Research Paper Summaries

A new three-year study from Northeast China sheds light on how prescribed burning can increase carbon storage in peatlands – a result that challenges common assumptions about fire and carbon loss.

A study shows grouse moors supported twice as many breeding waders, including curlew, lapwing, and golden plover. Curlew breeding success was four times higher on grouse moors.

A new review looks at how “headstarting” - raising Eurasian Curlew chicks in captivity before releasing them into the wild - is being used across Europe to support this much-loved wading bird.

The research paper “Spikes in UK wildfire emissions driven by peatland fires in dry years” evaluates the impact of wildfires on carbon (C) emissions in the UK from 2001 to 2021, with a specific focus on peatlands.

Research from the North Pennines adds to growing evidence that traditional grouse moor management - including controlled heather burning - can benefit the health of peatlands.

Drawing on recent reports and research, we explore how the financial burden of wildfires is calculated and what figures we might anticipate under future conditions.

A new academic report has underlined the critical role that gamekeepers play in protecting England’s upland landscapes - particularly in preventing wildfires, conserving wildlife, and supporting local economies.

Research shows a dramatic fall in Black Grouse numbers across southern Scotland over the last 30 years - and highlights the importance of large, well-managed moorland to their survival.

Controlled burning of heather on UK moorlands is often used to support red grouse management, but its effects on peatland health are frequently questioned.

A crucial study reveals the sobering reality of what happens to ground-nesting bird populations when predators are not controlled.

Over the past century, parts of the British uplands have seen a steep decline in heather moorland - a globally rare habitat important for wildlife, rural heritage, and field sports.

This study from Scotland looked closely at how prescribed burning - known as muirburn - relates to wildfires across the country.

A recent study revisited a predator control experiment in North Northumberland that had taken place in the early 2000s. It looked at what happened to ground-nesting birds when legal predator control stopped - and the results are sobering.

This blog post examines an 8-year field experiment conducted on moorland in northern England.

The Berwyn is constantly changing. A detailed study, spanning several decades, looked at these changes.

A recently commissioned report by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) for Natural England looked into this puzzle.