Areas of upland peat in the UK need more conservation, a government minister has said.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn was quoted by Natural England as it announced a report into the carbon emission effects of the loss of peat stating: "Peat soils are extremely valuable carbon stores as well as being home to wildlife and important to archaeology and we should be doing everything we can to protect them."

The minister described as "timely" the Natural England report into the state of England's peat, which includes upland areas in places like the Pennines, noting that the carbon released when peat is washed away is the equivalent of the emissions of 350,000 homes per year.

Such findings could see more conservation for areas that some would like to don their walking boots and visit, such as the Kinder plateau in the Peak District.

Noting that maintaining the current landscape in the Dark Peak will help contain carbon, the national park authority's landscape strategy for this area devised last year stated that it is a priority to "protect or enhance the integrity of moorlands, which are currently in poor condition".

Posted by Brandon Egley