 Wide vistas of golden upland |
Look on the November page of any of the glossy calendars of the Pennine Moorlands or the North York Moors and the chances are it will picture a glorious golden landscape glistening in the winter sun.
That autumnal scene is caused by bracken on the moorland slopes which have died back and changed colour from green to a light chestnut.
It is a scene which has enchanted winter visitors to the uplands of our National Parks for generations.
However, it is not the timeless vision it appears to be.
One hundred years ago many of these same scenes would have been far more varied in their colours. Bracken now takes up far more space than ever before.
The reason is because of the changes in the way we use the moorland according to Rhodri Thomas, Environmental Manager of the Peak District National Park.
"Bracken is an invasive fern that spreads underground through its roots," he tells the Politics Show for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
"In the past cattle and horses would tread it down and break up the roots.
"Today it is mostly sheep grazing up here and they have no effect on controlling the spread of bracken."
 Sheep grazing does not stop the spread of bracken |
Once it takes hold bracken kills off other species which cannot compete for the same space.
The biggest worry is heather.
"Three quarters of all the upland flowering heather in Europe grows on the UK's moorlands so we have to be careful that the bracken does not push it out," says Rhodri Thomas.
"We can control it through chemicals dropped from the air by helicopter but it is a costly process."
Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Tony Greaves, who lives in the South Pennines himself, is concerned about the growth of bracken. He says it needs to be tackled and its area reduced.
As his party's environment spokesman in the House of Lords he is calling for government aid for landowners and organisations like the National Parks and the National Trust to do the work.
However Rhodri Thomas urges caution as he looked out of the vast expanse of bracken on the slopes below Stanidge Edge straddling the border of Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
"It is a native plant and it provides valuable wildlife habitat in many circumstances.
"It also provides a back drop to our moorland areas than many people have come expect."
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