Dr. Alex Copland:

On the question of rotational burning, it can have benefits for wildlife. It is a case of when and how it is done. Perhaps, more importantly, what is being burned. If one is burning heather, rotational burning of heather can be beneficial for biodiversity, there is no two ways about it. There are lots of studies that have shown the benefits in Scotland in parts of Ireland and indeed the one controlled burning that took place in Ireland was for red grouse management in Boleybrack. It comes down to the timing of when one does that burning.