yuelinliu_portfolio_ year1_term2&3

FOR THE SAKE OF PEAT

A LANDSCAPE FOR LEARNING AND CONSERVING

YUELIN LIU

MLA YEAR 1

STUDENT NUMBER: 21087780

BARC0118: Landscape Design 3

TUTOR: LAURENCE BLACKWELL THALE & PETE DAVIES

PROJECT STATEMENT

In the early Scottish Highlands, the cyclical use of peat bred a culture that was closely linked to the land. Peatlands provided fuel, arable land, and habitat for the communities that lived in the Highlands. Peat cutting is a historical way in which people have tried to translate the gigantic land into micro use.

Today, with peatlands being degraded, we are facing the conflict between emotional attachment to turf burning and climate improvement. The Peatland is a unique type of wetland that produce peat through the partial decomposition of plants. Peatlands not only sequester carbon in the atmosphere but also support a wide variety of plant and animal species. The restoration of peatlands can be a significant method of improving local ecology.

Through the landscape interventions of a peatland in the heart of the Cairngorm national park, the project seeks to promote public access and interactive education without destroying the peatland . It responds to the historical engagement with peatland, choreographing the relationship between peat, moss, water, senses, and traditions. The public can experience how the peatland changes in different seasons and weather, reconnecting the emotional connection between the public and the peatland

Chapter 1

/FOR THE SAKE OF PEAT RESEARCH

CUTTING ZONES

The use of peat dates back to Roman times, when it was used as a domestic fuel. Peat played an important economic role in countries where trees were scarce (such as Ireland and Scotland), replacing wood as a local fuel source.

In the early Scottish Highlands, the cyclical use of peat bred a culture that was closely linked to the land. Peatlands provided fuel, arable land, and habitat for the communities that lived in the Highlands. Peat cutting is a historical way in which people have tried to translate the gigantic land into micro use.

Peat Cutting Zones

PEAT CUTTING HISTORY

Roman times

Early mention of the use of peat dates back at least to Roman times when it was used as a fuel in homes.

12th & 13th Centuries

Peat became an energy source of ever-growing importance in Europe.

17th Centuries

Peat began to be used as fuel in the textile, earthenware and beer brewing industries. It was also used to improve soil.

19th Centuries

Germany developed the technology for harvesting and pressing fuel peat into small bricks. The horticultural advantages of peat were recognized.

Today

The use of peat for energy production has ended in most countries, except in Ireland and Finland.

B. Drying

C. Transporting

A. Cutting

FORMATION AND CARBON CYCLING IN PEATLANDS

Both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight.

Cells

SPHAGNUM MOSSES

In peatlands, low-temperature, and acid water-logged conditions slow plant decomposition. In this way, dead plants only partially decompose to form peat. Peat has the ability to store the carbon, relying on plants absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. (Cairngorm National Park, 2018)

Sphagnum moss is one of the most common components of peat. The cells of living and dead mosses can store a large amount of water.With sphagnum mosses growing, they slowly spread into drier land. In this way, the burdery of peatlands can expand. (Wikipedia, 2022)

Peat forms very slowly, about 1mm of peat a year. And as layer upon layer builds up, the peat retains many traces of its history.

Soil builds up a very thick organic layer composed of partially decomposed litter.

Low oxygen

Microbial decomposition is reduced

COLD AND ACIDIC CONDITIONS

- ACIDIC BEDROCK

- LIVING SPHAGNUM MOSS

HIGH RAINWATER & WATER TABLES

1 MILLIMETRE PEAT = 1 YEAR

Sphagnum capillifolium

Sphagnum fallax

Sphagnum fuscum

Sphagnum subnitens

Sphagnum tenellum

Sphagnum fimbriatum

Peat actually creates an anaerobic environment, in a sense that it preserves much ecological information and history. The different depths of the peat layers allow the dates and changes in the environment to be measured, as well as recording the remains of the plants and insects that lived there.(Gearey et al., 2010).

This

Accumulated

Peatlands include a range of habitats including raised bogs, blanket bogs, and fens.

1)Most raised bogs have grown from a lake basin.

2) blanket bogs tend to be much more extensive and form carpets across flat, or gently undulating, landscapes – these areas are typically grazed with sheep.

