Wet or dry?

Depending on your point of view, Scotland is either blessed or cursed with extensive areas of wet ground; our bogs , fens and swamps. We enjoy not suffering from the shortages of water which afflict much of the world, but the wetness also limits some of our land use options. We have well over 1 million hectares of bog, mostly blanket bog  which covers much of the Highlands, but also the raised bogs     of the Lowlands. All of these habitats are important for the plants and animals they support, some of which are found nowhere else. Our bogs are also where our peat is - important for its store of carbon and for flavouring whisky.

The reason for so much wet ground is simple -it rains a lot due to our position at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and our rocks, soils and landforms ensure that it doesn't drain away quickly. The regularly wet conditions encourage the development of peat, which in turn holds water, encouraging more bog plants, resulting in more peat being laid down.

However, although good for bog plants and the like, wet ground is not particularly productive when it comes to crops and livestock. Grouse also prefer dry ground. There has been extensive drainage of our peatlands and other wetlands to increase agricultural and sporting output. Much of this was supported by Government grant in the post-war years when increased food production was the priority.

Unfortunately, much of this effort was in vain. The agricultural benefits were never really realised, at least in part because rainfall replenished the water in the ground as quickly as it drained away.

As a result of these limited benefits and the problems drainage can cause for biodiversity, water quality and carbon storage, Scottish Natural Heritage and others now strongly discourage the digging of new drains in wetlands. Indeed drain blocking is now a major component of several habitat restoration projects and is supported as an option in the Scottish Rural Development Programme  .