A new map of England’s peatlands shows that 80% of the habitat is dry and degraded.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said scientists used satellite images, artificial intelligence and in-depth data analytics to map peatlands and peat soil in England to create the most complete map to date.

The open source map, launched on the government website on Monday, modeled the extent, depth and condition of English peat, covering vegetation, ditches and man-made and natural drainage channels.

Healthy peatlands can help combat climate crisis, reduce flood risk, improve water quality and support rare wildlife including golden plover, curved and 25 species of dragonflies. However, degraded peat means carbon is emitted into the atmosphere, causing global heating.

The map found that peat soil accounts for about 8.5% of the English surface, pennines, Moors in North York, part of the Lake District and the southwest mountainous land has the most extensive habitat.

However, the study also found that 80% of England's peatlands are in a dry and degraded state.

The map shows that while three-quarters of the peat land is covered with plants and the type of land use associated with dryer conditions, only 1% of the peat plants are covered with important peat plants such as peat moss.

Dr Sallie Bailey, chief scientist at Nature England, said: “Trying to map something that is largely underground, depending on whether it has rained recently and trying to swallow your challenge every time you step into the challenge, which makes this map unique in its achievements and is the world’s number one.

“The details of mapping peat to this level will help us maximize the benefits of peat and greatly improve our understanding of the role peatland plays in climate change.”

Defra said knowing how much peat England has is the first step in calculating the carbon it has and how much it releases.

Ministers also hope that land managers will better understand and restore peatlands through measures such as preventing drainage channels from re-sweeping land, and help policy makers balance biodiversity and carbon storage with food security.

Tony Juniper, President of Nature England, said: “The benefits of healthy peatlands are well documented. They are our largest natural carbon storage shops, crucial to water circulation and shelter, avoiding some of our rarest plants and wildlife, such as carnivorous sultan plants, marsh violet, marsh violet, and birds that are as charming as the golden Plover and Curlew and Curlew.

“The peat map in England will allow us to make better, smarter decisions when managing peatlands – locate recovery efforts to the most degraded peat and identify the best chances of natural recovery.”

Caroline Thorogood, head of Peatlands, said: “The data in the map will help us take a big step forward to more accurately map the peatlands we own and care about in England and understand the state of it.

“This will allow us to better identify future priorities and actions to restore our valuable peatlands, help nature flourish and provide benefits such as carbon storage and water regulation.”