Living Sphagnum Moss

Carpet Of Dead Sphagnum Moss

Young, Partially Decomposed Peat (Large, Recognizable Fibers+Plant Matter)

Medium-Term Decomposition

Oldest Peat Layer (Finer Structure Of Fibers+Recongnizable Plant Matters)

SHALLOW OPEN WATER

Decomposing algae and mooses initiate peat formation at the edges of shallow open water.

EDGE ACCUMULATION

decomposing matter provides a substrate for larger plants like grasses, sedges, and rushes to take hold.

RAISED BOG

peat eventually begins to become domed at the deepest areas.

It is generally found over acidic bedrock in places where rainfall exceeds the loss of water through evaporation and plant transpiration.

Such conditions favour the growth of bog-mosses and cottongrasses, which do not break down when they die but slowly accumulate as peat.

Layers of peat create a barrier between the bog vegetation and the groundwater and the bog becomes increasingly acidic and low in nutrients.

A. RAISED BOG

B. BLANKET BOG

Acidic bedrock

CUTTING: A TRADITION IN HIGHLAND

In the past, peat was a necessity and an important source of energy for life, thus creating an intimate connection with the earth and shaping a unique culture. The process of peat cutting involves removing the turf, cutting it with tools and then piling it up to dry. (Outer Hebrides Tourism, 2020) Today, with the development of other sources of energy and transport, this tradition is disappearing in the Highlands.

Building

into little

“Flaying” “Cutting” “Drying” “Casting”

Cutting the soft peat into slices with a tool called “tairsgear” and laying on the ground.

Building them into little triangular-shaped tee-pees, allowing air gaps between each peat to let the wind pass through to begin the drying or curing process.

The sod is tossed down to the lower level that had been previously cut away to form new bog.

Husking away the top sedge layer of the bog. Making a series of short downwards vertical cuts down to a depth of 20″.

20″

The hill has dried out after the long winter, and the oil has risen in the moor.

The peat was laid flat on the ground to dry for about two weeks.

Removing peat and building them into a wall to dry the another side.

them

triangular-shaped tee-pees, allowing air gaps between each peat to let the wind pass through.

The storage of peat is very important for the fuel of local households. The peat is stacked in a specific way to keep it dry. They are usually conical and about 2 metres high.

Peat is used for domestic heating and cooking purposes as an alternative to firewood.

The peat is burned as a fuel and the smoke roasts the malt.

Peat is used extensively in horticulture, destroying peatlands and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

Peated whisky

Horticulture

“cruach” (A peat-stack is known in Gaelic)

Use all other previously excavated vegetation to cover bare peat.

Random gritstone 150-400MM 750mm minimum 60° 750-1000mm(max) Timber

FOR THE SAKE OF PEAT: A Landscape For Learning And Conserving

“HYDROLOGY” “REPROFILING" 1 2 3

The first step in the process of peatland restoration is to improve the site’s natural water balance. This generally involves reducing drainage rates by blocking channels with ‘leaky dams’ made from peat, heather bales, stone or wood.

TIMEFRAME FOR

Erosion of peat often creates steep slopes where vegetation struggles to take hold. The process of reprofiling involves peeling back the vegetation at the top of the slope with a digger, then reducing the slope angle to less than 45 degrees.

Some conventional approaches to peatland restoration have been developed today, but there are restrictions and sitespecific approaches based on topographical and ecological conditions, so as to avoid disturbing the environment and enhance health. Water management is one of the most fundamental and critical aspects of this approach.

A

B C

Treating surfaces with Heather Bale Creating better-growing conditions for seed Replanting with Sphagnum beads

0 - 1Years 2-5 Years 10-15 Years 20-50 Years

Restoration works Detectable changes in water quality, water table depth and peat stabilization by vegetation

Wet tolerant vegetation becoming dominant Good hydrological and ecological functionality possible

Then the land is covered with a mix of grass and heather seed to create a micro-climate for the seeds to germinate.

Stone Dam

Timber Dam

Peat Dam

Heather Bale

Sphagnum beads C

Across bare peat and mineral soil, heather bale is installed bunds to reduce erosion from water flow and wind.

Bare peat oxidises, creating extremely acidic conditions, so the lime and fertilizer are applied to create better growing conditions for the seed.

The Cairngorm National Park is a national park in Scotland. which is located in the North West of UK. In the Cairngorms National Park, summers are cool; winters are long, cold, snowy and windy. The climatic and geological conditions of the park are favorable for peat formation, especially blanket bogs.

