Why heather burning 'helps our wildlife and environment'

Controlled burning of heather is carried out across Yorkshire’s uplands to create the most favourable conditions for grouse populations, its critics have claimed.

Some conservation organisations, such as the National Trust, says in areas such as Marsden Moor controlled burning can severely damage the peat, dry out the moorland and increase the erosion of the peat soils and that when peat is exposed, it also becomes a carbon emitter, rather than a carbon store.

The charity says burning kills insects, small mammals and reptiles and can also harm the biodiversity on the moors, as some plants can't cope with being burnt on a regular basis and dominant grasses outcompete heather, cotton grass and sphagnum moss, leading to further drying of the moors.

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However, Darren Chadwick, of the Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group, which works with gamekeepers and others to educate the public about moorlands, said there were “numerous popular misconceptions about heather burning driven by nefarious agendas”.

Checking peat depth before burning is a legal requirement so not to burn deeper than 40cms.Checking peat depth before burning is a legal requirement so not to burn deeper than 40cms.
Checking peat depth before burning is a legal requirement so not to burn deeper than 40cms.

He said all the major wildfire incidents in the UK for the last decade have been on land where they have a no-burn policy.

Mr Chadwick said: “Burning is not just a grouse moor management practice, it’s used around the globe to create a mosaic of habitats.

”We’re in a warmer climate and encouraging more visitors to enjoy the landscape and what this brings is a highly increased risk of wildfire ignition. Burning vegetation to control that fuel load is merely the utilisation of a natural phenomenon. It’s a fire-evolved habitat and some of the plants benefit from smoke and heat.”

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Mr Chadwick said members of his group practised ‘cool burns’, where they only burned heather when there was a breeze so it will burn quickly and sweep across a small area of ground about 20m across when it was wet and cold so the substrates do not ignite.

Strips of moorland heather being burned in the Yorkshire Dales.Strips of moorland heather being burned in the Yorkshire Dales.
Strips of moorland heather being burned in the Yorkshire Dales.

He said: "There is a downside to controlled burning produces smoke, but it is not a constant pumping out of pollutants. Without controlled burning you greatly increase the risk of wildfires, such as the one at Saddleworth a few years ago, burn into the peat for weeks.

"Controlled burning produces a mosaic of habitats, and this technique the increase in wader and red-listed bird productivity can be up as much as eight per cent.

"It’s no surprise the uplands in the Yorkshire Dales are the most productive for birds like the curlew and golden plover.”

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Mr Chadwick points to the conclusions of ten years of research at the University of York comparing the impacts of different management options on key aspects for mitigating climate change, increasing water storage and quality, as well as supporting biodiversity.

Heather burning being closely monitored in the Yorkshire Dales.Heather burning being closely monitored in the Yorkshire Dales.
Heather burning being closely monitored in the Yorkshire Dales.

Professor Andreas Heinemeyer​​​​​​​ found heather burning, mowing or leaving it unmanaged should all be available tools that upland land managers can use and burning and mowing of small patches of heather supported increased vegetation diversity, with increased levels of sphagnum moss, which are especially supportive of peat formation, compared to uncut plots.

Burning, in particular, was good for nutrient content for grazing animals but also for carbon uptake, likely due to the fertilisation that ash provides.

"Once heather gets ten to 12 years old it has a negative effect on the ground, as it transpires moisture out of the peat and a drier substrate is not ideal for sphagnum moss, which is the hero of the moorland building peat at 1mm a year, locking in the carbon.

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Only a small fraction of the heather on a moor is burned every year, emphasised Mr Chadwick, and land managers work their way around on a seven to 12-year cycle to try and maintain mixed habitats, creating ideal habitats for merlins and hen harriers as well as curlews and golden plover that want to be on virtually bare ground.

The burning of heather under close control in the Yorkshire Dales.The burning of heather under close control in the Yorkshire Dales.
The burning of heather under close control in the Yorkshire Dales.

Burning heather can legally take place from October 1 to April 15, to ensure no breeding birds or hibernating reptiles and amphibians are affected.

Mr Chadwick said: “The management of heather would still need to take place whether there was any grouse shooting interest or not. Burning is done by other people – crofters used to do it in Scotland – where there isn’t much grouse shooting. People who don’t like ‘toffs in tweeds’ will object to heather burning as it’s associated with the landed gentry, but it’s a conservation measure.

“It’s not just about producing more and more grouse. This year was one of the worst grouse years ever due to a number of factors, including cold weather, poor spring, low insect hatching, so it doesn’t automatically mean managing a heather landscape will produce large yields of grouse.”​​​​​​​

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