Woke up to a very smoky Wye Valley, as more wildfires spread across the Welsh Valleys, including Ebbw Vale and Blaenavon. Caused by months of unprecedented drought caused by climate change, but all Labour can offer is a ban on disposable bbqs, and the far right opposition blames 'rewilding'.

Solar eclipse through the screen!

The Stony Way, a 2km path or road that is at least 600 years old and probably more. The monks of Tintern Abbey used it haul goods back and forth between the Abbey on the Wye River (Afon Gwy) and their grange farms (such as Porthcasseg Farm) on the limestone hills above it.

A magnificent Lime Tree in Cadora Woods. Ancient lime, oak, beech and yew trees line Offa's Dyke all along the English side of the Wye Valley.

During drought, everything dries and cracks, and exposed black peat bakes in the sun. There is no buffer from the water-holding moss, no way for the degraded peat to retain water from draining away.

Perhaps worst, this fosters the invasion of purple moor grass - as seen throughout the UK. The gentle hummocks and hollows of sphagnum moss, cottongrass and bog asphodel are replaced by awkward tussocks of moor grass and deep channels of eroded peat.

In moderation, birch carr, bracken, gorse and heather are all part of a bog's mosaic of life. But in excess, their deeper roots contribute the drying of the bog. And they do not retain water like Sphagnum. During drought, they become dry, brittle kindling.

Although Cleddon Bog still has some marvellous features, including classical bog vegetation and insect life, it is an isolated fragment of the original bog and therefore excessively drained and polluted with excessive nutrients. This allows birch, bracken and gorse to encroach from all sides.

As moorland wildfires burn in Blaenavon, Wales for the 8th straight day, I visited the local Cleddon Bog. It is a stark example of how bog degradation creates huge fire risks.

An explosion of colour at Cleddon Bog today. Weeks without rain in the Wye Valley have dried this vulnerable bog, and exposed patches of peat are oxidising to CO2. But bog plants persist - Sphagnum, heather, sundew, bog asphodel and cotton grass - giving hope for restoration.

James Maxwell, one of the scientists who helped create the discipline of organic geochemistry, recently passed away. He was an inspiration before I came to the @ogu-bristol.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social; and afterwards, he was a friend and mentor.

A lovely bit of Erica blooming in Whitelye Common in the Lower Wye Valley. Lots of patches of Sphagnum as well, despite the dry conditions. #WildFlowerHour

Been back in Ohio to check in on my Mom... and the wildlife was doing its Ohio thing. (Sound on!)

Maidenhair spleenwort growing from the mortar in the ancient stone walls of Tintern.

An absolute abundace of gorgeous foxgloves in the cemetery of St Mary's church in Tintern, in the Wye Valley (Dyffren Gwy). #WildFlowerHour

Bog asphodel and a marsh orchid, bringing colour to Cors Cleddon (Cleddon Bog) in the Dyffryn Gwy (Wye Valley). #WildflowerHour

Frog on the bog! Life persists even in the degraded but beautiful Cors Cleddon in the Dyffryn Gwy (Wye Valley).

An exciting topic at the @iucn-uk-peat.bsky.social #PeatConf26 was the role of trees in peatland. Often viewed as the 'enemy' given their role in aerating and drying peatlands through their roots and evapotranspiration, we now know that they can be integral parts of some peatland ecosystems.

Patches of Sphagnum in the wet woodland at Cors Cleddon. Dense, lush life drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it away - above and below ground.

Her data show that there were more methane oxidising bacteria, confirming our previous findings based on isotopes. But she also shows that there might have been a change in the methane oxidising community, offering further evidence of enhanced methane flux.

To determine how peatlands will respond to climate change, we can explore how they responded to past events. Our new paper, led by Emily Hollingsworth, does that - elaborating on observations that global warming 56 million years ago enhanced methane cycling. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

One of my favourite peatlands is Cors Crymlyn near Swansea, Wales. Although mainly a fen dominated by reeds, it is a rich mosaic of habitats including boggy Sphagnum hummocks, like this one acting as a foundation for some heather. And this despite a history of environmental abuse and exploitation.

Marsh orchids, a small fern and a buttercup in the Llyn Llech Owain Country Park (SSSI), which hosts a degraded and forested peatland being restored by outstanding efforts of Natural Resources Wales through their Peatland Action Plan.

Wonderful trip to Cors Crymlyn today as part of @iucn-uk-peat.bsky.social Peatlands Under Pressure conference. This peatland is under pressure - from landfill leaching to oil contamination to unexploded WW2 bombs, but it still comprises a wonderful mosaic of ecosystems and plant and animal life.

Am off to @iucn-uk-peat.bsky.social conference tomorrow, so here is some lush Sphagnum and haircap moss from Whitelye Common in the Lower Wye Valley.

And I have been studying it ever since. Nearly 30 years and still surprised by these wonderful settings and the plants, archaea and bacteria that make their homes there. Upcoming papers on the critical role of pH in driving microbiology and the role of woody tissues in peat OM preservation.

It is #WorldPeatlandDay! So much to love, from the biodiversity to the carbon storage to their beautiful recording of Earth's history.

Rainy days make for atmospheric woodlands. An ancient stone wall and rows of massive beech and yew trees guard the Welsh-English border high above the Wye Valley along Offa's Dyke.

In addition to drying, it appears that nutrient (runoff? Air pollution?) is fuelling algal growth in many of the ponds and channels. Sphagnum will struggle to compete, and the black water and bubbles of CO2 captured in the biofilm speak to the ongoing degradation of the underlying organic carbon. 💔

Sad day on the local peatland last week. Cleddon Bog has been slowly drying, and consequently it is being invaded by encroaching carr. First heather, then gorse, then thick patches of bracken and birch. On the bog itself, Sphagnum and cotton grass are being replaced by tussocks of moor grass.