HYDROLOGY

Lake

Waterways

Snowroads Scenic Route

The nature of a peatland is controlled by hydrological processes. The anaerobic conditions which are created by slow surface runoff and precipitation promote partial decomposition of vegetation. The climate of the Peak District also creates a low evaporation rate.

SOIL TEXTURE

All Clay

Sand

Loam

Peat is the surface organic layer of a soil. The peat layer forms a barrier between the vegetation and the groundwater, and relying only on rainwater, the bog becomes increasingly acidic and low in nutrients.

LAND COVER

Inland Rock

Bog

Woodland

Grassland

The composition of the plant community is determined by the acidity of the peat bog and varies with increasing levels of mineral acidity. In the cairngorm National Park, the distribution of acidic soils provides beneficial conditions for the growth of lichens and mosses and the formation of peat.

GEOLOGY

Psammite

Granitic

Pelite

Quartzite

Psammite & Pelite

Pelite & Semipelite

Dacitic

Through contact with the bedrock, the chemical properties of the soil change. The chemical concentrations in the underlying bedrock and soil induce the early formation of peatlands.

PEATLAND AREA WITHIN THE CAIRNGORM NATIONAL PARK

Peatlands are specific types of wetlands that produce peat from the partial decomposition of plants and other organic material. Due to their ability to sequester and store atmospheric carbon and support an incredible range of diverse plant and animal species, peatlands occupy a critical ecological niche. However, they are one of the most endangered ecosystems globally due to commercial extraction and drainage to support agriculture and other land uses.

Peat is found in much of the National Park, particularly on the high ground where blanket bogs form. peat accumulated under wet, anoxic, highly acidic and nutrient-poor conditions. The acidic bedrock of the park with its low evaporation provides the base conditions for widespread peat formation.

Blanket Peat Raised Peat

Ptarmigan station

The site is located next to the ski center in the heart of Cairn Gorm national park, a wild place on the hikers' way to Cain gorm and Ben Macdui.

Cairn Gorm -1244M

Fiacaill a Choire Chais

Allt Creag an Leth-choin

Coire an Lochain

Waterway

Bedrock- Granite Superficial deposits- Head(Gravel, Sand and Silt)

Superficial deposits- Talus(Rock Fragments)

Ben Macdui

Cairn Gorm

Shieling station

White Lady Shieling

PLANTING TYPOLOIES

Thymus serpyllum (Jul. - Aug.) Festuca ovina

Nardus stricta

Cerastium alpinum (Jun. - Aug.)

Galium sterneri (Jun. - Jul.) Minuartia stricta (Jun. - Jul.)

Saxifraga oppositifolia (Apr. - Jun.)

Draba norvegica (Jun. - Jul.)

Hymenophyllum wilsonii Cryptogramma crispa

Rubus saxatilis Poa flexuosa Dicranum glaciale Heath A B C

Glassland B A C

Calluna vulgaris (Aug. - Oct.)

Erica cinerea (Jul. - Sept.)

Eriophorum vaginatum

Trichophorum cespitosum Molinia caerulea

Sphagnum Mosses Potentilla erecta (Apr. - Aug.)

The Planting Typoloies in the site include heath, grassland and scree. Few plants are well adapted to the acidic, low nutrient conditions of the peatland. Bog mosses, heather and cotton grass dominate this area. while on the steeper slopes to the south lichens dominate.

These plants provide habitat for many insects, birds and mammals. Many butterfly and moth species also benefit from this habitat diversity.

/ CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH FOR THE SAKE OF PEAT: A Landscape For Learning And Conserving

The ski centre is about 20 minutes drive from Aviemore and has good infrastructure. However, in winter, occasional weather extremes prevent walking to the site and outdoor activities.

Most visitors to Aviemore are outdoor enthusiasts, and the town has a relatively well-developed infrastructure that provides adequate services for outdoor activities and transportation needs.

20Min Bus Aviemore-ski centre

Aviemore ski centre

The section reveals multiple layers of rock, peat soil, moss and snow

MOSS RESEARCH

LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS

SNOWCOVER

PEATLAND

Medium-Term Decomposition

MONTANE SCRUB

Peatlands are special and important habitat. Red deer, birds, mountain hares, insect-eating sundew plants, a host of invertebrates and so on thrive on peatlands.

