CWT10: Manage lowland raised bog

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You must read the CSHT guidance before you apply.

Duration

10 years

How much you’ll be paid

£215 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to:

• maintain the rain-fed water table close to the surface of peat
• allow there to be a cover of characteristic bog vegetation
• reduce the amount of invasive bracken, scrub or non-native species on the bog

The purpose is to:

• maintain and restore priority lowland bog habitat
• control vegetation and native trees to stop peat from drying out
• allow the bog to continue to store carbon

Where you can do this action

You can only do this action on priority lowland raised bog habitat which can be kept wet enough for peat to form.

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

• an eligible land type
• registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
• declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.

What to do

Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.

You must maintain water levels at the surface of the bog with rainfall only.

The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:

• control scrub and other undesirable species
• dispose of cut material appropriately
• maintain structures that help to control water levels

You must not:

• apply fertilisers or manures
• apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including field operations at the parcel level, including associated invoices.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

• CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4
• SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD10
• SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
• CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)

Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:

• Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
• consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
• to obtain the necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB) before starting any work

You may need to:

• agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
• get advice from your Forestry Commission woodland officer or Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
• get a Forestry Commission approved Woodland Management Plan
• apply for a felling licence from the Forestry Commission to carry out some activities in this action
• get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat

All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.

You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

Maintaining lowland raised bog

When in good condition, lowland raised bogs can sustain themselves and do not need much work such as vegetation management to maintain them. Sites in good condition are rare so restoration work is often required.

Restoring lowland raised bog

Restoration will not work unless you have considered all the factors that affect water on the site. Lowland raised bog habitats have a water level close to or at the surface during most of the year.

Bogs characteristically need a very low level of nutrients. Any external water source from surface flows, streams, ditches, or subsurface groundwater into the middle of the bog will alter the ecology. The restoration work will involve preventing these external sources of water from getting into the centre, as well as retaining rainwater on the site.

You can discuss restoration work with your Natural England adviser and include this in a feasibility study or implementation plan.

Blocking or diverting water flow

Drains or streams in adjacent areas may also draw water away – if you are blocking off or diverting water flow, consider how this will affect the surrounding area and the people who manage it. You’ll need to get advice from the Environment Agency.

This land may benefit from management under other wetland actions. For example, CWT14: Create fen, reedbed or wetland mosaics.

Use appropriate restoration techniques and materials depending on the scale of work required. Use piling or peat dams to block small ditches and drains or more complex engineered structures for larger drains. If the surface is either complex or very open and featureless (such as after peat milling), try extended pile or peat bunds. All activities, especially large-scale earthworks for rewetting, will need a feasibility study and careful planning.

On sites that have dried out and been colonised by trees and scrub, restore the hydrology and aim to:

• remove up to 95% of native trees
• remove all invasive and non-native species
• control bracken by bruising, cutting or applying herbicides

If you do all of these things and restore the water level, most of the vegetation you have cleared will not come back. This is because the wet conditions will not suit it. [CSHT]: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier  [ha]: hectare  [RPA]: Rural Payments Agency  [SFI]: Sustainable Farming Incentive  [CS]: Countryside Stewardship  [ES]: Environmental Stewardship  [SSSI]: Site of Special Scientific Interest  [LLFA]: Lead Local Flood Authority  [IDB]: Internal Drainage Board  [HEFER]: Historic Environment Farm Environment Record