England Peat Map Vegetation and Land Cover on Peaty Soil

The England Peat Map is a map of England's peaty soils. It models the extent, depth, and condition of our peat including vegetation and upland peat erosion & drainage features (grips, gullies, bare peat and peat hagging). The map and, where possible, the associated data, are available openly and free to use for any purpose.

This map is funded by the Nature for Climate Fund and the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA), both part of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The map layers were created using machine learning and deep learning modelling techniques, trained with pre-existing survey data collated from Defra organisations and other stakeholders, as well as new survey data collected by contractors and quality-assured by an in-house team. Predictor data used in the modelling process included national-scale satellite imagery, topographic LiDAR, geological and historic land-use data. Data collated from multiple sources and collated by the England Peat Map project. See NERR149 England Peat Map Final Report Annex 5 for more information.

Vegetation cover of peaty soils as modelled by the England Peat Map project. The ‘vegetation and land cover on peaty soils’ map layer currently has some areas (covering approx. 4% of the predicted peaty soil extent) where we have not yet provided a vegetation or land cover class. We will be providing a completed version of this map layer later in 2025. We will also publish a new map layer describing the probabilities for each class at every location (not just the most likely class, which is the ‘vegetation and land cover on peaty soils’ map layer).

Predicted vegetation classes within peaty soil extent boundary for biogeographic zone 14. For more information, see NERR149 England Peat Map Final Report, Natural England, 2025.

Vegetation cover of peaty soils as modelled by the England Peat Map project. The ‘vegetation and land cover on peaty soils’ map layer currently has some areas (covering approx. 4% of the predicted peaty soil extent) where we have not yet provided a vegetation or land cover class. We will be providing a completed version of this map layer later in 2025. We will also publish a new map layer describing the probabilities for each class at every location (not just the most likely class, which is the ‘vegetation and land cover on peaty soils’ map layer).