Traditional manual mapping of peatland features across England's uplands would take approximately 10 years. The cost would be around £6 million. Natural England needed detailed mapping of peatland drainage features, erosion patterns, and restoration progress. This information was essential to guide targeted conservation efforts and carbon sequestration initiatives.
The solution
AI4Peat is a machine learning system that uses computer vision to automatically detect and map peatland features from high-resolution aerial imagery. The tool processes 12.5cm resolution aerial photography with LiDAR terrain data to identify drainage channels, gullies, eroded edges, and restoration dams, reducing mapping time significantly.
The results
AI4Peat has been operational since Spring 2025. The total investment for development of this solution was £288,000 compared to a £6 million manual alternative. The system reduced the 10-year manual timeline to automated processing in months. It has mapped 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon storage across UK peatlands, covering 12% of the country.
Details
Organisation name
Natural England / Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
AI4Peat
Automating peatland mapping
The challenge
Traditional manual mapping of peatland features across England's uplands would take approximately 10 years. The cost would be around £6 million. Natural England needed detailed mapping of peatland drainage features, erosion patterns, and restoration progress. This information was essential to guide targeted conservation efforts and carbon sequestration initiatives.
The solution
AI4Peat is a machine learning system that uses computer vision to automatically detect and map peatland features from high-resolution aerial imagery. The tool processes 12.5cm resolution aerial photography with LiDAR terrain data to identify drainage channels, gullies, eroded edges, and restoration dams, reducing mapping time significantly.
The results
AI4Peat has been operational since Spring 2025. The total investment for development of this solution was £288,000 compared to a £6 million manual alternative. The system reduced the 10-year manual timeline to automated processing in months. It has mapped 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon storage across UK peatlands, covering 12% of the country.
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