Q&A on burning
Why don’t you use controlled burning on Marsden Moor?
We don’t burn on Marsden Moor, as this can severely damage the peat that covers our uplands. Healthy peatlands are an important tool for trapping carbon, even more so than trees. When peatlands are burned, those fires can dry out the moorland, increasing the erosion of the peat soils. This can lead to fast run off, as water cannot be easily absorbed into the landscape. When peat is exposed, it also becomes a carbon emitter, rather than a carbon store. Instead of using controlled burning, we focus on re-wetting the moorland to reduce the risk of fire spreading and to restore the blanket bog.
Burning can also harm the biodiversity on our moors, as some plants cannot cope with being burnt on a regular basis. Whilst it may look like the moors have recovered quickly after being burnt, it is because dominant grass species are the first to grow back. These grasses outcompete heather, cotton grass and sphagnum moss, leading to further drying of the moors. Fire can also kill insects and animals such as small mammals and reptiles.
Other upland sites burn, why not here?
The moors around Marsden and across the South Pennines are especially dry and degraded due to years of acid rain damage during the industrial revolution. This means the peat on these moors is very vulnerable, with much of it exposed. Burning these areas would cause even further damage, and release carbon into the atmosphere.