Vehicular tracks and the influence of land use and habitat protection in the British uplands

Abstract

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Blanket bogs exhibit significant alterations to physical properties as a result of temporary track removal or abandonment

“…and unsurfaced road networks in the UK uplands alone, with some 6,000 km identified (Clutterbuck, Burton, et al, 2020), is some cause for concern in the light of findings highlighted by our study. Our experimental site is well-vegetated and in relatively healthy condition adjacent to the track.…”

“…There has been a rapid expansion of both surfaced and unsurfaced track networks for resource access and leisure purposes, in what are nominally protected blanket bog areas in the UK, with a mean track density of 1.76 ± 0.10 km km −2 across peatland sites (Clutterbuck, Burton, et al, 2020) with greater densities associated with vegetation management for gun‐sports.. Despite rapid growth of these peatland track networks, there are significant gaps in knowledge about the environmental impacts of tracks.…”

A review of the effects of vehicular access roads on peatland ecohydrological processes

“…A recent study on the density of tracks across the UK found that, in an example 6855 km 2 of blanket peatland survey area, there was around 5700 km of vehicular track, with large lengths in 'protected areas' (Clutterbuck et al, 2020). Many of these tracks were mapped in areas where land management for the purpose of game shooting often takes place.…”

“…Many of these tracks were mapped in areas where land management for the purpose of game shooting often takes place. The prevalence of these sizable track and road networks in nominally protected areas suggests the need for more robust data-driven regulation of consent to construct tracks (Clutterbuck et al, 2020). In some countries there may be little regulation for infrastructure and very limited studies on impacts, meaning that roads may be built with little or no consideration given to the potentially detrimental effects of such construction (Alamgir et al, 2019;Lilleskov et al, 2019).…”

“…It should be noted that there is a more limited amount of available research in databases for material published prior to 1970, so the figure is indicative rather than exhaustive. The late 20 th century and early 21 st century have seen a clear emergence of research which is concerned with ecohydrological effects of roads on peatlands, mirroring the rapid expansion of road networks in these regions in recent decades(Emers et al, 1995;Alamgir et al, 2019;Clutterbuck et al, 2020).…”