For Peat’s Sake: What Wildfire Experts Say About Controlled Burning

In 2023, when the Scottish government were seeking a ban on controlled burning (muirburn) on deep peat, Scotland’s Regional Moorland Groups and Scottish Gamekeepers Association produced a film that featured interviews with various wildfire experts, researchers and land managers.

They explain that when properly executed by skilled practitioners, controlled burning does not burn the peat itself and is, in fact, more likely to store carbon by preventing catastrophic wildfires that would otherwise incinerate the peat layers.

You can watch the film and read a summary of the key points below:

The Biggest Misconception: It's Not 'Peat Burning', It's 'Peat Protecting'

The most critical distinction experts make is that 'muirburn' is the controlled, low-temperature burning of the surface vegetation - primarily the old, tough heather - and is fundamentally different from the burning of the peat soil beneath. The entire purpose of this skilled practice is to prevent the peat from ever catching fire.

This is a vital point because uncontrolled wildfires, fuelled by years of unmanaged vegetation growth, burn hot enough to ignite the carbon-rich peat. This releases massive amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. In contrast, controlled burning reduces the buildup of this surface fuel, preventing the conditions that allow such destructive, deep-burning wildfires to occur in the first place.

"For me, it's always been difficult when you read a headline like 'peatland burning'. It's not peatland burning. If anything, it actually prevents the peatland from burning."

- Dr. Andreas Heinemeier, University of York

Doing Nothing Can Be Worse for the Climate

The idea that leaving a landscape completely untouched is always the best environmental option is another common assumption. However, as Dr. Andreas Heinemeier of the University of York explains, a hands-off approach can have negative consequences for peatlands.

Old, tall heather loses a significant amount of water through a process called transpiration. This water is pulled directly from the peat soil below. The ability of peat to act as a massive carbon sink depends on it being wet.

Therefore, as unmanaged, aging vegetation grows larger, it can progressively dry out the peat, compromising its critical function of locking away carbon. By managing the vegetation through practices like burning or cutting, land managers can help keep the peat wetter and healthier.

The Carbon Paradox: Why Burning Can Lock Away More Carbon Than Cutting

Dr. Heinemeier's research reveals another counter-intuitive outcome. While a controlled burn causes an immediate and visible loss of carbon in the form of smoke, this doesn't tell the whole story.

The incomplete combustion that occurs during cool, controlled burning creates a highly stable form of carbon called biochar. This charcoal becomes incorporated into the soil, where it does not easily decompose and can remain locked in the peat for hundreds or even thousands of years.

In contrast, cutting the heather leaves behind brush that decomposes over many years, continuously releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. When viewed over a 20-year cycle, the initial, one-time carbon loss from a controlled burn can be less than the sustained, cumulative carbon loss from the decomposition of cut vegetation.

When you also factor in the creation of stable biochar from burning, the long-term carbon balance can tip in its favour. As Dr. Heinemeier puts it, short-term studies are like comparing 'apples and pears'; only by looking at a 20-year cycle can we truly compare 'apples and apples' and see the full carbon picture.

Banning Controlled Burning Could Make Catastrophic Wildfires More Likely

According to Bruce Ferguson, Chair of the Scottish Wildfire Forum, controlled burning is not just a vegetation management practice; it is a critical firefighting tool. A regular rotation of small, controlled burns creates a "mosaic pattern" of varied vegetation heights and fuel loads across the vast moorland landscape.

This mosaic acts as a series of natural firebreaks. When an uncontrolled wildfire ignites, these patches of low fuel slow its spread and reduce its intensity, buying valuable time for firefighters. Furthermore, these recently burned areas provide safer zones from which firefighting crews can mount their operations.

 Without this land management tool, experts warn, continuous and heavy fuel loads across the moors would dramatically increase the risk of larger, faster, and more uncontrollable wildfires.

"The ability to manage the fuel and create a mosaic pattern across the countryside... allows us the opportunity when we do get wildfires to have that broken fuel continuation so the fire shouldn't spread as quickly or as far."

- Bruce Ferguson, Chair of the Scottish Wildfire Forum

The Debate Over Regulation Continues

While controlled burning remains a contentious issue in moorland management policy, experts emphasize that the focus should be on preventing actual harm rather than blanket restrictions. Many practitioners argue that the solution is straightforward: legislate against the 'intentional or reckless burning of peat' itself.

This approach would penalize destructive practices while preserving controlled burning as a vital tool for skilled land managers who understand how to protect, rather than damage, these critical ecosystems.

The key distinction remains between controlled surface vegetation burning, which protects peat, and the reckless burning that allows fire to reach and damage the peat layer itself.

Critics of overly restrictive policies argue that broad bans risk removing an essential tool from those who use it responsibly, potentially leading to worse outcomes for both carbon storage and wildfire risk.

A Call for Nuance

The issue of moorland management is far more complex than it first appears, and many common assumptions about burning are challenged by the science and practical experience of those on the ground.

According to wildfire specialists, researchers, and land managers, skilled, controlled burning is a critical tool for protecting the vast carbon stores in our peatlands from the far greater threat of catastrophic wildfire.

As our climate becomes hotter and drier, increasing the risk of extreme fire events, we must carefully consider whether blanket restrictions on traditional land management practices serve our environmental goals.

The evidence suggests that well-executed controlled burning, practiced by those who understand the landscape, may be essential for protecting both our moorlands and the climate.

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