Upland peatlands

The first in a series of posts covering the 'peatlands' in the uplands of the UK.

Peatland in the Brecon Beacons National Park

A generally accepted definition of what constitutes an upland in the UK is the uncultivated land above 250m - 400m in England and Wales, whilst in Northern Ireland and Scotland upland environments can occur at lower elevations. A relief map of the UK is one way of visually representing the distribution of uplands.

Relief map of the UK
By Captain Blood - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=930331

A case could also be made for visually representing uplands by climatic criteria.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate

Wind

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate

Rainfall

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate

Days of rain

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate

Mean Maximum Temperature

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate

Mean Minimum Temperatures

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate

So on average the UK upland climate is cool, windy and often wet. The rain falls onto ground underlain by predominantly impermeable bedrock lithologies and that causes at least seasonal waterlogging of the overlying soil layer. Water saturated soils create anaerobic conditions and low temperatures reduce biological activity slowing down the rate of organic material decomposition. Once a threshold is passed for low temperature/months of soil waterlogging, organic material starts to accumulate in soil.

View uphill of an exposure of blanket peat and minerogenic surface from fluvial erosion on a moderate hill slope ~ Mynydd Du, Brecon beacons National Park.

Unsurprisingly the uplands also reveal their presence on a soil carbon map.

Ostle, Nicholas & Levy, Peter & D. Evans, C & Smith, P. (2009). UK land use and soil carbon sequestration. Land Use Policy 26:S274-S283. Land Use Policy. 26. . 10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.08.006.

Comparing the organic carbon content of the UK upland soils to European soils highlights their significance and explains why so many walkers in southern Europe wear fabric walking boots.

There are numerous descriptions of what constitutes a peatland in press - varying minimum depths of peat, satisfying a varying minimum criteria of % carbon content covering a minimum area of land. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, UK Committee have taken a pragmatic approach and define it simply as:

Peatlands are areas of land with a naturally accumulated layer of peat. These are formed under waterlogged conditions from carbon rich, dead and decaying plant material. 

The next post will concentrate on the vegetation and habitats that cover upland peatlands.

Rannoch Moor

The vagaries of upland weather

The last two trips have perfectly illustrated why it's best to adopt a phlegmatic approach to landscape photography. The first one Nic accompanied me to Y Mynyddoedd Duon (Black Mountains) and a walk up onto and along the Ffawyddog ridge. The walking was enjoyable in warm sunshine with a cooling breeze, heather moorland in bloom and natures larder of bilberries were deliciously sweet.

It became apparent the area encompassed by the Ffawyddog ridge, Vale of Ewyas and Hatterall ridge was a magnet for clear skies, whilst trains of photogenic cloud formations rolled in from the NW further east and to the west over the Gaider Fawr ridge.

Photogenic cloud

I have no great enthusiasm for landscape photography with overhead clear blue skies due to their propensity to drain colour from a landscape and whilst black and white photography would rescue some images it holds no interest for me. When I belatedly decided to explore the moorland vegetation with a macro lens, the wind increased in strength and as sunset drew near a visibly long bank of slow moving cloud appeared to the NW that would mask the best light. The last of the sunlight was utilised for an image of photogenic cloud and then the walk back to the car unassisted by head torch light. The lack of any sunlight on distant hills confirmed the early departure was a wise decision.

The second trip had a rather enticing weather forecast of heavy showers and spells of sunshine with the wind from the SW or the distinct possibility of heather moorland illuminated by fleeting light under stormy skies and the chance of a rainbow. Except the cloud never broke up, towards dusk the rain squalls were heavy and persistent. To be fair the wind strength was spot on with winds of 30 mph (Strong breeze/near gale) and gusts to 40 mph (gale force intensity). The weather and exposed location meant I was relieved to have packed the winter jacket, over trousers and gloves.

Calluna vulgaris and Ulex Gallii

Photography ambitions were restricted to leeward ground and then ground level macro photography before rain curtailed this activity. Chatting to a hill walker descending from a nearby summit it seemed that further south, the cloud was breaking up and sunlight breaking through, this kept me enthused until it became apparent with sunset approaching that this trip would also be curtailed. So two successive trips made where the landscape photography rewards would have been very good if the locations chosen were just a couple of miles distant, c'est la vie!

Upland birchwoods

A recent trip to the Scottish Highlands, staying at Kinloch Rannoch and upon arrival it was apparent the autumnal colour palette of deciduous trees, meant plans needed to be revised, to take advantage of the photographic opportunity presented. The appeal of photographing upland birchwoods, increased after a frustrating trip up Ben Lawers, that achieved nothing more than the following a 'munro baggers trench' and some very infrequent breaks in a persistent band of cloud that blanketed the summits and obscured the views. Disappointing, as I venture into the hills for the views, not to tick off a hill list. The small consolation of the Ben Lawers ascent, was a brief, but impressive Brocken spectre.

I decided that my photographic ambitions be revised from summit views, to finding an autumnal upland birchwood, with hills in the background under an atmospheric sky and given the iffy Mountain Weather Forecasts, of high winds and low percentages of clear summits, it seemed a wiser choice.

