WORK is underway to understand the ‘soggy and boggy’ parts of Shropshire's hilltops.

These are often where streams begin and are naturally covered by heathland, wet flushes and peaty soils in some places. They are of great ecological value, supporting special wildlife such as curlew, snipe, sphagnum mosses and cotton grass and, in their natural state, they act like a giant sponge, retaining water in times of drought and helping to reduce the risk of flooding. Heathland vegetation helps slow the rate of water and sediment running off the land, while soils in these areas, often high in organic matter, can store carbon.

In the river Clun catchment, work is ongoing to understand the current extent of peaty soils and distribution and movement of water on and below the earth’s surface in the headwaters.

The Shropshire Hills National Landscape team is working in partnership with Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England and local landowners to study the distribution of these soils and how water is moving through this landscape. Understanding the interactions between soils, water and modifications such as ditches and land drainage networks is important to inform potential longer-term restoration of some areas.

Study sites, over two phases, will cover some 1,000 hectares of land on the Clun hilltops, including Rhos Fiddle and Mason’s Bank Nature Reserves.