TWO Berwickshire peat bogs are to benefit from funding of over £2.4 million for a new conservation initiative by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) designed to save one of south Scotland's rarest and most threatened habitats.

The lowland peat bogs help slow down global warming, are beautiful in bloom and provide havens for wildlife but they are in decline. The bogs are a habitat which has historically been in decline due to commercial peat extraction, the planting of conifers and agricultural improvement.

However, under a new scheme cash support and specialist advice is on offer to farmers and landowners on 42 bog sites stretching from Berwickshire to Ayrshire. All of them are Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The sites include Drone Moss near Coldingham and Greenlaw's Dogden Moss.

The South Scotland Bog Scheme, part of SNH's Natural Care Programme, aims to reverse the gradual drying out of bogs caused by human activities, by restoring and maintaining water levels in the peat. This encourages the growth of a host of specially adapted plants that thrive on the waterlogged ground, including sphagnum moss, which slowly accumulates to build up the blanket of peat.

Lyndsey Kinnes, Scottish Natural Heritage's project manager for the scheme, explained why it is important to look after our lowland bogs: "In the UK the amount of lowland peatland has decreased by 94% since the start of the 19th century, from 95,000 hectares to just 6,000 hectares.

"In the past we have taken our bogs for granted. They used to be thought of as drab, dreary wastelands fit only for exploitation but this couldn't be further from the truth. In the full bloom of health they are the Scottish equivalent of the rainforests of Brazil or the Serengeti in Tanzania, teaming with life and rich with vivid splashes of colour. They also help slow down global warming by trapping carbon from the atmosphere.

"The payments and advice available under the new scheme will give land managers the support they need to turn the health of our bogs around. We hope that as many as possible of those who are eligible will apply. By working together we can make sure that these special wet and wild places continue to be part of our landscape for the future."

Deputy Environment Minister Rhona Brankin said: "Scotland's bogs sustain many animals and plants and play an important role in capturing carbon and soaking up flood waters.

"I'm especially pleased that community groups are becoming involved in the stewardship of these sites and would encourage farmers and landowners to take advantage of the grant aid and advice available to them under this new scheme."

Under the scheme payments will be available for damming up ditches and removing trees to keep the water levels in the bog up. Payments will also be available for fencing, grazing and scrub control to improve the condition of the plants that grow on the bog.

The richly-hued wetland carpet of lowland bogs consists mainly of sphagnum moss. Living amongst the moss, often by virtue of some remarkable adaptations, are specialist bog plants such as the insect-eating sundews, cotton grasses and bog rosemary. These in turn support a variety of insects, birds and animals, such as frogs, hares, skylarks and dragonflies.

Bogs are amongst our most ancient landscapes, with some up to 9000 years old. Referred to by poet Seamus Heaney as a 'dark casket', the slow accumulation of peat over thousands of years preserves within it a valuable record of climate change, landscape history and human life.