A field assessment of the role of selective herbicides in the restoration of British moorland dominated by Molinia

Milligan, A. L.; Putwain, P. D.; Marrs, Rob H.

doi:10.1016/s0006-3207(02)00163-5

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Our experiment confirmed the effectiveness of herbicide use when combined with other methods of shrub control, which was also demonstrated by other studies (Delanoy & Archibold 2007;Hartman & McCarthy 2004;Milligan et al 2003). As we Figure 6.…”

Section: Article In Presssupporting

confidence: 90%

Methods of limiting willow shrub re-growth after initial removal on fen meadows

Klimkowska¹,

Dzierża²,

Brzezińska³

2010

Journal for Nature Conservation

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Section: Article In Presssupporting

confidence: 90%

Methods of limiting willow shrub re-growth after initial removal on fen meadows

Klimkowska¹,

Dzierża²,

Brzezińska³

2010

Journal for Nature Conservation

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“…However, the results from the subsidiary disturbance study indicated that further intervention was needed, either physical disturbance/removal of leaf litter or the addition of Calluna seed. This has been confirmed in more extensive field experiments (Milligan 1998; Milligan, Putwain & Marrs 2003) and in practical land management projects (G. Eyre, personal communication).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…The ideal solution would be to use a selective herbicide (graminicide) that does not damage or kill Calluna but kills Molinia . A range of graminicides has been tested (King & Davies 1963; Phillips 1995; Milligan 1998; Milligan, Putwain & Marrs 1999, 2003; Ross, Adamson & Mood 2003) with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately, these graminicides are not presently approved for Molinia control in the British uplands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While it is possible that the acidic grassland is a stage on the way towards an increase in dwarf shrub, this cannot be guaranteed, so a decision would have to be taken to either (i) accept an acidic grassland as an alternative endpoint or (ii) apply additional restoration treatments to encourage dwarf shrub invasion. This might involve the application of graminicides (Milligan, Putwain & Marrs 1999, 2003) or the use of herbicide (glyphosate or selective graminicide) applied by weed wiper (Milligan 1998). Finally, once a mixed Molinia – Calluna mosaic has been achieved, it is essential to manage the moorland using a balanced programme of appropriate burning regime plus controlled grazing to prevent further damage to, or loss of Calluna , and thus ensure long‐term sustainability (Hulme et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Control of Molinia caerulea on upland moors

Marrs¹,

Phillips²,

Todd³

et al. 2004

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary 1.Molinia encroachment has been viewed as a major threat to moorland conservation in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. In England and Wales agri-environment schemes are in place that aim to reduce Molinia caerulea and encourage the development of dwarf shrub vegetation. We tested a range of management treatments to achieve these objectives in two regions (the North Peaks and Yorkshire Dales) in England. 2. Within each region, the same experiment was carried out on two types of moorland vegetation, Molinia -dominated 'white' moorland and a mixture of Molinia and Calluna vulgaris 'grey' moorland. Burning, grazing and herbicide (glyphosate) treatments were applied in factorial combination at each of the four sites (two regions × two moor types). The responses of both vegetation and individual species were assessed. In addition, on the white moors two techniques for Calluna re-establishment were investigated, (i) removal of Molinia litter by raking and (ii) application of Calluna seed. 3. The data were analysed using a combination of univariate and multivariate analysis of variance to identify trends in this complex data set. 4. The only treatment that had consistent effects in the univariate analysis of variance was glyphosate application, which had similar effects on Molinia at all study sites. There was little difference between the use of low and high application rates (0·27 and 0·54 kg ai ha). There was little impact of herbicide use on other moorland species. Some species were affected on some sites in some years, but there were no consistent effects. Tentative identification of species that responded positively, negatively and erratically to glyphosate application was made. 5. Greater Calluna seedling densities were found in the plots where herbicide was applied, the Molinia litter was removed and seed was added. However, after initial colonization, there was a reduction in Calluna seedling densities as the Molinia recovered. This indicated that disturbance, seed addition and follow-up management are required for successful Calluna establishment. 6. There were significant differences in community response between both the regions and moorland types. The Dales had a relatively greater contribution of grassland species than the Peaks, where the grey site had a relatively greater dwarf shrub component. 7. Burning had little effect on community composition but both grazing and herbicide application had important effects. Grazing of the grey sites, even at the very low levels used in this study, tended to push the communities towards bog-moorland vegetation, but little effect was found at the white sites. Glyphosate treatment tended to push communities towards acidic grassland at the Dales grey site but not at the Peaks. Successional change was also noted, with marked change between the third and fourth year and again between the fifth and six year. Grey sites showed the greatest temporal change. 8. Synthesis and applications . In terms of Molinia control and subsequent restoration of dwarf shrubs, there was...

