Huge area of Lanarkshire land Area to be restored to peatland to support local animal and plant life

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An area spanning the size of more than 180 football pitches is being restored to support a wide variety of animal and plant life.Banks Renewables will return the land, previously used for commercial forestry, back to healthy peatland and as a sustainable habitat as part of a 25-year management plan.

The 100 hectares located at Kype Muir wind farm near Strathaven aims to significantly increase biodiversity and aid the land’s carbon capture properties.

The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now. Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The project is created in collaboration with ecology and forestry experts, Robin Winstanley, sustainability and external affairs manager at Banks explains.

He told Lanarkshire Live : “When the land was commercially forested, large areas were drained to try to help trees grow. “This led to large areas becoming dried out, leading to a loss of some plant and animal species.“The key focus of our habitat management plan to date is to re-establish the natural soil saturation of the peat in order to encourage biodiversity and restore its carbon capture properties.”Peat bogs can support a wide variety of animal and plant life including the Black Grouse – a priority species under the NatureScot Species Action Framework.Healthy peatland is also an effective carbon capture repository – with more than 1.7 billion tonnes, or 140