For Peat's Sake: Turbary Rights & destruction of human created ecosystems?

I was lucky enough to be able to explore some very interesting habitats in western Ireland. Exactly what to call them, is unclear to me.  However, I believe the example shown above, could be referred to as a "Blanket Bog".  The Cottongrass (Eriophorum sp), drew me to the site, and initially suggested wetness (given my previous assumptions) but many examples I traipsed across were surprisingly dry.  The example shown below, was dramatically wetter, much more sphagnum moss was evident at the surface, pockets of almost open water were present, and the surface was really unstable and even dangerous to walk across. I think of this habitat as a "quaking bog".  In an upcoming post, I intend to show some of the interesting plant species I observed in both situations. From hereon, I lump both of these together as "peatlands" or bogs.

An example of early bog mapping in Ireland
(https://www.bordnamonalivinghistory.ie/maps/history-of-maps/)

The extent of Irish bogs was unknown until the early 1800's when a nationwide mapping effort began (image right) with the clear intention to make these areas more useful or productive.  But it wasn't until the 1930's, that Ireland's Department of Industry and Commerce began to actively plan for the development and use of these otherwise "worthless" landscapes.

A Turf Development Board was  established with the goal of developing a turf industry and operating & draining bogs. These efforts proved fortuitous during WWII, when turf became an essential alternative fuel source when coal imports were heavily diminished. Thousands of acres of bogs were eventually drained and actively harvested, sometimes with workers in on-site residential camps. Today at least one "semi-state" run corporation continues industrial-sale harvesting of peat , supplying an estimated 12% of Ireland's electricity  (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837712000129).  This corporation just announced plans to cease all peat harvesting by 2028 (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/bord-na-m%C3%B3na-not-climate-change-deniers-over-impact-of-peat-1.3696808)

In the meantime, turf cutting also continues for personal uses. The image below shows recently cut and stacked turf for use by a single family.

The right to take or cut turf is considered a "common right" or "turbary right" that involves a complex legal system that has led to many disputes.  The gentleman I spoke with about the operation above indicated his family had been cutting turf in this area (or exercising his turbary rights) for several generations. I came to see this much like a family woodlot maintained for cutting firewood in other areas of the world. Undoubtedly, dried peat or "turf" remains a primary fuel source for some Irish households. During my visit, it was not uncommon to smell peat fires burning in the morning and evening. I found published estimates of the number of households relying on turf ranging anywhere from 1 - 20% of Irish households.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837712000129) (https://www.livescience.com/38498-ban-on-turf-cutting-peat.html)

I observed numerous "small scale" harvest operations, such as those above, with turf either being harvested or being laid to dry.  And then, I finally came to understand some of the unusual patterns I had been noticing and couldn't previously understand, in places where the harvest was not so recent. (see below).

Historic, subtle evidence of turf cutting near Caragh Lake, Ireland. 
Green arrows indicate approximate boundaries of former cuts

Historic evidence of turf cutting near Ballycroy National Park, Ireland.
Green arrows point to remnant former surface height

Most instances of both current and former harvest I observed were like those above, with regular harvest boundaries and harvest depths. Most also appeared to have more peat depth available to harvest in the future. However, a few other sites were very irregularly cut for reasons unclear to me, such as the deeply incised bog surface near Kerry, Ireland (note stacks of drying turf, and patches of Cottongrass, see below).

A few other examples had been extracted to depth exposing stump fields. These "stump fields" presumably represent woodlands that were destroyed by humans several thousand years ago.  Although the pattern of landscape change may vary locally, region-wide , "various evidences indicate that most of the areas now covered by blanket bog once carried woodland in the first half of the Holocene.  (http://www.paper.edu.cn/scholar/showpdf/NUz2ANxIMTD0YxeQh)

What caused the loss of the historic forests whose stumps are now exposed? 

According to the paper cited above (and numerous other sources), Neolithic farming & burning practices (between 4,000 - 5,000 years ago) were responsible for the initial decline and loss of woodland. This means early humans with stone tools (and fire) began extensively clearing forest. By the early Bronze age the job was essentially finished! 

Over the generations that followed, the bogs developed and blanketed over vast areas formerly occupied by forests.  In the end, "increased human activities" were the major cause of blanket bogs establishment! Thus, these bogs are "anthropogenic communities" created by the Irish ancestors.  I can't think of many other examples where a truly man-made vegetation type has become the object of conservation interest.

  

How much should we be concerned about  destroying something we previously created?