Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor

Burning of ericaceous vegetation on moorland in the United Kingdom is a routine part of management for red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) but its contribution to peatland degradation and loss of key ecosystem services is widely debated. Studies in the North Pennines, northern England, have shown t...

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Autores principales:	Sian Whitehead, Hannah Weald, David Baines
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Grouse moor Blanket peat Burning Sphagnum Remote sensing Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ac7fc65c3744434ebcf0cee95f48e39a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ac7fc65c3744434ebcf0cee95f48e39a2021-12-01T04:43:11ZPost-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107336https://doaj.org/article/ac7fc65c3744434ebcf0cee95f48e39a2021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21000017https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XBurning of ericaceous vegetation on moorland in the United Kingdom is a routine part of management for red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) but its contribution to peatland degradation and loss of key ecosystem services is widely debated. Studies in the North Pennines, northern England, have shown that regular fires at approximately ten-year intervals can benefit Sphagnum mosses and cotton grass (Eriophorum) cover at the expense of ling heather (Calluna vulgaris). We repeated an assessment from a Pennine study of post-burning vegetation succession at a moor in south-west Scotland also managed for grouse. Here, GPS-mapped fires from 2009 to 14 were visited in 2019 to measure the vegetation response and compare it with unburned control plots. Heather cover, vegetation height and biomass increased linearly over time since burning, whereas cotton grass decreased during the first eight years. Sphagnum cover in plots burnt eight to ten years earlier averaged five times higher than that in the no-burn control plots and was positively correlated with peat depth. These results support earlier studies in northern England, showing that prescribed burning at regular intervals can increase Sphagnum cover by reducing heather cover and canopy vegetation biomass. We discuss the repercussions of this for management of blanket peat habitat, including reducing wildfire risk across UK moorlands.Sian WhiteheadHannah WealdDavid BainesElsevierarticleGrouse moorBlanket peatBurningSphagnumRemote sensingEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 123, Iss , Pp 107336- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Grouse moor Blanket peat Burning Sphagnum Remote sensing Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Grouse moor Blanket peat Burning Sphagnum Remote sensing Ecology QH540-549.5 Sian Whitehead Hannah Weald David Baines Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor
description	Burning of ericaceous vegetation on moorland in the United Kingdom is a routine part of management for red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) but its contribution to peatland degradation and loss of key ecosystem services is widely debated. Studies in the North Pennines, northern England, have shown that regular fires at approximately ten-year intervals can benefit Sphagnum mosses and cotton grass (Eriophorum) cover at the expense of ling heather (Calluna vulgaris). We repeated an assessment from a Pennine study of post-burning vegetation succession at a moor in south-west Scotland also managed for grouse. Here, GPS-mapped fires from 2009 to 14 were visited in 2019 to measure the vegetation response and compare it with unburned control plots. Heather cover, vegetation height and biomass increased linearly over time since burning, whereas cotton grass decreased during the first eight years. Sphagnum cover in plots burnt eight to ten years earlier averaged five times higher than that in the no-burn control plots and was positively correlated with peat depth. These results support earlier studies in northern England, showing that prescribed burning at regular intervals can increase Sphagnum cover by reducing heather cover and canopy vegetation biomass. We discuss the repercussions of this for management of blanket peat habitat, including reducing wildfire risk across UK moorlands.
format	article
author	Sian Whitehead Hannah Weald David Baines
author_facet	Sian Whitehead Hannah Weald David Baines
author_sort	Sian Whitehead
title	Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor
title_short	Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor
title_full	Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor
title_fullStr	Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor
title_full_unstemmed	Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor
title_sort	post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a scottish grouse moor
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ac7fc65c3744434ebcf0cee95f48e39a
work_keys_str_mv	AT sianwhitehead postburningresponsesbyvegetationonblanketbogpeatlandsitesonascottishgrousemoor AT hannahweald postburningresponsesbyvegetationonblanketbogpeatlandsitesonascottishgrousemoor AT davidbaines postburningresponsesbyvegetationonblanketbogpeatlandsitesonascottishgrousemoor
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Post-burning responses by vegetation on blanket bog peatland sites on a Scottish grouse moor

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