Scottish Bracken Working Group minutes: 27 June 2024

Attendees and apologies

Chair

• Jackie Hughes, Scottish Government

Attendees

• Alanis Maciver, Scottish Government
• Andrew Gouldstone, RSPB
• Brian Eardley, Scottish Government
• Eleanor Kay, Scottish Land and Estates
• John Armour, Scottish Government
• Katrina Candy, Moorland Forum
• Kirsty Hutchison, NatureScot
• Louise Roger, Historic Environment Scotland
• Nicky Downing, Natural Trust Scotland and Scottish Environment Link
• Richard Thompson, Forestry and Land Scotland
• Romy Strachan, Scottish Government
• Sarah Cowie, NFUS

Apologies

• Alison Seton, Scottish Government
• Colin Edwards, Forestry and Land Scotland
• Darrell Crothers, SEPA
• Jason Hubert, Scottish Forestry
• Simon Thorp, Bracken Control Group
• Stephanie Davies, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the second meeting. Those new to the group were given the opportunity to introduce themselves. It was noted no comments were received on the previous minutes and terms of reference so they have been accepted. It was agreed the action from the previous meeting was to be kept as outstanding for this meeting, to allow members further opportunity to input to the evidence review.  

Bracken guidance and strategic framework

Updated preliminary guidance on bracken management has been published: UK best practice guidance - bracken management (nature.scot).  

Due to the pre-election period, the guidance will not be publicised until after 4 July.

The document has been produced by FERA Science Ltd with input from Simon Thorp Associates, Natural England, NatureScot, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA, Northern Ireland), Natural Resources Wales, Historic England, Cadw and Historic Environment Scotland. The guidance is a living document, which will be updated as further research and evidence is becomes available. The intention is to update the guidance on an annual basis in March/April ahead of each bracken management season. More case study information is welcome, details can be emailed to Bracken@naturalengland.org.uk.

The guidance reflects the current range of management techniques and  promotes best practice in bracken management, but has not been developed to assist with decision making. Plans are in progress to develop a strategic management framework to help land managers identify land use that is suitable and appropriate in a particular area, and whether bracken management is required and, if so, the best means of management. The aim is to publish this strategic management framework by the end of 2025. Development of the framework will involve stakeholder engagement and workshops.

A questionnaire is currently being drafted to assist with the both strategic framework and further development of the guidance. It will allow anyone undertaking bracken management to feed in their views and experiences. The aim is to issue the questionnaire in September after the current bracken management season is complete. Feedback from the group on the draft questionnaire was welcomed.

Discussion from members

• members offered to follow up offline with case study examples which may be of help for the guidance
• it was asked if human health guidance or advice was included in the guidance as this is an ongoing concern in relation to both risk from tick-borne disease and bracken control operations. It was confirmed the guidance does mention it broadly and it has been raised as an issue for inclusion going forward
• the importance of being clear on the aims and objectives of bracken management was highlighted. Long-term management rather than intensive treatment or total removal is often most appropriate and achievable. Group members welcomed this focus in the guidance and the need to be clear on the objective for control
• the soil association are undertaking trials using livestock for bracken crushing - Bracken management (innovativefarmers.org). They will be contacted to ask for feedback on the findings from this. There was discussion at a recent Heather Trust event regarding issues surrounding using livestock for this purpose, the event was recorded and can be accessed at the following link: Bracken Management – so what now? | The Heather Trust

Bracken mapping layer

Scottish Government officials confirmed that options on how to take forward the detail of this project are being explored. The SG geospatial team are leading on the project, working closely with NatureScot.

We lack information on which areas in Scotland are most impacted by bracken and how coverage is changing. Mapping the presence of bracken would better identify the problem, support treatment methods and allow prioritisation of potential further research. The map could be a tool to aid decision making at local and landscape scale. The input data, including the training data, are still to be determined.

Roundtable and next steps

• NFUS indicated that some members have reportedly used Glyphosate for controlling bracken, producing reasonable results and some used mechanical and manual methods which were more labour intensive. In both methods, safety concerns related to management in steep areas were highlighted due to there being no alternative to Asulox for aerial application
• The Heather Trust noted there is a lot of interest in potential future drone application of herbicide for areas that are not safe to access from the ground
• Forestry Land Scotland commented on the impact of increased feral pigs populations on bracken disturbance at Glenmoriston. Cattle collars, with GPS technology to support conservation grazing management being used in places – it was noted that supplemental feeding was an important component of grazing as a bracken management option. A horse pulling a roller has been successful in preparing ground to support oak establishment on even terrain
• it was noted that the dominance of bracken in woodland could be influenced by selective grazing by large herbivores, particularly deer and feral sheep and changes in policy in relation to use of herbivore exclosure may impact on bramble establishment through bracken
• it was also noted that bracken establishment was an issue on forestry sites left fallow to disrupt large pine weevil populations, in the absence of authorised pesticide controls
• Historic Scotland indicated that Agricultural consultants have enquired about AECS submissions this year, which had several monuments affected by bracken. Selective in what sort of care would be required for the monuments for bracken management
• National Trust Scotland agreed with concerns around managing historic environments and monuments. Concerns were also raised around coastal vegetation and managing bracken around sea bird colonies due to safety concerns. A National Trust property has made a bespoke roller made by a blacksmith to crush bracken but allow oak saplings to continue to flourish, after 4 years of this there are glades noticeably free of bracken
• it was noted there is a site in NI using a flail on an excavator to reach difficult bracken areas on coastal grasslands
• RSPB highlighted a recent workshop held with representatives from over 40 sites with bracken management issues. It was noted that for mechanical methods must be aware of the impacts of breeding birds, reptiles etc, therefore timing is essential. It was noted that mechanical interventions later in the year than traditional bracken management reduced impact on fauna but still resulted in good bracken reduction. Sites in Scotland reported the use of mechanical interventions as long as the bracken was still green, were successful over time. Introduction of livestock has been reported as a key follow up method to mechanical control, using collar/no fence systems

Close

The Chair thanked everyone for their participation and noted the next meeting will take place in September.