Partial Solutions to Partially Understood Problems - The Experience of In Situ Monitoring and Preservation in Somerset's Peatlands.

The peat moors of lowland Somerset contain a wealth of waterlogged archaeological sites, including some of the most significant prehistoric monuments in the country. There has been a long history of attempts to preserve archaeological sites In Situ and monitoring of the burial environment began in 1982. The monitoring has become more complex over time, but the results suggest the same continuing problem of a drop in the water table over the summer months across the whole landscape. With the sole exception of the portion of the Neolithic Sweet Track that benefits from an irrigation system, all the other known sites remain at risk of gradual destruction. The solutions must be found on a landscape scale using agri-environment payments to secure sustainable management of the peat resource. Unfortunately, short-term changes to these payments and long-term changes to the climate are likely to worsen the situation and eventually to require a more drastic solution to the problem. Evidence has been generated to support an ecosystems approach to sustainable peatland management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]