Managed moorland

Overall vulnerability

Feature(s) assessed:

• Managed moorland

Special qualities:

• Landscapes that tell a story of thousands of years of people, farming and industry

Feature description:

Moorland refers to unenclosed land in the uplands made up of a mosaic of vegetation types including wet heath, dry heath and blanket bog. For the purposes of this assessment, managed moorlands refer to those managed via rough grazing and rotational burning. These managed moorlands cover several thousand hectares within the PDNP and are particularly prevalent along the eastern side of the Dark Peak.

These landscapes have been used by humans for thousands of years, from early post-glacial hunting and gathering to establishing settlements and agriculture when the climate allowed. Later when the climate made these areas uninhabitable they were used for livestock grazing. Since the early 19th century most open heather moorlands have also been managed for grouse shooting. Whilst shooting and grazing rights are held separately, the management of the land involves all tenants. In addition, the peat and soils underneath these managed moorlands are valuable archives of information about their history, for example historic pollution or buried archaeology, and land use from prehistoric times to the present day.

How vulnerable is managed moorland?

Managed moorland in the PDNP has been rated ‘high’ on our vulnerability scale. This score is due to high sensitivity and exposure to climate change variables, coupled with a variable current condition, and a moderate adaptive capacity.

Managed moorland is in an insecure condition in the PDNP, subject to numerous pressures and often dependent on agricultural payment schemes. It will be particularly sensitive to increases in wildfire and changes in annual precipitation regimes. This is due to the huge detrimental impact that wildfire can have on these landscapes and the sensitivity of the plants to water availability. Managed moorland has some capacity to adapt, but is reliant on funding to facilitate this.

Current condition:

Farming sheep in the uplands is largely reliant on agricultural payment schemes without which it would be financially unviable. The planned changes in the emerging new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) (‘public money for public good’) may cause major changes to moorland management. Even without such changes, evidence shows a marked decline in the number of people employed in agriculture over the past decade alongside increasing diversification to support farm income.

Both heather beetle and Phytophthora are present in the PDNP. Heather beetle larvae feed on the leaves of heather stripping them bare. Phytophthora is a fungus-like organism, which causes damage to a wide variety of plants, with bilberry being of particular concern in moorland environments.

Red grouse are susceptible to Cryptosporidium 'bulgy eye’, which has been present in the PDNP since 2010. Additionally, Louping ill is a tick borne viral disease present in England, which affects both sheep and grouse.

Until recently, hundreds of hectares of highly erodible bare peat covered some of these moorlands. While many of these areas have been revegetated, erosion channels still exist and some pockets of bare peat remain, making some areas unsuitable for sheep or grouse management. The peat of the PDNP is also highly contaminated from historic industrial pollution, containing high levels of heavy metals.

Traces of human activity on the moorland span the last 12,000 years, with the lower upland shelves and the high moorland fringes being key areas of activity. Moorland management itself has left its own archaeological signature.

What are the potential impacts of climate change?

Overall potential impact rating

Direct impacts of climate change

Extreme events, such as heavy rain and severe wind may lead to greater erosion of soils and damage to underlying archaeology. Waterlogged ground could lead to changes in plant productivity and below ground biomass, for example root dieback due to anoxic conditions. These extreme events could cause altered community composition, making upland grazing and grouse moor management less suitable. Data Certainty: High

Drier summers could result in increased fire risk, especially in heather dominated areas. In contrast, wetter winters could lead to drier heath and dwarf shrubs becoming waterlogged. Bracken may become more dominant due to these changes as it is highly competitive. Both of these climate change impacts could cause the loss of nesting and feeding habitat. This may reduce the suitability of some land for upland grazing and grouse moor management. Data Certainty: High

Increased annual mean temperatures and warmer winters may result in dwarf shrubs becoming less dominant as more competitive and better-adapted plants become established. In some areas, mixed heath may be lost as it shifts to acid grassland or other habitat types. Management could move towards grazing rather than grouse shooting if heather moorland decreases. Data Certainty: Moderate

