A Breath of Fresh Air: Pausing Burning on DPA’s High House Waste for 2025
Dartmoor’s dramatic landscapes have been shaped over millennia by both natural processes and human activity. Maintaining this upland ecosystem requires ongoing intervention, especially in areas where highly competitive vegetation, like Purple-moor Grass and Gorse, threaten biodiversity and can potentially disrupt habitats. Controlled burning, known locally as swaling, has long been a cornerstone of moorland management. However, for 2025, we’re embarking on an alternative method at High House Waste: pausing controlled burning and trialling low impact cutting and scrub removal methods instead. This initiative represents a shift toward more sustainable land management practices, and it could offer a glimpse into the future of upland conservation on Dartmoor. Here’s why we’re making this change and what we hope to achieve.
What Is Controlled Burning, and Why Pause It?
Controlled burning, or swaling, has traditionally been used on Dartmoor to manage gorse, scrub and grass overgrowth by setting fire to selected areas of vegetation during the winter months. This method helps to:
- Clear overgrown vegetation: Swaling prevents gorse and scrub from dominating the landscape, which is essential for maintaining open moorland.
- Promote fresh growth: Fire encourages new shoots to grow, creating feeding opportunities for grazing livestock and wildlife.
- Support biodiversity: In some cases, the resulting mosaic of burnt and unburnt patches supports diverse habitats.
However, as effective as burning can be, it has significant drawbacks:
- Carbon Emissions
Burning releases carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere, contradicting efforts to combat climate change. While Dartmoor’s controlled burning program is carefully managed, its contribution to emissions cannot be ignored in today’s climate-sensitive world. - Risks to Wildlife
Although planned burns are timed to avoid wildlife breeding seasons, fires can still disturb or displace animals. Ground-nesting birds are particularly vulnerable, along with insects and reptiles. - Soil Health and Erosion
The intense heat from burning can damage the upper soil layers, potentially reducing fertility and increasing erosion risk. Over time, this can affect the resilience of the landscape. - Unintended Fires
Even with the best precautions, there’s always a risk that a controlled burn could spread, especially in unseasonably dry conditions.
These challenges have motivated us to explore new, lower-impact techniques for vegetation management.
Low-Impact Cutting: An Alternative Approach to Scrub Control
Low-impact cutting and removal uses both mechanical tools, such as flail mowers and brush cutters, and of course hand tools, to remove gorse and scrub without relying on fire. This method offers numerous benefits:
- Environmental
By avoiding burning, we significantly reduce carbon emissions. This aligns with national and global efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate climate change. Additionally, cutting preserves the integrity of the soil, avoiding the nutrient loss and erosion risks associated with fire.
- Reduce Disturbance
Unlike burning, cutting is far less disruptive to wildlife. The gradual and more controlled nature of mechanical or hand clearing means animals have time to relocate and adapt. This is particularly beneficial for upland breeding bird species, which rely on gorse and scrub for nesting and feeding.
- Precision Management
Low-impact cutting allows us to selectively target overgrown areas while leaving intact patches that are ecologically valuable. This tailored approach ensures that we maintain the diversity of habitats that make Dartmoor so special. Our aim is that this precision will help maintain the natural processes of Dartmoor’s ecosystems.
Why High House Waste?
High House Waste is an ideal location for trialling this new method. Situated in the heart of Dartmoor, this area is characterized by dense gorse thickets interspersed with open heathland. It’s a prime example of how vegetation overgrowth can alter the landscape, threatening both biodiversity and the traditional grazing practices that have shaped Dartmoor for generations.
The trial will focus on:
- Vegetation management: Reducing gorse and scrub density while promoting regrowth of heathland and mire species.
- Wildlife and Soil monitoring: Studying the impacts of cutting on bird, insect, and mammal populations, along with the impact on soil health.
The results from High House Waste will guide future decisions about scaling this method to other parts of Dartmoor. High House Waste will serve as the testing ground for this sustainable approach. Over the next year, we’ll closely monitor its effects on vegetation, wildlife, and soil health. This trial will help us determine whether low impact cutting can replace burning more broadly across Dartmoor.
What’s Next?
By shifting from controlled burning to low impact cutting, we aim to set a new standard for sustainable land management. Your support and feedback are crucial as we embark on this new venture. We’ll share updates on the trial’s progress and insights into its impact on Dartmoor’s iconic landscape. Dartmoor’s future depends on how we care for it today. By trialling low impact cutting, we’re taking a bold step towards a more sustainable and harmonious approach to land management. Together, we can ensure that this cherished moorland continues to inspire and sustain for years to come.
Dr Luke Sutton, DPA Ecologist and Land Manager