CLH1: Manage lowland heathland

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier ( CSHT ). You must read the CSHT guidance before you apply.

Duration

10 years

How much you’ll be paid

£412 per hectare ( ha ) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to manage existing lowland heathland so there’s a diverse mosaic of vegetation, including:

undisturbed bare ground

varied vegetation and scattered native trees of different ages

The purpose is to deliver benefits for biodiversity, including rarer invertebrates, birds, reptiles and plants.

Where you can do this action

You can only do this action if you have an implementation plan or feasibility study agreed with Natural England.

You can do this action on eligible land that’s both:

heathland priority habitat, including areas of acid grassland mixed with heathland

located below the moorland line

You can only use this action above the moorland line when other CSHT moorland actions or supplements cannot achieve the intended environmental outcomes. You must have approval from a Natural England adviser to do this. Read the advice to help you do this action for more details.

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

an eligible land type

registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

declared with a  land use code  which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code

Permanent grassland Permanent grassland PG01

Bracken, heather and heathland Heath land and bracken HE02

Non-agricultural area or feature which is temporary and likely to change over time (ineligible area) Non-agricultural area NA02

Watercourse – river or stream (Rivers and Streams Type 2) Inland water IW02

Watercourse – ditch, drain or dyke Water/irrigation features WF01

Pond Water/irrigation features WF03

Scattered rock Notional features NF01

Scattered bracken or heather Notional features NF02

Scattered scrub Notional features NF03

Scattered water features Notional features NF05

Scattered natural features Notional features NF06

Gallop Natural transport – tracks and gallops NT01

Woodland Natural woodland WO12

Scrub Natural woodland WO25

Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.

What to do

Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.

To get paid for this action, you must:

graze or cut the vegetation to create a wide age range and varied structure

manage trees, scrub and bracken to provide areas for birds to nest or shelter and encourage a diverse habitat

provide some bare ground cover to benefit the range of species using the heath

carry out hydrological restoration where necessary, such as reversing drainage, damming ditches or blocking drains

The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to manage gorse. This is to maintain a range of ages and classes of western or European gorse.

You must not:

plough, cultivate or re-seed, unless agreed

apply fertilisers, manures or lime

use supplementary feed for grazing livestock, unless it’s during periods of extreme weather

apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser

create bare ground on historic or archaeological features

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration. You should avoid the bird nesting season when controlling scrub.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency ( RPA ) may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if they ask for it.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

Scheme Action or option code

SFI 2024 actions CSAM1, OFC2, OFM2, CIPM1, CNUM1

SFI 2023 actions SAM1, IPM1, NUM1

CSHT actions CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CWS1, CWS3, CSP21, CSP20, CPAC1

CS options OR2, OT2

ES options N/A

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4

SFI  2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD2

SFI  2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3

CS  option BE3 (management of hedgerows)

Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:

to agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser

Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments

consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest ( SSSI )

You may also need:

to get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat

to get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land

consent from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority or Internal Drainage Board (where necessary) before starting any hydrological work

All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record ( HEFER ).

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding .

You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

Using this action above the moorland line

You may be able to do this action above the moorland line, if you have approval from your Natural England adviser. Sites will usually need to be:

located below 300 metres

in small enclosures, where the heathland habitat is present over the majority of the parcel

where you will carry out full hydrological restoration

It is not usually suitable to do this action above the moorland line on:

large, unenclosed areas of land

patches within larger moorland units

where moorland actions and supplements (CUP3: General moorland management, CUP8 to CUP17 (moorland management using livestock) or CSP2: Rewetting supplement) can achieve the intended environmental outcomes

Responding to climate change

Read Natural England’s publication:  ‘Adaptation for habitats in Environmental Land Management Schemes’  to help you consider your general response to climate change. You must continue to follow the mandatory activities for this action.

Well managed heathland mosaic will be more resilient to climate change.

Manage lowland heathland

You could consider the following actions to manage your lowland heathland site:

Conserve hydrology, for example by blocking artificial drainage and reducing water abstraction. Read Natural England’s publication ‘ Generating more integrated biodiversity objectives – rationale, principles and practice Appendix E for lowland heathland ’ for more advice.

Maintain structural diversity in the vegetation to provide a wide range of micro habitats and niches, including habitats, such as:

bare ground

mosses and lichens, herbs, dwarf shrubs of diverse age classes, wet heath and mire

scattered trees and shrubs

For more advice, read:

Buglife’s publication ‘ Habitat management – lowland heathland )’

the RSPB’s publication ‘ Nature after Minerals – Lowland heathland ’

the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation publication ‘ Habitat management for reptiles’

Have fire contingency plans in place to reduce fire risk, such as:

creating firebreaks, fire ponds

maintaining broadleaved woodland to provide a firebreak or a buffer next to urban areas

closing heathland access in hot, dry periods – read the Heather and Grass Burning Code for more advice

You could also:

use a combination of grazing and cutting to achieve a diverse vegetation structure for optimal management

adapt your management activity to maintain the lowland heathland condition, for example increase grazing pressure or cutting cycles where the heathland growth characteristics are changing

identify and manage areas that could become refuge areas in the future, such as north facing slopes, complex micro-topography, robust hydrology and high species diversity

reduce the effects of fragmentation through targeted re-creation and restoration of land patches to increase the area of existing habitat

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

an eligible land type

registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

declared with a  land use code  which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code

Permanent grassland Permanent grassland PG01

Bracken, heather and heathland Heath land and bracken HE02

Non-agricultural area or feature which is temporary and likely to change over time (ineligible area) Non-agricultural area NA02

Watercourse – river or stream (Rivers and Streams Type 2) Inland water IW02

Watercourse – ditch, drain or dyke Water/irrigation features WF01

Pond Water/irrigation features WF03

Scattered rock Notional features NF01

Scattered bracken or heather Notional features NF02

Scattered scrub Notional features NF03

Scattered water features Notional features NF05

Scattered natural features Notional features NF06

Gallop Natural transport – tracks and gallops NT01

Woodland Natural woodland WO12

Scrub Natural woodland WO25