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Wildfire Control
One of the most important ways that moorland managers can keep locking up carbon is by preventing wildfires which destroy the peat. Fire is a natural occurrence on moorlands, especially in a dry spring such as 2003, and as the climate warms, spring and summer fires will become more common.
Moorland wildfires are often linked to public access which may also increase the risk.
If the heather has become old and has a high fuel load of woody stalks, it will burn fiercely and destroy all the vegetation permanently. This exposes the peat and causes massive erosion and release of carbon.
It is widely accepted that regular rotational of heather reduces the fuel load of dead woody material, and thus reduces the risk of damaging wildfires. Recently burnt areas also act as natural firebreaks which prevent fire spreading. Many estates are now very well equipped with portable fire fighting equipment which both enables them to burn more safely, and to act as a fire fighting resource for neighbours – moorlands are inaccessible to conventional fire engines!