Controlled heather burning on the North Yorkshire Moors to prevent it growing long and lank which reduces its nutrition value

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Heather has to be kept young and vigorous by controlled fires, otherwise it grows long and lank and dies back, reducing its nutritional value. Burning is carried out by moor keepers between October and mid-April when small sections are burned carefully on a rotational cycle, which can be as little as 7 years where there is very vigorous growth or as long as 25 years where growth is slow. These fires are different to uncontrolled emergencies and are restricted by law to the period between October and mid-April.

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Size: 3750px × 5000px
Location: Castleton North Yorkshire England UK GB EU Europe
Photo credit: © Peter Jordan_NE / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: blaze, british, burning, control, controlled, english, environment, fire, flame, grazing, grouse, habitat, heather, improvement, moor, pjphoto59, safety, sheep, smoke