Information and Advisory Note Number 109
February 1999
Moorland audit and management in the
Northern Isles
1. Introduction
1.1 The purpose of this note is to make this multi-disciplinary project more widely known.
1.2 The moorlands of the British Isles support many habitats of European significance.
Considerable regional variation exists and the moorlands of the Northern Isles are outstanding for
their range of arctic and northern vegetation types, unusually combining both oceanic and
continental characteristics, and rich bird populations. Their sustainable management systems has
been a major concern of local NCC/SNH staff for many years.
1.3 On Orkney large areas of moorland were lost in the 19th century, to agricultural reclamation,
with the trend continuing into recent decades. By the late 1980s much of the remaining moorland
had been designated as SSSI and management agreements had been established for many
areas. There was a need to determine if agreement prescriptions were likely to achieve their aims.
1.4 On Shetland there had been trends towards keeping larger sheep breeds, substantial
increases in sheep numbers, and replacement of cattle by sheep. Extensive peat erosion on some
parts of Shetland had been identified in published reports as a possible consequence of such
changes. The launch of the Shetland Environmentally Sensitive Area on 14 February 1994 offered
an opportunity to influence agricultural management.
1.5 Incidents of unusually extensive heather dieback on both Orkney and Shetland were also a
cause for concern. On Orkney population explosions of Winter moth were known to be responsible
but on Shetland the cause was uncertain.
1.6 More generally, the Orkney and Shetland situations serve as approximate models for impacts
in the eastern and western uplands of Scotland respectively.
2. Objectives of the study
A project was commissioned in late 1992 assess present moorland extent and features of natural
heritage interest report on past loss from moorland and its causes assess, and indicatively map,
the present state of the moorland with respect to
(a) the economic and operational importance of heather moorland areas within the existing
farming and crofting systems;
(b) grazing intensities and stocking rates;
(c) burning intensities and frequencies;
(d) peat extraction practices;
(e) structural and landscape pattern characteristics of the vegetation;
(f) growth rates of Calluna ;
(g) the potential for regeneration of Calluna after peat extraction, burning, heavy grazing, and
dieback assess likely impacts of changes in moorland management practices and to suggest
optimal management scenarios undertake a pilot study of the arthropod fauna of the moorlands
undertake a pilot study of the composition and activity of moorland soil decomposer organisms.
2.2 The work was carried out by Land Resource Consultants (Department of Environmental
Science, University of Stirling) under the overall leadership of Dr. A.H. Kirkpatrick, with substantial
input from Dr. I.Simpson. The socio-economic work was led by Dr. N. Hanley of the Department of
Economics, University of Stirling. The invertebrate study was sub-contracted to Professor D.J.
Curtis of the University of Paisley. The RSPB made an important contribution by making available
information on fires and moorland breeding birds, and local SNH staff provided much valuable
information and assistance.
3. Data sources
3.1 Mostly, existing data sources were used as follows.
• Published geological accounts.
• Published palaeoecological and historical accounts.
• Published accounts of the ecology and natural heritage.
• Land Cover of Scotland 88 data.
• Maps of moorland changes on Orkney from 1932 to 1985.
• RSPB Moorland edge maps for Orkney 1981 and 1985.
• NCC Upland Survey vegetation maps for North Hoy, West Mainland, Orphir & Stenness Hills,
Ronas Hill & North Roe, Hermaness and North Fetlar SSSIs.
• RSPB information on distribution of red-throated diver, merlin, hen harrier, golden plover,
whimbrel, and short-eared owl.
• Records of botanical features of interest in site files and published sources.
• NCC/SNH National Countryside Monitoring Scheme sample square data (plus a 1994 field
update).
• SSSI & SPA boundaries.
3.2 New data were collected by field survey and aerial photograph interpretation for the following.
• Calluna growth rates.
• Calluna dieback characteristics.
• Muirburn characteristics and post-fire vegetation recovery.
• The extent and characteristics of peat cutting, and subsequent vegetation recovery .
• Grazing intensities, vegetation characteristics, and farm management and economics on a
stratified random sample of farms/grazing units (20 in Orkney, 19 in Shetland).
4. Analyses
4.1 Large amounts of map data were input to a Geographical Information System to allow spatial
analyses. The MLURI Hill Sheep
Grazing Model (V1.01) was used to explore potential impacts of grazing. Model results,
extrapolated using land type and management unit type, were used to provide an indicative map
of likely grazing pressures for both Orkney and Shetland. The economics analyses used a linear
programming model, in conjunction with the results from the grazing model, to study the possible
consequences of changing pastoral management and future economic scenarios.
