Heather Burning

December 2009

Controlled burning of heather is essential to the maintenance of a diverse habitat on upland grouse moors.

Skilled gamekeepers are able to burn the heather tops at the right time of year to ensure that the rootstock remains viable and rapid regenration will occur.

It is important that the moorland plant community is rejuvenated in this way as grouse eat heather shoots, which are most prevalent on young plants, whilst they and other important birds nest in older heater. The best habitat for all wildlife, therefore, is a mosaic of heather plants of different ages, scattered across the moor.

Uncontrolled burning and 'wild fires', on the other hand, can be disastrous for the moors, so it is very important to get it right.

The Heather and Grass Burning Code (2007), produced by Defra, with the support of the NGO and other organisations, is at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/documents/countryside/uplands/hg-burn2007.pdf