Pye House Farm Peatland Survey

Late last year, we managed to squeeze in one last peatland survey before Christmas all the way up at Pye House Farm, near Brigg in North Lincolnshire. A total of 86 cores were completed to 1m depth across a 219-hectare site.

Pye House was originally an arable farm but has since been purchased by Forestry England with the aim of afforesting the land.

However, before they could get on with this significant environmental project, the land had to be surveyed to determine if there was any peat present beneath the soil.

This would ensure that any peat present would not be put at risk of degradation if exposed during the afforestation process, which would result in carbon dioxide being released.

Exo Environmental were approached to undertake the crucial surveying on behalf of Forestry England. Before we could begin, sampling locations were determined which would allow us to establish spatial distribution of peat across the site.

The team were up bright and early on the Monday morning ready to brave the notoriously sluggish A17, arriving at Pye House Farm in time to start coring before lunchtime!

We battled through some seriously tough clay and flint-filled terrain, as well as some rather crisp (but certainly beautiful) early morning starts so that all 86 cores had been excavated and their content assessed by early Wednesday afternoon.

Following the assessment a final report of findings, complete with mapped outputs and data compatible with GIS, was delivered to Forestry England to inform them on their afforestation scheme going forward.

The small amount of peat present at the site means that the project can proceed, and we look forward to seeing the positive impacts that these schemes can bring to the environment.

If you would like to learn more about peatland and soil surveys, please get in touch with us.