Reflections on three upland farming case studies

 

The moorland grazing presentations delivered by our guest speakers after the recent AGM were very inspiring and thought provoking. Malcom Handley from the Forest of Bowland described how he had reduced the number of sheep on his upland farm and taken on a herd of Belted Galloway cattle in order to tackle an area dominated by Purple Moor-grass. Within a year or two, the tussock grassland and dense litter, associated with this vegetation, had been trampled and grazed enough to allow room for the growth of dwarf shrubs, such as Heather and Cross-leaved Heath. It was felt that the cattle also seemed to be doing a very good job at reducing the fuel load in the upper moorland whilst retaining plenty of Heather and so muirburn was not deemed necessary for the time being. Malcom mentioned the importance of the rare breeds subsidy that made this viable. His other reason for using Belted Galloways was because he could see them easily in bad weather. Whilst there was no quantitative evidence Malcom could point to, he believed that his sheep were also in better condition since the cattle had been doing their stuff.

 

Christina Williams from Molland Estate in Exmoor, Devon, gave a presentation about The Graze the Moor Project¹.  Molland Moor was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its heather moorland but in recent decades Heather has been declining. There are various reasons why this has occurred but one of those was thought to have been the lack of appropriate grazing, owing to the restricted period (15^th May to 15^th July) that cattle could be put on the moor, under the Environmentally Sensitive Area requirements. The restrictions meant that tenants found it uneconomical to put out hardy livestock on the moor for just two months each year. Christina has experienced many ups and downs over an eight-year experiment involving many stakeholders, including The Heather Trust, but can now report  that: the valuable vegetation was not damaged with increased stocking levels, over a longer experimental grazing period, provided they were kept moving; Heather could be regenerated by burning over as large an area as possible, to remove dead Purple Moor-grass litter, and then allowing stock to graze any new growth of this grass; Bracken and Gorse could be controlled along with Purple Moor-grass by this process; and whilst tick levels remain a concern, the use of hardy cattle, in a low-input and low-output system, compares well against higher-output but higher-input systems that do not engage with the moorland. Christina emphasised the point to policy makers that a one-size fits-all approach is too prescriptive and that what has worked for Molland Moor may not work for people farming land a few miles away, at Porlock Hill, let alone those farming moorland in the north of England.

 

Campbell Slimon of Breakachy Farm, near Laggan, Inverness, talked about the long history of grazing cattle on the hill ground of his property in the Highlands. It was encouraging to hear that he does not have to use Ivermectins to protect his cattle from worms and that as a result, the invertebrates associated with cowpats are thriving. This then provides a source of food for wading birds and other species. Campbell clearly took an interest in the wildlife that benefitted from his traditional management of the moorland, which includes muirburn, and mentioned regular sightings of eagles. He expressed concern about what will happen to ground-nesting species, such as Hen Harrier and waders, on land that has been taken out of production in order to return it to woodland, as well as the increasing levels of fuel load.

 

All three speakers were passionate about their land and trying to farm in a way that sustained or improved the moorland habitats. Appropriate levels of hardy cattle were an important part of habitat management at all three of these upland properties, along with intelligent muirburn at Molland Moor and Breakachy Farm. National policy makers would do well to reflect on how best they can encourage local solutions to facilitate sustainable livelihoods and enhance moorland habitats for wildlife. Readers are encouraged to post their thoughts on the case studies summarised here and please let us know about any other projects that demonstrate sustainable management of moorland.

 

¹ https://www.heathertrust.co.uk/graze-the-moor-1

 

Dr Oliver Moore (Moorland Management Best Practice Guidance Officer)

11^th November 2020

Thoughts on restoration burning

Peatlands have locked up carbon over the millennia which explains why many people are concerned about losing this accumulated peat resource.  They only store carbon when they are wet enough to halt the normal processes of vegetation decay.   Peat breaks down rapidly and releases carbon into the atmosphere when it becomes dry and exposed which is why re-wetting and re-vegetating is so important. 