Juniper

Bearberry

Dwarf birch

Cloudberry

Mountain willows Woolly willow

Alpine meadow-rue Alpine cinquefoil

Alpine milk-vetch

Carnation sedge

Mountain everlasting Alpine saw-wort

Dwarf cornel Heather

Trailing azalea Mat grass

Conostomum tetragonum

Andreaea blyttii

Andreaea frigida

Andreaea sinuosa

Cephalozia ambigua

Andreaea nivalis

Deschampsia flexuosa

Alpine zone

willow zone

Birch zone

Pine zone

Bryophyte-dominated snowbed

Deschampsia flexuosa snowbed grassland

Living Sphagnum Moss

Carpet Of Dead Sphagnum Moss

Young, Partially Decomposed Peat

Oldest Peat Layer

Microscopic plants & animals

Insects Birds

Golden eagle

Red squirrel

Red Deer

Mountain hare

DEGRADATION OF PEATLANDS

Peatlands are being degraded as the demand for agriculture and urban expansion grows. The carbon stored in the soil is released into the atmosphere, contributing to local climate change.

A. Commercial exploitation and tradition of peat for compost or fuel

B. Reduction in carbon fixation by peatland vegetation due to graze

C. Peat erosion due to changing climate and watertable D. Peat drainage due to agriculture

MONTANE SCRUB

CO2

PEATLAND PRACTICE PROJECT: Yorkshire Peat Partnership

bog,  the region  is  home  to  100,000  ha  of  degraded  upland peatland  that  no  longer  supports  blanket  bog vegetation.  The  vast  majority  of  this  resource is  degraded  due  to: Changing  climate Historic  atmospheric  pollution Drainage Grazing Recreational  erosion  e.g.  from  footpath erosion Restoration  planning In  order  to  address  all  of  the  underlying  causes of  peat  degradation  on  site,  the  Yorkshire  Peat Partnership  has  developed  an  innovative  set  of veys  and  mobile  GPS  enabled  computers. A  two-­stage  survey  of  the  site  is  carried  out. photographs  involving  digitising  areas  of  grip  and gully  and  the  use  of  spectral  analysis  software  to identify  areas  of  bare  peat.  This  is  then  ground-levels  of  erosion,  habitat  variables  are  recorded and  peat  depths  taken.  This  is  mapped  and  used to  draw  up  a  Peatland  Restoration  Plan  which, for  the  restoration  works.  One  of  the  advantages of  this  rigorous  site  assessment  is  that  makes the  development  of  a  contract  and  estimation  of labour  and

- Cris, R., Buckmaster, S., Bain, C. & Bonn, A. (Eds.) (2011) UK Peatland Restoration — Demonstrating Success. IUCN UK National Committee Peatland Programme, Edinburgh

Katz  measuring  peat  hags  ©  Yorkshire  Peat  Partnership

By  working

I contacted a peatland restoration project in the UK by email and the staff answered my questions about heather management and restoration sequences based on their practice.

The Irish Times (2022). ‘Burning Turf: a tradition that deserves to die’, The Week,(May), pp.15.

The project seeks to promote public access to conserved peatland and experience the tradition of peat without destroying them. Translating the hidden natural process of peatland and choreographing the relationship between peat, mosses, water, senses, and tradition. Through the landscape interventions, visitors experience how the peatland changes in different areas of the bog in different seasons and weather

Flaying

Revegetation

Cutting

Drying

Casting

Hydrology

Species

Reprofiling

PEATLAND RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT

Growing seasons

Peat cutting

6 Months

Treatng bog surface

Management options

HEATHER MANAGEMENT

The degraded peatlands can be colonized by heather, which further dries out the peat.

There are three management options for the management of moorland vegetation:

WATER TABLE MANAGEMENT

The most important step in a water system for peatland restoration is usually rewetting. Dams of different materials slow down the flow and raise the water level while reducing the seasonal fluctuations of the water.

(Paul et al., 2010 )

Grazing Burning Cutting

- The long-term loss of soil nutrients

- The release into the atmosphere of carbon stored in peat

- The increase in erosion in some areas.

- The degradation of peatland

Cutting Time

To control the age and density of heather to provide food, particularly early in the year, for deer or sheep and improve the quality of shelter.

The timing of cutting needs to be sensitive to animals on the heath and it should be avoided during summer breeding seasons. It is ideally cut during late autumn or winter (Oct.-Apr.)

