Sir,
For 5,000 years we have been using fire in this country to help produce and maintain some of the rarest habitat on earth - heather moorland. Those opposed to the occasional burning of heather in the winter (All we see is smoke, say villagers in flare-up over moorland fires”, Jan 27) appear oblivious to the role it plays in reducing the fuel load available for intense summer wildfires. These can consume not only the surface vegetation but also the peat underneath.
Since every seven centimetres of peat burnt can release 200 years of stored carbon, perhaps, like Australia, we should consider the unintended consequence of policies advanced by ecological fundamentalists. Otherwise we may risk damaging a moorland landscape ratified as globally important by the 1992 Rio Convention on Biodiversity which supports 13 plant communities and 18 bird species of European or international importance.
Andrew Gilruth
Director of Communications
The Moorland Balance - eBook - only £4.99
Get the science behind grouse shooting and moorland management. Building on the success of the first edition, this new and improved version condenses thousands of pages of scientific literature into easy-to-read questions and answers. Over 200 different studies from across the scientific community are referenced in this 134-page book.
View Book >
or
Buy Now - £4.99 >
100% Secure. All Credit & Debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay accepted.
