Identification and classification of unmapped blanket bogs in the Cordillera Cantábrica, northern Spain. Mires and Peat, 24: 2. ISSN 1819-754X

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Abstract

Blanket bogs are rare types of peatland that are recognised internationally for important habitat provision, and nationally and locally as important carbon stores and sinks. These ecosystems enjoy particular attention and protection within the European Union, but gaps highlighted in the Spanish national peatland inventory leave many areas of Spain’s blanket bog habitat unprotected and exposed to anthropogenic pressures such as livestock or wind farm development. This research identifies and offers classification of four currently unmapped areas of blanket bog located in the Cordillera Cantábrica (north Spain) on the administrative boundaries between the regions of Cantabria and Castilla y León. Peat depth was surveyed on a 15 m spaced grid at all sites and mesotope units were defined from topography and hydrological flow patterns. Two sloping and two mound blanket bogs were identified containing a range of bog and fen mesotope units. Maximum peat depth at the five sites ranges from 1.78 to 2.82 m covering an area of 43 ha of blanket bog (> 30 cm peat depth). The survey also estimates that more than 300,000 m³ of peat has accumulated across all sites. This study adds significantly to the known global distribution of blanket mire and suggests that an urgent update of national peatland inventories is needed more widely, not least in Spain, to identify currently unmapped areas of blanket bog. The approach used here can be employed wherever blanket mires occur in the world to promote their designation and the preservation of peatland diversity and carbon storage.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Mires and Peat
Creators:	Chico, G., Clutterbuck, B., Lindsay, R., Midgley, N.G. and Labadz, J.
Publisher:	International Peatland Society (IPS) and the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG)
Date:	17 March 2019
Volume:	24
ISSN:	1819-754X
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.19189/MaP.2018.AJB.378 DOI
Rights:	© 2019 International Mire Conservation Group and International Peatland Society. Mires and Peat is a peer-reviewed internet journal focusing specifically on mires, peatlands and peat. As a truly “free-to-users” publication (i.e. NO CHARGES to authors OR readers), it is immediately accessible to readers and potential authors worldwide.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by:	Jill Tomkinson
Date Added:	20 Mar 2019 11:46
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2019 11:46
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/36091

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