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“…In the long-term, wildfires can alter species composition and diversity [5,11,[13][14][15][16]. As a result, typical heathland species, such as Erica tetralix and Calluna vulgaris, are replaced by dominant grasses, such as Molinia caerulea [7,12,[17][18][19]. Important to note, these degraded heathlands become even more vulnerable to wildfires [12]: Molinia caerulea produces large amounts of highly flammable dead grass material, thus, risking to drag the heathland into a self-reinforcing cycle of Molinia caerulea establishment [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burned Area Detection and Burn Severity Assessment of a Heathland Fire in Belgium Using Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy (APEX)

et al. 2014

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Uncontrolled, large fires are a major threat to the biodiversity of protected heath landscapes. The severity of the fire is an important factor influencing vegetation recovery. We used airborne imaging spectroscopy data from the Airborne Prism Experiment (APEX) sensor to: (1) investigate which spectral regions and spectral indices perform best in discriminating burned from unburned areas; and (2) assess the burn severity of a recent fire in the Kalmthoutse Heide, a heathland area in Belgium. A separability index was used to estimate the effectiveness of individual bands and spectral indices to discriminate between burned and unburned land. For the burn severity analysis, a modified version of the Geometrically structured Composite Burn Index (GeoCBI) was developed for the field data collection. The field data were collected in four different vegetation types: Calluna vulgaris-dominated heath (dry heath), Erica tetralix-dominated heath (wet heath), Molinia caerulea (grass-encroached heath), and coniferous woodland. Discrimination 1804 between burned and unburned areas differed among vegetation types. For the pooled dataset, bands in the near infrared (NIR) spectral region demonstrated the highest discriminatory power, followed by short wave infrared (SWIR) bands. Visible wavelengths performed considerably poorer. The Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) outperformed the other spectral indices and the individual spectral bands in discriminating between burned and unburned areas. For the burn severity assessment, all spectral bands and indices showed low correlations with the field data GeoCBI, when data of all pre-fire vegetation types were pooled (R 2 maximum 0.41). Analysis per vegetation type, however, revealed considerably higher correlations (R 2 up to 0.78). The Mid Infrared Burn Index (MIRBI)had the highest correlations for Molinia and Erica (R 2 = 0.78 and 0.42, respectively).In Calluna stands, the Char Soil Index (CSI) achieved the highest correlations, with R 2 = 0.65. In Pinus stands, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the red wavelength both had correlations of R 2 = 0.64. The results of this study highlight the superior performance of the NBR to discriminate between burned and unburned areas, and the disparate performance of spectral indices to assess burn severity among vegetation types. Consequently, in heathlands, one must consider a stratification per vegetation type to produce more reliable burn severity maps.

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A field assessment of the role of selective herbicides in the restoration of British moorland dominated by Molinia

Cited by 19 publications

References 17 publications

Methods of limiting willow shrub re-growth after initial removal on fen meadows

Methods of limiting willow shrub re-growth after initial removal on fen meadows

Control of Molinia caerulea on upland moors

Burned Area Detection and Burn Severity Assessment of a Heathland Fire in Belgium Using Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy (APEX)

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