Carbon sequestration

All our wildlife habitats absorb and store carbon and can help reduce emissions.

Habitats such as bogs and mires on peat soils store the highest amount of carbon per hectare.

Trees are great at storing carbon as they are big, complex and long-lived.

What we need to do and where
Dartmoor peat bogs, with machinery in the distance and a low sun

South West Peatland Partnership, DNPA

1. About

The world is in a climate emergency. To act on this and try and limit global warming there are global targets to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide and methane. 

The Devon Carbon Plan, published in 2022, has a target that Devon will have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This means that the total amount of carbon emitted in Devon will be less than or equal to the total amount of carbon removed from the environment in the county. Managing, restoring and creating wildlife habitats all have a key role in helping to meet this target through what is known as carbon sequestration.

All plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. They use the carbon to create glucose to help them grow, and as they grow they absorb and store more carbon. When the plant sheds its leaves, and when it dies, the dead plant matter decomposes to become part of the soil where the carbon continues to be stored.

Although plants naturally emit carbon dioxide through respiration and as they decompose, healthy wildlife habitats generally absorb more carbon than they emit and so act as carbon stores or ‘sinks’.   

Unfortunately, when habitats and their soils are disturbed, they can release large amounts of carbon dioxide and no longer act as sinks. This carbon release can be caused by burning heathlands, draining wetlands and ploughing soils. When peatlands dry out, they decompose and release large amounts of both carbon dioxide and methane – another greenhouse gas that is significantly contributing to global warming.

Habitats will absorb, store and emit different amounts of carbon depending on a range of factors such as vegetation, soil type, soil health and management. Well-vegetated and well-managed wildlife habitats with undisturbed healthy soils are generally far better at carbon sequestration than other land uses such as arable and improved grasslands used for agriculture and amenities.

Key habitats for carbon sequestration

Blanket bogs and mires on peat: Healthy peat is made up of partially decomposed vegetation that stores large amounts of carbon. As a result, peat habitats can store the most carbon per hectare. However, when peatlands degrade they emit carbon and today many peatlands are degrading because in the past they were drained or dug up to be used as fuel or compost. 

Deep peat is found on Dartmoor and Exmoor and shallower peat is found under acidic wetland mires in areas like the Blackdown Hills. See Heath, bog, mire and species-rich rush pasture mosaics for more information.

Woodlands: Woodlands are the next best carbon store and capture the most carbon per hectare. Trees are great at capturing and storing carbon as they’re big, complex and long-lived. They reach their carbon-storage peak at between 25 and 40 years old.   

Wet woodlands: Wet woodlands on peaty soils can store very high amounts of carbon and should be protected. See Wet woodland for more information.

Species-rich permanent grasslands: These grasslands can store significant amounts of carbon as long as they’re not disturbed. 

Marine habitats: There is still much we do not understand about carbon cycling in many marine and coastal habitats. However, saltmarsh, seagrass and kelp beds can store and sequester significant quantities of carbon per hectare. See Coast for more information.

There’s more information on how these habitats sequester carbon in Find out more.

Health check

Draft – to be completed following Consultation to ensure it is up to date.

The Devon Carbon Plan calculated that the main GHG emissions from food, land and sea were methane (from the digestion of food by livestock) and nitrous oxide (from manure and fertiliser), rather than CO2. In 2022, these emissions accounted for 21% of Devon’s GHG emissions, with a further 5% coming from machinery.  

Little is known about the current condition of carbon sinks in Devon. In 2022, Cranfield University carried out a GIS-based exercise for England’s National Landscapes (formerly AONBs). Their results estimated that Devon’s National Landscapes (East Devon, Blackdown Hills, South Devon, Tamar Valley and North Devon) each store 25 million tonnes of carbon (22.5 million tonnes in soil carbon and 2.7 million tonnes in biomass). From this we can reason that Devon stores at least 125 million tonnes of carbon. 

