An important part of managing heathland is removing young trees, which are often called 'scrub'. This is necessary to prevent the heathland being lost and replaced with poor quality woodland. This woodland is often called 'secondary woodland' to distinguish it from ancient woodland. Ancient woodland has a much longer history and is much richer in wildlife.

In Surrey, the main tree species growing on heaths are Scots pine and silver birch. These are cut and sometimes turned into woodchip, which can be converted to compost or used to generate heat and power. Some cut trees send up several new shoots (or ‘coppice’) when they are cut. In these cases we sometimes use a herbicide to treat the tree stump. If an area is being grazed, this might control the regrowth without needing the herbicide.

Restoring heathland

In some cases when heathland has disappeared under invading trees, it can be restored. Heather seed can survive for as long as 80 years in the soil. When the tree cover is removed and more light reaches the ground, the dormant seeds can germinate and new plants grow.

Turf stripping

To speed up the process of heather regeneration, sometimes the ‘litter layer’ of leaves and pine needles on the surface is removed. Turf stripping can also be useful where an area has been taken over by bracken or invasive grasses like wavy hair-grass and purple moor-grass. It initially leaves bare ground, which is very valuable for heathland invertebrates such as solitary bees and wasps.

Cutting heather

Sometimes heather is cut to regenerate the plants. This leads to plants of different sizes and suits a range heathland wildlife that depends on different ages of heather. Cutting heather is mostly used to create firebreaks, which help to stop fires spreading across the heath.

Keeping the soil poor

Removing scrub, leaf litter and some heather from heathland helps to stop nutrients and fertility building up in the soil. Heathland plants are adapted to poor conditions, but if the soil becomes richer it is easier for more common plants to move in, and harder for them to compete.