Soil testing for pH – add lime if below 4.0pH

Several weeks to absorb lime

1 2 3

Grazing exclosure

Replanted vegetation Attractive to herbivores

Growing conditions for seeds - Lime and fertilizer

REVEGETAION

The replanting of Sphagnum moss and some native plants can stabilises the bare peatland, promotes biodiversity and extends the range of the peatland.

Mower, flail and similar equipment.

It may be impossible to use cutting machinery on ground that has stony outcrops, boulders, steep or uneven terrain or other obstacles.

It is important that damage to peat-forming vegetation from heavy machinery is avoided.

Tools

The cuttings should always be removed to prevent the enrichment of the soil through decay.

Grouse like the edge habitat between young and mature heather and the density of breeding pairs is higher where there is more edge.

NARROW STRIP MATRIX

Ditch/Grip Blocking

Peat stabilisation - Heather Bale Revegetation - Nursery-grown Sphagnum beads

Brushcutter

Heather Bales

Grouse Habitat

Heather cutting

Heather in different heights Wet Bog cotton, sphagnum mosses and the odd flowering gorse add biodiversity for birds and pollinators

The pools enclosed by the dam downstream help to trap peat in the water flow, purifying the water and reducing peat erosion at the same time.

Effects of rewetting on plant species

The spacing of the timber baffles should be set so that the upper batte deflects the water flow fowards the supported section of the batte mmediately below but the priority of the spacing is to avoid bank erosion

The water system aims to reverse the drying out of the peatland, rewetting the blanket bogs. These dams which use natural materials can be compacted and knitted into the peatland.

The rewetting of peatlands will weaken the dominance of heath growth and gradually be replaced by mosses and cotton grass.

Ditch Blocking - Stone Dam

Ditch Blocking - Peat Dam

Ditch Blocking - Timber Dam

Water purification Pool

A. Timber Dam

A. Timber Dam

B. Timber baffle

B. Timber baffle

SUSTAINABLE HYDROLOGICAL SYSTEM

Rewetting

The shallow overflow channel can help to rewet peatland in a similar way to precipitation (the peat layer isolates groundwater). The expansion and accumulation of water can be guided by peat dams of different lengths and directions.

The scree area on the south side of the site provides material for stone dams, where the difference between stone and peat materials can shape a variety of forms while directing the spread of water.

45°

Transporting stone from surrounding scree areas.

Random gritstone 150-400MM

750mm (min)

Peat gully eroded to mineral base

Low point in centre of trap Max.height 1M Min.height 0.75M

650M

850M

Ditch Blocking - Stone Dam

Ditch Blocking - Peat Dam

Ditch Blocking - Timber Dam

Water purification Pool

PEAT DAM STONE DAM

Shallow overflow channel on low side of grip.

Covering of vegetated turves on exposed peat to prevent oxidisation

5-12M

8-15M

GRASSLAND

Suffruticosa Plants

WETLAND

Herbal Plants

Herbal Plants Aquatic Plants

Sphagnum capillifolium

Sphagnum fallax

Sphagnum fuscum Sphagnum subnitens

Sphagnum tenellum Sphagnum fimbriatum

Eriophorum vaginatum

Eriophorum vaginatum

Trichophorum cespitosum

Molinia caerulea

Potentilla erecta

Thymus serpyllum Festuca ovina

Nardus stricta

Cerastium alpinum

Galium sterneri Minuartia stricta

Saxifraga oppositifolia

Draba norvegica

Calluna vulgaris Erica cinerea

Erica tetralix

The soil surface of the exposed peatland needs to be treated to create a stable environment for the regrowth of mosses. Revegetation reduces peat erosion and loss and promotes peat formation.

A nursery is established on site to cultivate moss for revegetation of the peatland. The cut heather is also dried, processed and used in the nursery to create a stable growing environment.

6 Months

- Heather Bale

Revegetation - Nursery-grown Sphagnum beads

over 2 years

Bead Moss: GelRencapsulated Sphagnum fragments Sphagnum Moss&Moorland plants

Micropropagated Sphagnum: is hand-sized, making hand planting on the moors easy.

SEASONALITY

SPECIES SELECTION

Functionality:

On the basis of water management, the replanting and dominance of mosses retains water in the peat and promotes peat formation.

