Keeping the park in Peak condition

Few visitors to the Peak District realise it is ‘man-made’. The 555 square miles of Britain’s first national park are maintained in their unwooded and heather-covered state by regular burning and grazing.

This is essential both for tourism and for the local industries of farming and grouse management, but conservationists argue that the current level of burning could have a disastrous effect on wildlife.

Researchers from the universities of Leeds, Durham and Sheffield have joined forces with Peak users to find new ways of detecting potential environmental problems and encouraging a more sustainable shared use of the land.

Klaus Hubacek from the school of earth and environment said: “We’re identifying the needs of those who work, live and play in the Peaks and their concerns for the future. We’ll then seek innovative ideas from local people, policy makers and researchers about how to meet current needs and adapt to future change.

“We’ll also identify indicators that people can use to monitor the sustainability of land-use under different scenarios so we can find ways that people can use the land sustainably to earn a living.”

In proposed follow-on research, management ideas and indicators will be evaluated to decide which are most beneficial all round. The department for food, environment and rural affairs is conducting a review of the heather and grass burning code, using this research as a key resource. The review, to be completed by late summer, will form the basis of government policy on moorland burning.

For more information see http://www.env.leeds.ac.uk/~mreed/sustainableuplands/

Pictured: joining forces – school of earth and environment colleagues Mark Reed (left) and Klaus Hubacek