The peat under Dartmoor’s extensive areas of blanket bog is estimated to hold 13 million tonnes of carbon. However, this store is degrading across most of its area due to historic drainage and bare peat being exposed to the atmosphere. Just 1% of Dartmoor’s deep peat is considered to be healthy, peat-forming bog.  

Key pressures and opportunities

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Peat soils

Devon’s blanket bogs, which lie over deep peat on Dartmoor, are the most important habitat in the county for carbon sequestration. However, as most are degraded and exposed they’re releasing carbon dioxide and methane rather than storing it, and climate change is making this process worse. There are huge opportunities through the South West Peatland Partnership to restore deep peat on Dartmoor and Exmoor. Peat sequesters carbon at a slow rate and fully restoring carbon stocks can take at least decades and as long as centuries. Therefore, funding for future restoration is urgently needed. 

For information on these habitats see Heath, bog, mire and species-rich rush pasture mosaics.  Also see the Soils page.

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Trees and woodlands

There are huge opportunities to increase tree and woodland cover across Devon. The need to meet net zero targets has led to increased funding for tree planting schemes, which benefits both wildlife and climate. However, it’s critical that any increase in woodland cover does not cause the loss of existing wildlife habitats such as species-rich grasslands. For more information see Broadleaved woodland.   

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Regenerative farming

As agriculture is the dominant land use across Devon, agricultural practices offer the greatest opportunities to improve carbon sequestration. There’s now a wealth of guidance on how to reduce farming emissions, increase sequestration, restore nature and soils while maintaining yields and profitability. For more information see Find out more below.   

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Marine habitats

There’s growing interest in the potential of marine habitats to store and sequester carbon, in particular seagrass and kelp beds. However, marine habitats are less studied than others and there is still uncertainty around how they sequester carbon and how UK waters store and release greenhouse gases. For more information on these habitats see Coast.   

2. What we need to do and where

Priority

Better, bigger and more wildlife-rich habitats and healthy soils across Devon to increase carbon sequestration, with a particular focus on peat soils and trees.   

Actions for carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration is complicated and anyone taking action to increase or improve it should seek expert advice. 

For links to more information see Find out more below.

Habitats and soils

Implement all habitat actions in the LNRS, especially: 

Agriculture and soils

  • Adopt best practice regenerative farming techniques that reduce carbon emissions, increase soil carbon and benefit wildlife while maintaining yields and profitability. Techniques include: reduce tillage, avoid deep ploughing, add organic matter, reduce or avoid chemical fertilisers and pesticides, plant cover crops.
  • Increase vegetation and trees: Plant more in-field trees, maintain thick bushy hedges with trees, increase the area of agro-forestry. See Hedge corridors and Trees outside woodland. 

Where we need to focus action

Habitat restoration and creation

High Opportunity Areas for all habitats as set out in the LNRS. See Mapping for the LNRS Viewer and information on how areas have been mapped.

3. Inspiration

Discuss and agree what to add through Consultation, especially with farming steering group.

Case studies

South West Peatland Partnership

The South West Peatland Partnership is leading efforts to restore degraded peat. 

Many farmers are adopting organic and regenerative farming techniques to improve their soil’s organic carbon, which makes the soil more resilient and fertile.

The Blackdown Hills National Landscape has carried out detailed studies into soil types and the potential of different habitats to sequester carbon. For more information see Find out more below.

Where to visit

Soil demo sites

To be finalised during Consultation.

4. Find out more

To be finalise during Consultation.

LNRS Habitats and Carbon paper

Devon Carbon Plan monitoring report

Blackdown Hills National Landscape: A Guide to Soils and Carbon 

Farm Carbon Toolkit 

Regenerative Food and Farming 

The Devon Carbon Plan, produced in 2022 by the Devon Climate Emergency Response Group, is a collaborative response to the climate emergency and sets out a road map to make Devon net-zero in carbon emissions by 2050. It includes two objectives of direct relevance to the Devon LNRS:  

  • To improve the resilience of Devon’s environment against the effects of climate change  
  • To facilitate the reduction of carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 at the latest, to include substantial nature improvement to absorb carbon.  

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