Research Paper Summaries

A Teesdale survey found roughly twice as many curlews on blanket bog managed by burning or cutting as on unmanaged bog, while numbers stayed stable.

Curlew are declining because too few chicks survive. The peer-reviewed evidence on predation control, habitat and managed moorland, and what reverses the loss.

A Stanford study in Science finds low-severity fire cuts the worst wildfires by 92% — and saves more smoke than it produces — which is significant for the UK burning debate.

A new review shows wildfire degrades catchment water for more than a decade, a direct threat to the upland peat catchments that supply most UK drinking water.

UK contributors shaped a new global ranking of the 50 biggest unanswered questions in peatland science, from fire management to carbon-credit integrity.

A US study ties worsening wildfires to rising ozone and 300 extra deaths a year. For Britain's fire-prone uplands, the cost of wildfire is the real lesson.

A NatureScot report sets out clearer definitions and a draft field tool for scoring peatland condition under Scotland's planning system.

Counting the wildfire smoke it prevents, controlled burning cut Oregon's smoke-related health costs by 65% and returned $4.35 for every dollar spent.

The biggest carbon store on moorland is the soil. Discover why planting trees or allowing birch scrub on peaty soils can cause net carbon loss for decades.

US data proves prescribed burning yields a $3.73 return for every $1 spent on wildfire prevention. Discover why UK upland policy urgently needs a similar study.

A Nature Geoscience study finds the 2025 Dava Moor megafire emitted 38,600 tonnes of carbon - 85% of it from peat combustion driven by anomalously dry soils.

The RSPB and Leeds want grouse-moor licensing on air-quality grounds. The 2025 wildfire data - and their own figures - point the other way.