Biodiversity:

The plants attract pollinating insects and connect the different habitats of the upland. It also provides food and habitat for birds, insects, grouse and other animals.

Aesthetic:

At different times of the year, the plants not only promote biodiversity but also create a rich variety of colours, layers and visual effects. As an evergreen, low-maintenance plant, heather can shape the landscape through age gradation in the site.

Erica cinerea Calluna vulgaris Erica tetralix Potentilla erecta Thymus serpyllum Cerastium alpinum Saxifraga oppositifolia Draba norvegica Galium sterneri Minuartia stricta Sphagnum capillifolium&Sphagnum fuscum Sphagnum tenellum&Sphagnum subnitens Sphagnum fimbriatum Sphagnum fallax

Eriophorum vaginatum

vaginatum Trichophorum cespitosum Molinia caerulea Festuca ovina

Potentilla erecta Cerastium alpinum Galium sterneri Minuartia stricta Saxifraga oppositifolia Erica tetralix

Eriophorum vaginatum Trichophorum cespitosum Molinia caerulea

Suffruticosa

blueberries

Festuca ovina

/ CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH FOR THE SAKE OF PEAT: A Landscape For Learning And Conserving

100% Irish Moss Peat

Laser Cutting

The process of peatland formation was simulated by applying pressure to the peat with a wooden hammer.

Model drying shows the erosion direction of the river and the drying state of the peatland

Pressing Peat Waterway & Drying

Allt Coire an t-Sneachda

Material research through real peat. The peat was first pressed by tamping the soil and then cut, thus testing the angle of inclination of the peat wall. In addition, observing the visual and spatial relationship between the height and angle of the wall, and people.

The 20-degree cutting angle in peat cutting is culturally significant while providing stability and aesthetics.

Chapter 2

/FOR THE SAKE OF PEAT PROGRAMME

FOR THE SAKE OF PEAT

SITE

Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

Aims

A Landscape For Learning And Conserving Peat

AMBITIONS

- Public access and outdoor education of peatland

- Restoration of degradated peatland and local ecosystem

- Rebuiding the connection between tradition,human and landscape

WHO IS IT FOR Visitors

Hikers

School Education Research

4. Traversing The Bog

Ski Centre

3. Moss Nursery 1. Grounded

6. Sunken Square

5. Peat Burning

Ben Macdui 2. Heather Field Cairn Gorm

Ben Macdui

4. Traversing The Bog

3. Moss Nursery

1. Grounded

6. Sunken Square

5. Peat Burning Cairn Gorm Ben Macdui

2. Heather Field

4. Traversing The Bog

3. Moss Nursery

1. Grounded

6. Sunken Square

5. Peat Burning

2. Heather Field

Through the landscape interventions of a peatland in the heart of the Cairngorm national park, the project seeks to promote public access and interactive education without destroying the peatland. It responds to the historical engagement with peatland, choreographing the relationship between peat, moss, water, senses, and traditions. The public can experience how the peatland changes in different seasons and weather, reconnecting the emotional connection between the public and the peatland.

4. Traversing The Bog

3. Moss Nursery

1. Grounded

6. Sunken Square

5. Peat Burning

Cairn Gorm

Ben Macdui

2. Heather Field

HYDROLOGICAL SYSTEM

The water flow in this area is blocked by some dams, creating pools that trap the peat in the flow.

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT

The water system aims to reverse the drying out of the peatland, rewetting the blanket bogs. These dams which have different directions and lengths can be compacted and knitted into the peatland, forming different landscapes and rhythms.

Cyclical peat cutting seems to be a useful way to manage the heather . In this way , the narrow strip matrix not only creates a visual landscape, but also maintains the vitality of the heather and a good ecosystem.

The area where the grassland meets the wetland is buffered with native plants to avoid the expansion of herbaceous vegetation.

The rewetting of the peatland allows mosses and cotton grasses to reemerge as dominant species, facilitating peat formation and accumulation.

The peat is kept hydrated by the construction of directional dams that direct the flow of water towards the area of storage.

Dam Aquatic vegetation (Mosses and Herb) Rewetting Phase 1 Rewetting Phase 2 Native Species Grassland Herb and shrub Transition Zone Heather Management

A nursery is established to cultivate mosses for the revegetation.

Timber Dam

Peat Dam

Stone Dam

1. GROUNDED

As the ramp goes below ground, we can see the peat hidden beneath the top sedge layer of the bog.

