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Footpath erosion in the peak districts
what is being done to control it?
what is footpath erosion?
Footpath erosion is where strain has been put on the footpaths within national parks, over many years, and is caused by large numbers of visitors using them and environmental changes.
Organizations such as 'moors for the future' are working to help stop and prevent footpath erosion. 'Moors for the future' are doing this by:
They will do this by making healthy blanket bogs, which are covered in a patchwork of specialist plants which provide benefits to the surrounding area because: they help keep peat on the moors and out of water flowing into reservoirs; they can slow water down when it rains heavily, helping to reduce flooding in the valleys below; they take in carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into peat (and prevent loss of carbon through erosion and oxidation, which is a huge issue currently); they provide food, shelter and a home for many special animal species like curlew, red grouse, mountain hare, common lizard and short-eared owl.
Their work includes:
Example
The popularity of footpath on Brown Knoll (Kinder Scout), running from Rushup Edge to the Brown Knoll trig point led to vegetation being damaged and areas of the fragile peat beneath becoming exposed.
The damaged blanket bog within a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) has now been protected after hundreds of tonnes of reclaimed flagstones were given a new purpose – creating a 2.7 kilometer long footpath.They have come from cotton mills in the Lancashire towns of Colne, Burnley and Blackburn that have been recently demolished.
The Moors for the Future Partnership team, working with Natural England, the National Trust and a private landowner has delivered the project, which was funded through environmental stewardship via Natural England, which links up with earlier works completed in 2011.
why and how is it happening?
why is it bad?
Although the increasing numbers of walkers and tourists will bring in more income and will support our local economy it has it's downsides. As said before it will have a huge affect on our countryside and its environment and therefore any wildlife living in it. Therefore, we need to ensure that we protect our footpaths to ensure that members of the public do not cause any harm to the environment.
Bibliography
There are over 3,000 footpaths in the Peak Park and heavy use of the most popular paths has led to considerable erosion. Particularly heavy wear is caused by sponsored walks and by horse riding on unsurfaced bridleways. Plants which are used to help protect the peat on the moors are also being destroyed by air pollution and wildfire, which is a prevalent issue. This results in expanses of bare peat, which has no vegetation on it, leaving it vulnerable to further wildfire and erosion. However, most of these problems are historic and were caused during the Industrial Revolution, when smoke from factories in the surrounding cities caused air pollution.
Other contributing factors are:
http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/archive/2016-press-releases/news/new-footpath-lets-walkers-follow-in-the-footsteps-of-the-past
http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/looking-after/projects-and-partnerships/mff
http://www.itv.com/news/border/update/2013-10-08/what-causes-footpath-erosion/
Where is footpath erosion happening?
What else does it affect?
The amount of people walking in the peak districts and the destruction of the environment can have an effect on the wildlife living there. This can be due to changes in the environments condition, litter and animals being disturbed.
As well as animals being disturbed different types of plants can stop growing, as seen above, which will also have an effect on what animals live there due to a change in their habitat.
Footpath erosion can happen in any national parks where there is strain put on the footpaths. Whilst on expedition we looked at it in the peak districts but it is also and issue in the lake district. The picture to the right was taken whilst we were on our assessed expedition. This shows footpath erosion is a prevalent issue but also that measures are being taken to combat it.