Muirburn is an important tool in managing the uplands by encouraging the natural regeneration of heather and other plant life.
This photo shows some older ling heather and, in the foreground, an area where muirburn has previously been undertaken. You can see the early colonising plants in the area where muirburn was carried out are blaeberry and bell heather. Over time ling heather will also start to emerge.
Older, taller ling heather can ‘crowd out’ young plant life and so the muirburn cycle helps create a continually evolving diversity of habitats.