Author Correction: Experimental evidence for sustained carbon sequestration in fire-managed, peat moorlands

Marrs, R. H.; Marsland, E.-L.; Lingard, R.; Appleby, P. G.; Piliposyan, Gayane; Rose, Rob; O’Reilly, John E.; Milligan, G. C.; Allen, Katherine A.; Alday, Josu G.; Santana, Víctor M.; Lee, H.; Halsall, Karen; Chiverrell, Richard

doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0303-0

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…A&H suggested that the EMBER work was problematic, proposing that geographical variation had not been considered. This critique follows recent notable debates on aspects of UK moorland burning (Brown et al, 2016, Davies et al, 2016a, Davies et al, 2016b, Douglas et al, 2016, Evans et al, 2019, Heinemeyer et al, 2019 and addendums to research papers due to a lack of transparency from some authors regarding competing interests (Marrs et al, 2019a). To date, there has been no detailed wider analysis of the funding source or competing interests of scientists contributing to these debates to understand if this is a broader issue that should be taken into account.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…We have concerns about the potential for undeclared funding and other conflicts of interest that may entirely undermine the conclusions of some moorland burning research studies (e.g. Marrs et al, 2019a). In the version of their EMBER commentary paper that was subject to peer review and editorial decision, A&H declared no funding for their work.…”

Section: Potential Sponsorship Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contextualising UK moorland burning studies: geographical versus potential sponsorship-bias effects on research conclusions

Holden

2019

Preprint

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1. It has recently been claimed that geographical variability resulted in false conclusions from some studies examining the impacts of prescribed moorland burning, including the Effects of Moorland Burning on the Ecohydrology of River basins (EMBER) project. We provide multiple lines of evidence to contradict these claims and show that the EMBER results are reliable. 2.A systematic review of the literature also confirms that EMBER conclusions were not out of line with the majority of other published UK studies on responses to prescribed burning of Sphagnum growth/abundance, soil properties, hydrological change, or peat exposure and erosion.3. We suggest that sponsorship-bias is associated with some recent research conclusions related to moorland burning. Thus, it is of grave concern when sponsorship or other potential conflicts of interest are not declared on publications related to moorland burning. 4. We show that sponsorship and other conflicts of interest were not declared on a recent publication that criticised the EMBER project, thereby entirely undermining that critical assessment. . (2009) Effects of managed burning upon dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in soil water and runoff water following a managed burn of a UK blanket bog.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Potential Sponsorship Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualising UK moorland burning studies: geographical versus potential sponsorship-bias effects on research conclusions

Holden

2019

Preprint

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“…The critique represents part of an intense debate about UK moorland burning (Baird et al., 2019; Brown, Holden, & Palmer, 2016; Davies et al., 2016; Douglas, Buchanan, Thompson, & Wilson, 2016; Evans et al, 2019). Most recently, some studies on peat and carbon accumulation (Heinemeyer, Asena, Burn, & Jones, 2018; Marrs et al., 2019b) were suggested to have overstated conclusions due to use of incorrect methods (Young et al., 2019), and these papers have required corrections to clarify perceived competing interests (Heinemeyer et al., 2018; Marrs et al., 2019a). At the same time, as researchers are increasingly required to evidence societal impact of their work, perceived decreases in public funding mean that researchers are seeking to diversify research funding, which may include sponsors with some form of agenda.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing UK moorland burning studies with geographical variables and sponsor identity

Brown

Holden

2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…The Game and Wildlife Trust) competing interests, and issues with the broader comparability of study sites have, however, been raised in relation to Marrs et al (2019a) (Baird et al, 2019Marrs et al 2019b).…”

Section: Carbon Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation fires in temperate upland heaths: environmental impacts, recovery, and management implications

Harper¹

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The impacts of wildfires are diverse and highly variable dependent on location, habitat type, site conditions and fire severity. Wildfire impact research is however, limited across large areas of the UK presenting an issue for the creation of effective site-specific management planning in a number of areas and habitat types. To address this issue in the Brecon Beacons National Park (south Wales), research was conducted assessing post-fire: i) vegetation community composition; ii) soil physical and chemical properties; iii) ash chemical composition and toxicity. The primary conclusions from this research suggests vegetation community composition and soil physicochemical properties are able to recover relatively rapidly to long unburnt conditions (>11-years and >3-years, respectively) following wildfire events in dry heaths with shallow organic soils. The fast rates of post-fire vegetation recovery across the assessed sites are likely due to the species-poor, dwarf-shrub dominated, pre-fire conditions reducing the time required for the vegetation community to return to this low species diversity. Soil physicochemical properties showed limited impact from the fires, likely due to the high moisture retention of the surface organic soil layer having resulted in limited soil heating and depth penetration. Wider environmental concerns are raised by the ash composition, which showed remarkably high concentrations of potentially toxic substances such as, metallic elements (e.g. Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn and As) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), compared to ash from other environments and vegetation types. These conclusions pose important questions about the future of temperate heaths, the priorities of future upland management and highlight numerous areas for further research.

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Author Correction: Experimental evidence for sustained carbon sequestration in fire-managed, peat moorlands

Abstract: In the version of this Article originally published, the authors neglected to include information on Competing Interests. The below has now been included in all versions of the Article.

Cited by 3 publications

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Contextualising UK moorland burning studies: geographical versus potential sponsorship-bias effects on research conclusions

Contextualising UK moorland burning studies: geographical versus potential sponsorship-bias effects on research conclusions

Contextualizing UK moorland burning studies with geographical variables and sponsor identity

Vegetation fires in temperate upland heaths: environmental impacts, recovery, and management implications

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