Limit the density of livestock on farmland near peatlands

Overall effectiveness category No evidence found (no assessment)
Number of studies: 0
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

not assessed

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Waste products from livestock can run off agricultural land and flow into peatlands. This is a particular problem when land is compacted due to trampling by many animals. Excess nutrients in peatlands could reduce their ability to support their characteristic, and sometimes diverse, vegetation. Reducing the number of livestock on land near peatlands would reduce the amount of excrement and compaction, potentially reducing nutrient inputs to peatlands.

Key peatland types for which this action may be appropriate: bogs, fens/fen meadows, tropical peat swamps.

Related actions: interventions to reduce the impact of livestock grazing directly on peatlands i.e. use barriers to protect pristine peatlands; exclude or remove livestock from degraded peatlands; reduce intensity of grazing; change type of livestock; change season/timing of grazing.

Key messages

We found no studies that evaluated the effects, on peatland vegetation, of limiting the density of livestock on farmland near peatlands.

‘We found no studies’ means that we have not yet found any studies that have directly evaluated this action during our systematic journal and report searches. Therefore we have been unable to assess whether or not the action is effective or has any harmful impacts. Please get in touch if you know of such a study for this action.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Please cite as:

Taylor, N.G., Grillas, P. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Peatland Conservation. Pages 367-430 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Peatland Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Add lime to reduce acidity and/or increase fertility Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Retain or create buffer zones between pollution sources and peatlands Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Clean waste water before it enters the environment Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link