5. Example results
¹Growth rates were comparable with those found at about 800 m in the Cairngorms. The highest
points on Orkney and Shetland are 479 m and 450 m respectively.
Figure 1. Indicative map of predicted grazing pressure on heather on Orkney moorlands: an aid to
prioritising moorland conservation initiatives.
6. Outputs
6.1 Outputs include: two substantial reports with accompanying A0 size maps; GIS data tape with
collated information; two SNH Research, Survey and Monitoring reports edited by the SNH
nominated officer; summarised information for Area staff to use as a basis for popular leaflets on
moorland and their management; 12 papers and posters presented to conferences; nine papers
published in refereed journals; and five complementary MSc/BSc dissertations.
7. Further reading and references
Simpson, I.A., Kirkpatrick, A.H., Scott, L, Gill, J.P., Hanley, N. & MacDonald, A.J. (1998).
Application of a grazing model to predict heather moorland utilization and implications for nature
conservation. Journal of Environmental Management 54, 215-231.
Hanley, N., Kirkpatrick, H., Simpson, I. & Oglethorpe, D. (1998). Principles for the provision of
public goods from agriculture: modelling moorland conservation in Scotland. Land Economics 74
(1), 102-113.
Kirkpatrick, A.H. & MacDonald, A.J. (1997). Calluna vulgaris (L) Hull dieback in Orkney, Scotland.
Watsonia 21,277-281.
Whitelaw, C. & Kirkpatrick, A.H. (1997). Heather moorland loss on the Northern Islands of Orkney.
Botanical Journal of Scotland A9 (1), 57-65.
Hanley, N., Kirkpatrick, H., Oglethorpe, D. & Simpson, I. (1996). Paying for public goods from
agriculture: an • application of the Provider Gets Principle to moorland conservation in Shetland.
Discussion papers in Ecological Economics 96/4, University of Stirling.
Hanley, N., Kirkpatrick, H., Simpson, I., Oglethorpe, D. & MacDonald, A. (1996). Ecologicaleconomic modelling of the conservation of threatened habitats: heather moorland in the Northern
Isles of Scotland. Biodiversity and Conservation 5,1207-1219.
Hanley, N., Kirkpatrick, H., Oglethorpe, D. & Simpson, I. (1995). Ecological-economic modelling of
the conservation of threatened habitats: heather moorland in the Northern Isles. Discussion
papers in Ecological Economics 95/4, University of Stirling.
Kirkpatrick, A.H., Scott, L. & MacDonald, A.J. (1995). Moorlands of Orkney: cultural landscapes. In
Thompson, D.B.A., Hester, A.J. & Usher, M.B. (Eds.), Heaths and Moorland: Cultural Landscapes,
HMSO.
Simpson, I.A., Scott, L, Kirkpatrick, A.H. & MacDonald, A.J. (1995). Sheep grazing on the
moorland landscapes of Orkney and its implications for nature conservation. In Griffiths, G.H. (Ed.)
Landscape Ecology: Theory and Application, pp40-48. Proceedings of the 4th Annual Conference
of the International Association of Landscape Ecologists.
Adam, M. (1996). The effect of the 1984 fire on Hoy on the moorland vegetation. B.Sc.
Dissertation, University of Stirling.
Gayfer, J. (1996). The regeneration ofpeatland vegetation after traditional peat cutting on
Shetland. B.Sc. Dissertation, University of Stirling.
Whitelaw, C. (1995). An assessment of heather moorland loss in the Orkney islands ofEday,
Rousay, Westray and Papa Westray and implications for management. M.Sc. Dissertation,
University of Stirling.
Alvin, S. (1994). The effect of the 1984 fire on Hoy on the vegetation, with particular reference to
the bryophyte community. M.Sc. Dissertation, University of Stirling.
Knox, A. (1994). An investigation of the short term recovery and subsequent medium term
development of blanket bog vegetation after traditional peat cutting operations on the West
Mainland moorlands of Orkney. M.Sc. Dissertation, University of Stirling.
8. Author
Angus MacDonald
Uplands Group, Advisory Services
Scottish Natural Heritage
2 Anderson Place, EDINBURGH
EH6 5NP
Tel: 0131-446 2474, Fax: 0131-446 2405