The Narrow Strip Matrix System

This is a version of the "small patch" system seen on some of the high class grouse moors. Ideally the old heather is cut or burnt to give a width of 1.2 - 2 metres and length about 20 metres.

The traditional burnt patches of about 20 x 100 metres result in two major problems. Firstly, away from the edges, they offer an open, draughty environment.

At higher altitudes and in most of Scotland this is not conducive to survival of young chicks in the sort of summers we get most years - 2003 excepted! Secondly, chicks are easily seen by raptors if they are away from the edges and are too far from the long heather to get to safety in time.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

These are the main findings where narrow strips run in different directions with intersections:

1. Grouse use them immediately, spreading the birds into ground previously unused due to excess length & density of vegetation.
2. By moving round the corners, birds can always find shelter from strong winds.
3. This reduces the chill factor and brooding time thus allowing more time for chicks to forage for food.
4. The improved micro climate appears beneficial to reproduction of invertebrates which are such, a vital food source for chicks.
5. Further investigation is needed into the apparent lack of caecal droppings in the narrow strips. If birds are voiding these in the adjacent long heather where they roost, there should be less infective Strongyle worm larvae in the feeding areas within the strips.
6. Strips in long straight runs are ugly and show up badly going up and down hill. They also facilitate low level fast raptor attacks. The solution is to aim for an S shape pattern, if cutting, and to stop the fire or lift the cutter every 25 metres to create a short 'hedge' which will force the hawk up a little so its approach is seen by the parent grouse. The birds are so near to thick cover and into it so fast that losses to raptors are negligible, the only loss being displaying males taken in flight in Spring and these are soon replaced by surplus non-territorial males. Such defence against raptors will be needed even more in the future as raptor populations are likely to increase with sophisticated surveillance systems leading to prison sentences for those who are tempted to persecute them.
7. The hedge jumps make ideal fox snaring sites where a 250mm wide "run" is cut through it with a strimmer.
8. There has been criticism of these matrices on the grounds that grazing animals concentrate on the young heather within the strips and overgraze it. This should not happen if enough cutting or burning is done each year, e.g. 100 acres per 1,000 acres each year if on a 10 year cycle.
9. Tick infestation of Grouse - can habitat design help?
   Research may eventually provide some answers, but meanwhile, some helpful features of NSM are worth considering:
   
   1. Ticks get onto hosts when the host brushes against the vegetation which the tick has climbed up. NSM reduces the distance which chicks need to travel for their daily needs and so reduces exposure to waiting ticks.
   2. To cross areas of long heather, grouse will use narrow tracks made by deer, hares and sheep. These are therefore potential hotbeds of hungry ticks, but they can be avoided if other routes are available i.e.tracks provided by NSM through and around the long heather. These will be wider and have shorter vegetation, reducing risk of contact with ticks.
   3. NSM makes it easy to provide an even distribution of young heather. This encourages grazing animals to spread out over a larger area, spreading the tick burden more thinly and encouraging dipped sheep to mop ticks over a wide range.
   4. Good chick rearing habitat produces vigorous, fast moving chicks. Ticks may find it harder to access them than lethargic chicks struggling to survive under poor conditions.
   5. Strong chicks may also have more time and energy, after feeding, to preen their feathers and remove crawling ticks before they bite onto the bird.

Next section: The Cutting Alternative