The truth about controlled burning
Ian Coghill explains the polarisation of opinion between those for and against controlled burning, settling who is right and who is wrong.
Get information on the legal shooting season for mammals and birds in the UK.
Learn about our current conservation projects and how you can get involved.
Comprehensive information and advice from our specialist firearms team.
Everything you need to know about shotgun, rifle and airgun ammunition.
Find our up-to-date information, advice and links to government resources.
Everything you need to know on firearms law and licensing.
All the latest news and advice on general licences and how they affect you.
A landmark report has concluded that upland land managers must have multiple methods of heather management at their disposal, following a decade studying the impact on moorland habitats.
Researchers at the University of York published the report at the halfway stage of a 20-year peatland study, comparing prescribed vegetation burning to mowing and unmanaged approaches.
The report concluded that each management practice carries both positive and negative attributes depending on the site. Data was collected on carbon capture, flora and fauna diversity, water table depth and nutrient content.
On the topic of prescribed burning, the researchers found that the practice can be an effective tool for long-term carbon capture, as well as benefitting vegetation and species diversity.
The report calls for all management practices to remain available to upland land managers to help them tackle the impacts of climate change and biodiversity losses.
Gareth Dockerty, BASC’s head of uplands, said: “The findings show that there is no one size fits all approach to managing peatland. Balancing carbon and methane emissions with the needs of key species, while reducing the risk of devastating wildfires, will continue to be a carefully considered balancing act for land managers.
“It is obvious that burning is still an important part of the management toolkit, and certainly not the villain that some organisations have suggested. It is time to leave political and anti-shooting agendas behind and work in partnership on a site-by-site basis. Long-term studies such as this must continue and be supported to ensure our management practices adapt to an evolving evidence base.”
BASC’s position on burning is clear and focuses on improving our peatlands: Burning vegetation in the uplands is an essential tool in wildfire management and mitigation. Burning can increase biodiversity. Its use is site dependent. It is wrong to say that you should always burn or never burn.
BASC – along with a diverse range of partner organisations – helped fund the independent study, donating £25,000 over the past five years. What started as a Defra-funded project has now become one of the most important long-term pieces of evidence we have for the management of our uplands.
Gareth continued: “Since 2013, several scientific studies have shown that prescribed burning is an important tool for land managers, both in the UK and across the globe. The results from the University of York are – and will continue to be – in gaining a greater understanding of our peatlands.
“It is vital that independent long-term research continues and policy decisions are based on evidence and not scaremongering or outdated perceptions.”
Ian Coghill explains the polarisation of opinion between those for and against controlled burning, settling who is right and who is wrong.
BASC has urged all MSPs to vote down the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill in a debate taking place tomorrow.
BASC has called on Scottish Water to explain its decision to end grouse shooting on its land.
Sign up to our weekly newsletter and get all the latest updates straight to your inbox.
© 2023 British Association for Shooting and Conservation. Registered Office: Marford Mill, Rossett, Wrexham, LL12 0HL – Registered Society No: 28488R. BASC is a trading name of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference number 311937.
If you have any questions or complaints about your BASC membership insurance cover, please email us. More information about resolving complaints can be found on the FCA website or on the EU ODR platform.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!
More information about our Cookie Policy