Gamekeepers call on government to protect role of controlled burning to stop spread of devastating wildfires
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GAMEKEEPERS are calling on Scottish Government to protect the practice of muirburn and acknowledge its role in preventing wildfires and protecting carbon stores.
Millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases have been released into the atmosphere during recent wildfires in Moray and the Flow Country, Galloway.
The Knockando wildfire in April last year was one of the biggest in the UK in years. It devastated 10 miles of habitat over four days.
Scotland's Regional Moorland Groups said the fire started in an area where muirburn had been restricted for 10 years and banned for three.
More than 80 firefighters, including 50 gamekeepers, extinguished the blaze which reignited because it burnt down into the peat, releasing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon.
Gamekeepers are urging the Scottish Government to protect the role controlled muirburn plays in creating fire breaks which can prevent the spread of such catastrophic wildfires.
They say controlled burning and cutting of heather and grasses reduces the fuel available to burn, helping to stop out-of-control fires.
The group adds that a study has also found that quick surface burning over peatlands can help to protect the carbon stored below the surface.
The paper, published during lockdown in Global Change Biology, showed that low-severity fire, like that practiced by gamekeepers, enhances the long-term retention of carbon in peatlands.
The US scientists found that quick surface fires made moist peat more stable, often creating a protective crust which allowed it to retain more of its stored carbon for longer.
The study has significance in the climate emergency because, globally, peatlands lock in a third of global soil carbon.
The group has released a new film on the subject, titled Muirburn and the Climate Emergency.
Its co-ordinator, Lianne MacLennan, said: "Controlled muirburn prevents surface vegetation from building up.
"Without addressing the build-up of fuel, one match or a smouldering barbecue and you get the raging, damaging wildfires we are seeing more of in Scotland today.
"Unlike quick, controlled muirburn, these infernos can scorch everything for days and, if on peat, damage our efforts to control climate change because of the amount of carbon released into the air.
"In addition, what this new research shows is that fires with a low intensity, like managed muirburn on peatlands, actually protect the carbon below.
"Like any burning, some carbon will be released but, perhaps counter-intuitively, what this research shows is that these low intensity fires are actually helping to protect the vast carbon stores locked in the ground below."
Grouse moor gamekeepers undertake "cool" muirburn in strips or patches to provide food and habitat for grouse, sheep, and deer.
These quick burns remove surface vegetation but, unlike wildfire, do not ignite the peat below.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been exploring ways to reduce fuel load as part of wildfire mitigation.
Last year, it announced that it was due to trial the burning and cutting of vegetation following research from US, Canada and Australia.