Ordnance Survey maps were appraised for deciduous woodland, then cross referenced with online historic 1:10,560 OS maps and then satellite imagery, to eliminate newly planted or regenrated woodland. A comparison of modern OS maps and the 19thC OS maps, also lends credence to woodland historians assertions that some upland birchwoods are mobile in the Highland landscape. It soon became apparent that there were a number of locations to choose from and in absence of a strict definition, I decided that anything above the 300m contour line would be a reasonable basis to define an upland birchwood, ecologists would rightly beg to differ, but it seemed a reasonable cut off point for my needs. Locations were then assessed for : geology interest, interference of views from municipal infrastructure, expansive views etc and a list of potential sites arrived at to visit, weather permitting.

The weather duly obliged with sunshine and showers.

Of the upland birchwoods visited, some had been enclosed with deer fences to allow natural regeneration to take place, whilst others were left open and I can only assume that deer were being controlled, as there were signs of woodland regeneration with saplings growing. Where there were no deer fences or apparent controls on grazing pressure, the woodland showed no signs of regeneration. In all the upland birchwoods visited, Bracken was conspicuous by its presence in the field layer and adjacent landscape, prompting some ecologists to speculate that these were formerly Oak woods.

A ravine chanced upon, revealed the potential for the wider Highlands landscape, if the grazing regime changed. The mixed woodland consisted of: Aspen, Rowan, Hazel, Willow and Birch, that contributed to an excellent autumnal colour palette

The decision to lower ambitions from summits to lower elevations proved a good decision and some less visited parts of Perthshire were explored.

Landscape photography aesthetics - Atmospheric hills

What the UK's hills lack in stature they make up for in atmosphere, courtesy of North Atlantic weather systems, driven by the jet stream. The atmosphere manifests itself as precipitation, cloud and wind, that provide the opportunity for atmospheric images and pose genuine questions of a landscape photographers endeavour, gear and technique, in the field.

Personally there's some appeal in making images in dynamic weather in the uplands and with a slice of good fortune, the cloud breaks to let sunlight through and play over the land as just reward for the effort and perseverance, it helps offset the days when things didn't quite go to plan. It was heartening and refreshing to see Mark Littlejohn's image of Glencoe awarded the LPOTY title, which captured the nature of that Glen well.

Average annual rainfall exceeds 4 metres on the higher hills in Wales, England's Lake District and the North West Highlands of Scotland. The summit of Ben Nevis reportedly clocks up on average,  250+ days annually with gale force winds over 50 mph and even down at 400m asl on lower hills and upland areas, there's still over 2.5 metres of rainfall annually and winds over 50 mph are not uncommon. The true nature of the UK's hills and uplands is a wet and windy one, as anyone who takes an interest in the Mountain Weather Forecast will attest.



The prime reason for monitoring the weather forecast is the hostility of the UK's weather, the only historic data I could find was from the Cairngorms automated weather station data which gives an indication of the weather severity in the hills.

Caingorm AWS

From the wind chill table above, an increase in windspeed and drop in temperature, changes the weather in July on the Cairngorm summit from pleasant to something potentially serious, if clothing is wet. It seems surprising that mountain hypothermia or the Cold Wet Killer was a phenomenon little understood until relatively recently from research precipitated by a tragic incidents. Two incidents come immediately to mind, in 1951 4 mountaineering club members died walking along the Uisge Labhair to the Ben Alder Cottage and in 1964 the deaths of 3 walkers on the Four Inns walk in the Peak District. The Four Inns Walk tragedy initiated medical research into the physiology of hill walking exposure. The risk of exposure, emphasises that in upland environments, outdoor gear is worn and carried that is proven fit for purpose and kit also packed to deal with an emergency, which with camera gear makes for a heavy backpack. A piece of kit that differentiates the upland landscape photographer, is the use of a technical backpack, instead of the frankly lame and marketing hyped, expensive, PoS, dedicated camera backpack.

There's also some pragmatism needed with upland weather, as there will be trips where all that results is an enhanced respect for the ability of native fauna to cope with the elements, the performance of outdoor gear given a field test and the joy of navigation with compass bearings. When deciding on what outdoor wet weather clothing to buy, an excellent starting point would be that used by unsponsored mountain guides or better still Mountain Rescue Team members as to the brands that actually perform in the hills. It's also interesting to note the choices by MRTs operating in different seasons and areas. If you ever get the opportunity, gamekeepers are well worth engaging in conversation, once you get past their dour exterior, they're really quite friendly and possess a wealth of practical knowledge of the outdoors and particularly of 'their' hills and moors.

My preference for camera gear is similar to my outdoor gear and is biased to weather sealing and build quality, which carry a weight penalty. Before wasting time and effort expended in the hills, it is well worth testing new gear at low levels in strong wind/rain to identify any weaknesses and/or establish the limits of the field performance. If you consider that a tripod is an essential component of your kit for composition and enabling long exposures at stopped down apertures and low iso, then tripod legs and heads are definitely worth investigating to ascertain the optimal weight/stability/ruggedness/height ratio.

It might just be me, but for a few years now,  I have been more interested in landscape photography emanating from hill walkers, backpackers and other outdoor communities, part of the reason is their empathy with the landscape and weather which manifests itself in some compelling work.