These areas wee burned periodically in the past - the result of stopping this is scrub invasion, increasing fertility (bad for wild flowers) and eventually woodland which has its value - but lowland heath with just a scatter of trees and bushes is a rare habitat with a good specialised range of plants and animals.
The burnt area will soon recover and it will be interesting to monitor how a greater variety appears as it recolonises.
When the heath is never burned an excessive amount of material builds up and a very hot extreme wild fire will eventually take out a large area.
Optimum management would be controlled burning of small areas in rotation during drier spells in Winter or early Spring.
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