On the walls we can see the peat layers that have accumulated over time.

Grounded begins the project by stepping underground to reveal the presence and meaning of the peat hidden beneath the surface turf, organized by a number of ramps and passages embedded in the ground. The angles of natural light and view intertwine to form a series of sequences. The walls of the passages use peat cuts as texture. Like traditional peat cutting, the layers, texture and smell of the peat are perceptible, revealing the wildness and history of the peat.

We walk through a layer of peat and touch the real material.

The experience of walking through a foggy bog is unique, with soaked boots.

2. HEATHER FIELD

The heathland is a space shaped by time. Through three periodic cuts of heather, rich vertical layers are shaped by the undulations of the terrain. Visitors zigzag through the heather fields via walking paths, with gradations of path material reinforcing the tactile changes.

Managing this area through cyclical heather cutting

Cutting with Narrow Strip Matrix can reduces the dryness of peatlands, promoting the survival of animals such as grouse.

Controlled growth of heather through cycles of heather cutting, which creates a wave-like heather landscape.

The cut heather is transported to moss nurseries and areas in need of revegetation to help the plants grow.

Wooden Path

Wooden Path

Peat Path

PIONEER 3-6 years

Cutting the heather not only prolongs the life of the heather and relieves the drying out of the peat, but also creates an environment conducive to the survival of species such as grouse.

BUILDING Up to 15 or 20 years

Controlling heather growth through three cycles of heather cutting, which can shape the layers of heather at different times, heights and forms.

MATURE Over 20 years.

DEGENERATE Over 25 years

Cutting the heather not only prolongs the life of the heather and relieves the drying out of the peat, but also creates an environment conducive to the survival of species such as grouse.

HEATHER CUTTING

Dry

The heather should be dry and unfrozen at the time of harvest and subsequently stored in boxes to dry. The heather bales can be used in revegetation.

RECYCLING OF HEATHER

Dry and unfrozen heather Heather bale

Peat stabilisation

3. MOSS NURSERY

The raised circular path allows visitors to observe the staff at work in the nursery, transforming the session into a performance. Native mosses species are used for cultivation and the harvested mosses are used for revegetation within the site.

Harvesting mature moss for site revegetation.

Dried heather helps to create a stable growing environment.

Using native mosses species for cultivation.

MOSSES SPECIES

Sphagnum capillifolium

Sphagnum fallax

Sphagnum fuscum

Sphagnum subnitens

Sphagnum tenellum

Sphagnum fimbriatum

SOWING

NURTURING

HARVESTING

5. PEAT BURNING

The traditional method of peat cutting is converted into a process of building a walking path in which visitors can participate. The peat cut by visitors is dried in an area for secondary drying. Peat from the site is used for burning, giving people the opportunity to still experience the peat burning tradition in a protected peatland, evoking a slowly dying history. The burning site, partially wrapped by the topography, emphasizes the strong connection of our historical fuel to the land.

Here we can experience a declining tradition that is using peat as a fuel.

Peat burning has an earthy perfume of ancient moss.

Our cuts are part of constructing the landscape and the path.

Stack the peat cut by visitors to protect it from rain and to promote drying.

The traditional way of cutting peat becomes a process in which visitors are involved in shaping the landscape and the trail is changed over time by this approach.

Stage 1 Stage 2

people have the opportunity to experience the peat burning tradition in a protected peatland, evoking a slowly dying history. The burning site, partially wrapped by the topography, emphasizes the strong connection of our historical fuel to the land.

Burning Cutting Drying

6. SUNKEN SQUARE

It provides a communal space to gather and supports outdoor activities and education.

The seat rises up the slope to provide an interactive experience with the peatland.

The cut surface retains the historical texture

The sunken square resembles a crack in the peat, and people are guided into the sunken area with a ramp. The benches are embedded in the slope, providing a theater-like viewing atmosphere and a resting area. People can gather, educate, and do other activities in this flexible public space.

Formwork Covers

Formwork Covers

Filling the frame

Peat + 6% cement

pneumatic tamper Walls with layers

RAMMED EARTH WALL

Steel reinforcement

The durability of rammed earth can be enhanced by the addition of stabilisers. such as cement.

The frame for the walls are consisting of four parallel plywood panels.

Showing the layers and textures of stable peat with the way of rammed earth walls.

Concrete base