Heathland Restoration and Expansion

It’s unlikely, today, that substantial areas of lowland heathland in Wales will be lost to agricultural reclamation or to development as they were in previous times. But even if the threats of the past are not the dangers of the future, there is still no room for complacency. Today, the biggest threats to our lowland heath are neglect and abandonment – and they pose just as big a problem for its future survival.

Much has been achieved in recent years to protect vulnerable areas such as lowland heath from massive loss to agricultural and other development, including:

• Changes in agricultural support systems
• The introduction of the Environmental Impact Assessment (uncultivated land and semi-natural areas)(Wales) Regulations 2002
• More comprehensive planning systems in Unitary Authorities in Wales
• Commitment to protecting biodiversity through Local Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAPs) – twelve of these contain Habitat Action plans for lowland heathland

But reversing the decline in the quality and quantity of lowland heaths also requires both the restoration of existing heathlands and the expansion and linking of fragmented sites.

CCW has worked, and continues to work, with landowners and partner organisations to improve lowland heath management: scrub clearance; controlled heather burning; heather and gorse cutting; and the reintroduction or enhancement of sustainable grazing – all have helped to slow down the trend in lowland heathland decline.

Restoration of neglected heathlands is, however, a costly and time-consuming business. There is financial support available for the management of semi-natural habitats, through agri-environment schemes such as Tir Cymen and Tir Gofal. Sadly though, many lowland heathland sites are in such poor condition that they need large amounts of capital and manpower just to bring them to a condition where they can be brought back into agricultural management. Often landowners do not have the resources to clear and restore neglected heathland to the standard needed to protect the nature conservation interests of the habitat.

More problematical still is the establishment of long-term, sustainable grazing regimes. Landowners and graziers need to be convinced of the value of previously neglected lowland heath sites before committing to grazing. In addition, many farmers do not have appropriate stock for the ongoing management of these sites, many of which require grazing by heavy stock, such as hardy beef cattle like the Welsh Black, rather than sheep.

Even after restoration, small sites can be difficult to manage both practically and financially. Thus the expansion of small sites and the linking of fragments are essential for the long-term survival of lowland heathland.