Wetter winters could result in increased nitrogen deposition resulting in habitat structure and composition changes. A reduction in the quality of heather may mean some areas are less suitable for grouse, meaning management for shooting becomes unsustainable. Data Certainty: Moderate

Other indirect climate change impacts

Extreme periods of drought coupled with heather moorland could potentially result in wildfire burning large areas of moorland and mixed heath. The loss of vegetation could cause an increase in peat erosion and damage to palaeoenvironmental information and buried archaeology. Data Certainty: High

Warmer winters and summers risk the loss of dwarf shrubs, putting the habitat at risk as a minimum 25% cover is required to be classed as upland heath, a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) habitat. This habitat loss could lead to a decline in insect and bird communities. If a decline in grouse numbers occurred, it may no longer be viable to run shoots in some areas resulting in a change in management. Data Certainty: Moderate

Invasive or other species interactions

Warmer, wetter winters and drier summers may lead to increased damage from pest species, such as heather beetle, as well as an expansion of bracken to higher altitudes. These changes could lead to grouse moor management becoming less suitable in places, with a shift towards grazing if habitats change to grass dominated moorland. Data Certainty: High Wetter winters could result in increased nitrogen deposition which in turn could result in heather becoming more sensitive to heather beetle outbreaks. As a result of pests, poorer quality heather may mean habitat becomes less suitable for grouse moor management. Data Certainty: Moderate

Human behaviour change

Drier summers could make moorland less productive for grazing. If the same grazing levels are maintained then areas could be overgrazed and become damaged. Furthermore, spring burning could become increasingly difficult if droughts mean that the risk of uncontrollable fire is too high. This may reduce the suitability of both upland grazing and grouse moor management in some areas. Conversely any increase in grazing could be detrimental to underlying archaeology but it can also help to keep down scrub and tree regeneration, helping to protect buried features. Data Certainty: High

Hotter summers could result in increased visitor numbers. This in turn could lead to trampling of vegetation, increased erosion on popular routes, damage to buried archaeological features and increased disturbance of ground nesting birds, including grouse. Additionally, more visitors could result in higher wildfire risk. If such changes result in declining grouse numbers, shooting becomes less viable resulting in changes in management. Data Certainty: Moderate

Increased carbon dioxide levels and the resulting need for climate change mitigation may increase the demand for renewable energy installations. Such installations may be small scale for individual settlements or larger scale, such as wind farms. Increased demand for both tree establishment and small-scale hydropower on the moorland fringe is possible. Such installations may change the landscape character and possibly lead to management regime change as well as impacting upon buried archaeological features. Data Certainty: Moderate

Sedimentation or erosion

Wetter winters could lead to increased surface runoff and erosion of soil or peat. This is a particular risk as peat is already relatively thin in many areas. Once the peat has eroded down to the mineral surface underneath it is unlikely that moorland plants will colonise that area in the future, therefore these areas will not characteristically be moorlands. The root damage that this erosion could cause may lead to heather becoming increasingly sensitive to winter desiccation. Such changes may reduce the suitability of upland grazing and grouse moor management. Archaeological features of moorland management are also susceptible to soil erosion, especially on the moorland fringes where the evidence of transient prehistoric activity is greatest. Data Certainty: High

Nutrient changes or environmental contamination

Higher temperatures alongside increased nitrogen deposition could increase grass productivity. This could lead to intensification of grazing causing both increased erosion and nutrient loading, changing the distribution and character of heather moorland. Management may shift towards grazing and away from shooting management in some areas. Data Certainty: High

What is the adaptive capacity of managed moorland?