Most moorland managers understand this, but a major point of contention exists around whether or not to carry out prescribed burning in moorland environments and particularly on peatland.  There is a lot of science around just now concerning this debate and we explore some of the issues below.

There appears to be two schools of thought: one promoting the need and importance of muirburn for the continued management of vegetation on peatlands that are on a restoration trajectory; and the other advocating no further burning of peatland, after initial restoration work, as it takes the long-term path to a near-natural and self-regulating condition.  Science can be found to support both of these arguments.

The view that burning is unnecessary comes from the standpoint that peatland will recover to a near-natural state over time as a result of re-wetting alone.  There is also concern that prescribed burning is known to eradicate species that are sensitive to fire (including many species with high conservation value associated with near-natural wet bogs).  This counters the increase in very common species associated with bare peat and vegetation gaps that result from burning.  Once a bog has become fully functional, with a good coverage of Sphagnum mosses, below a mixed canopy of Hare’s-tail Cotton-grass (Eriophorum vaginatum) and Heather (Calluna vulgaris), there is no need for vegetation management since the conditions are too wet for Heather to gain ascendency.  A re-wetted bog, with less vigorous and scattered Heather, is understood to be more resilient against wildfire events.  It also serves as an important habitat for Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) seeking invertebrate food – especially when drought makes this difficult in other parts of the moorland.

The alternative line of thinking recognises that even after initial restoration work, peatlands remain modified and will act more like heath than blanket bog for a number of years.  Therefore, it may be appropriate to intervene with some management to reduce Heather and avoid wildfire risks.  Recent evidence suggests that cool-burning of peatlands may lock-up more carbon in the form of charcoal and reduce the amount of methane gas that might otherwise be emitted as a result of anaerobic respiration from re-wetted peatland.  Muirburn has also been shown to increase biodiversity in situations where Heather has become dominant.  Some species of Sphagnum moss appear to be unaffected by cool-burning – in the short-term at least.

There is a great deal of uncertainty about how to do long-term peatland restoration.  We have never restored peatlands in the UK on the scale we currently are or in so many different places and situations.  It may be that a more flexible and pragmatic approach is required than the sometimes quite entrenched standpoints set out above.  In some places intervention might well be required whereas in other places it won’t.  Learning about the recovery pathway and the recovered state of bogs will become important skills for all moorland managers to gain in the coming years.  This is something the Heather Trust is working with Peatland Action and others in Scotland to develop advice on.

Has anyone ever changed their mind because someone shouted at them?

In his Opinion piece of 12 February for The Guardian, George Monbiot again berates land managers and government this time over the recent floods in West Yorkshire, blaming them on what he sees as poor practice.  

As the article goes on, it makes some reasonable points about peatland restoration and the value of natural flood management measures, but how many people read that far?  They are either turned on or turned off by a polarising headline that adds more fuel to an unhelpful culture of blame.

   

The reality, of course, is that cause and effect are much more convoluted than Mr Monbiot suggests and, if he is really looking for people to blame for climate change and extreme weather events, then 99.9% of society is implicated.  Moor owners and managers are evolving their practices so that they can play a full part in climate regulation, natural flood management and biodiversity.  Some lead the way, others follow and a sticky few resist – that is the way of it no matter what section of society you seek change from.   

Tens of thousands of hectares of peatland are on a route to restoration on moorland across the UK all contributing to the outcomes he seeks.  Results will not be seen overnight however and this type of work, while important, does not offer the complete solution to climate regulation or flood management.  Everyone must make changes.   

Rather than criticise, the Heather Trust takes a different approach.  We work across sectors and interests to support the development of moorland management practices to ensure they deliver for new and important agendas.  Moorland practices are being scrutinised through research and sound evidence-gathering.  They should move forward based on this rather than rhetoric.  Building consensus and common purpose is not the sort of work that grabs headlines in the way Mr Monbiot does, but it is the sort of work that leads to lasting change and might be a more constructive line to take. 

Anne Gray Director 

18 February 2020