Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imagery
Abstract In the Scottish uplands, prescribed burning of moorland vegetation is widely practised either to boost gamebird numbers for recreational shooting or to improve livestock grazing. In recent years, this system of land management has become controversial due to concerns over the potential impa...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12296 |
| _version_ | 1797359928370790400 |
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| author | B. D. Spracklen D. V. Spracklen |
| author_facet | B. D. Spracklen D. V. Spracklen |
| author_sort | B. D. Spracklen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In the Scottish uplands, prescribed burning of moorland vegetation is widely practised either to boost gamebird numbers for recreational shooting or to improve livestock grazing. In recent years, this system of land management has become controversial due to concerns over the potential impacts on ecosystem services. However, there are limited data on the extent, distribution or frequency of burning and it is unclear whether there are long‐term trends in burning. Crucially, the extent of burning on peat soils is not well known. We used a time series of Landsat imagery covering 7750 km2 of moorland in Eastern Scotland to detect annual variation in area burnt from 1985 to 2022. Burnt areas were detected using annual changes in Normalised Burn Ratio. An accuracy evaluation conducted over eight sites covering 415 km2 using a combination of Google Earth imagery, and field studies suggested a user's accuracy of 90% and a producer's accuracy of 77%. We estimate an average annual mean area burnt of 61 km2 with large interannual variability and no significant change in area burnt over the 38‐year study period. We estimate that 32% of burning (19 km2 year−1) occurred on deep peat soils with no reduction in burning on deep peat after the revision of national guidelines (the Muirburn Code) in 2017 recommended ceasing this practice. We find that in Eastern Scotland there has been no significant change in moorland area burnt over the last four decades. The fractional area burnt that is on deep peat is a matter of management concern. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:30:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d27b4f81a83540cab6770c8c55d05d1e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2688-8319 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:30:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
| spelling | doaj.art-d27b4f81a83540cab6770c8c55d05d1e2024-01-10T04:46:16ZengWileyEcological Solutions and Evidence2688-83192023-10-0144n/an/a10.1002/2688-8319.12296Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imageryB. D. Spracklen0D. V. Spracklen1School of Earth and Environment University of Leeds Leeds UKSchool of Earth and Environment University of Leeds Leeds UKAbstract In the Scottish uplands, prescribed burning of moorland vegetation is widely practised either to boost gamebird numbers for recreational shooting or to improve livestock grazing. In recent years, this system of land management has become controversial due to concerns over the potential impacts on ecosystem services. However, there are limited data on the extent, distribution or frequency of burning and it is unclear whether there are long‐term trends in burning. Crucially, the extent of burning on peat soils is not well known. We used a time series of Landsat imagery covering 7750 km2 of moorland in Eastern Scotland to detect annual variation in area burnt from 1985 to 2022. Burnt areas were detected using annual changes in Normalised Burn Ratio. An accuracy evaluation conducted over eight sites covering 415 km2 using a combination of Google Earth imagery, and field studies suggested a user's accuracy of 90% and a producer's accuracy of 77%. We estimate an average annual mean area burnt of 61 km2 with large interannual variability and no significant change in area burnt over the 38‐year study period. We estimate that 32% of burning (19 km2 year−1) occurred on deep peat soils with no reduction in burning on deep peat after the revision of national guidelines (the Muirburn Code) in 2017 recommended ceasing this practice. We find that in Eastern Scotland there has been no significant change in moorland area burnt over the last four decades. The fractional area burnt that is on deep peat is a matter of management concern.https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12296heather moorlandLandsatpeatlandprescribed burning |
| spellingShingle | B. D. Spracklen D. V. Spracklen Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imagery Ecological Solutions and Evidence heather moorland Landsat peatland prescribed burning |
| title | Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imagery |
| title_full | Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imagery |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imagery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imagery |
| title_short | Assessment of peatland burning in Scotland during 1985–2022 using Landsat imagery |
| title_sort | assessment of peatland burning in scotland during 1985 2022 using landsat imagery |
| topic | heather moorland Landsat peatland prescribed burning |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12296 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bdspracklen assessmentofpeatlandburninginscotlandduring19852022usinglandsatimagery AT dvspracklen assessmentofpeatlandburninginscotlandduring19852022usinglandsatimagery |