Overall adaptive capacity rating

More diverse mixed heath areas are much more capable of adapting than large, heather dominated areas. Moorland is also relatively diverse and resilient along climatic gradients, as upland heath grades into lowland heath, montane heath and blanket bog. Low intensity management regimes that encourage more species diversity will likely be more resilient than intensively managed land with high stocking densities and homogeneous vegetation types. Data Certainty: High

Large areas of upland heath and blanket bog with high topographic variability and spatial heterogeneity of habitats have an increased resilience. Mobile species, such as red grouse, are also more resilient. Due to the climatic gradient across the PDNP red grouse are more likely to persist for longer in the Dark Peak than the South West Peak. Data Certainty: High

The relatively high growth rate of heather increases its resilience; however erosion lowers this capacity by reducing the seedbank. In contrast, peat’s regenerative capacities are extremely low. Peat can erode by more than 3cm every year but only accumulates at a rate of 1mm per year. Current moorland restoration techniques, such as plug planting of dwarf shrubs, are currently used to revegetate sites where the seedbank is not sufficient. Data Certainty: Moderate

The economic viability of upland sheep farming is dependent upon agricultural payment schemes, reducing the industry’s resilience. Driven grouse shooting and its associated management is currently economically viable, but its future looks uncertain. The current revegetation, rewetting and diversification underway to create a healthier blanket bog may help combat some stressors as the habitat becomes more resilient and aids in the protection of archaeology. Data Certainty: Moderate

The diversity of moorland ownership (for example water companies, National Trust and private estates) may support the offset of some climate change stressors. Furthermore, works aimed at improving the condition of degraded moorlands are underway by several organisations and private estates. These include Moors for the Future Partnership, National Trust and RSPB. Data Certainty: Moderate The restoration and rewetting of moorland may reduce the impact of drier summers and wetter winters through increased water retention and plant diversity. Greater shady areas in cloughs may also contribute to this due to tree establishment. Data Certainty: Moderate

Whilst conservation work aimed at improving the condition of moorlands is currently underway, the southerly location of the PDNP in the UK reduces its capacity to adapt. Additionally, there are disagreements surrounding future land use. While there is support for revegetating bare peat other changes may be more contentious between the various organisations in the future. Data Certainty: Moderate

Key adaptation recommendations for managed moorland:

Improve current condition to increase resilience

The current condition of a feature is an important factor alongside its sensitivity and exposure, in determining its vulnerability to climate change. These recommendations are aimed at improving the condition of the feature at present, therefore making it better able to withstand future changes to climate.

• Target re-creation and restoration around existing managed moorland areas to reduce edge effects and increase core area, reducing the effects of fragmentation.
• Adapt management intensity to the changing characteristics of the moorland.
• Explore the benefits of ‘wilding’ in areas where current management is dependent on payment through environmental land management schemes.
• Guide management strategies based on the carbon storage potential of peatlands.
• Ensure that cultural heritage is fully embedded in moorland management plans and the cultural complexity of moorlands is understood (See Buried soils, archaeological remains and deposits and Palaeoenvironmental remains and sequences for associated recommendations).

Improve current condition to increase resilience: Targeted conservation efforts for important sites and at risk areas

The current condition of a feature is an important factor alongside its sensitivity and exposure, in determining its vulnerability to climate change. These recommendations are conservation measures aimed at those sites that will have the biggest impact for this feature – either because they are particularly important for the feature or because they are most at risk from climate change.

• Improve visitor management in areas of high wildfire risk by developing visitor management plans.
• Improve the knowledge of cultural heritage features to help target conservation efforts.

Improve current condition to increase resilience: Increase structural diversity to improve resilience at a landscape scale

The current condition of a feature is an important factor alongside its sensitivity and exposure, in determining its vulnerability to climate change. These recommendations focus on increasing the structural diversity of the area or habitat in which the feature is found. This can help to offset the effects of climate change on the feature, as well as to allow it to be in a better position to recover from future climate changes.

• Diversify single species dominated areas into mixed heath and bog. Encourage a mosaic of habitat types.
• Diversify land management techniques.