In a drained bog the water table drops, the surface dries out and the whole ecology of the peatland is altered.  Restoration work involves raising the water table to as close to the surface as possible. This is achieved by inserting dams at intervals along the drains. The water table will now rise and lock in the carbon that is naturally stored in the saturated layers of the bog.  The surface will also now begin to support the key plants which colonise an intact raised Bog. Sphagnum moss is the building block of a restored raised bog habitat.  It derives all its nutrients from rainwater and has the ability to grow upwards. Each now years growth takes place on the previous years growth. The bog becomes an anerobic habitat where few microbes and organisms responsible for plant decomposition can survive.  Decaying plant life is therefore locked in and the peatland grows upwards. It is said that a meter of peat takes 1000 years to grow or accumulate.  To measure and monitor watertable levels is key to understanding if restoration works were successful.