Conservation problems on Breckland heaths: from theory to practice

During his long career, Eric Duffey championed the importance of a scientif ic approach to conservation. One of the areas where he had a long-term inte rest was in the conservation of the heaths and grass heaths in the Brecklan ds of East Anglia, UK. This paper reviews some of the conservation problems affecting the heaths of the Breckland region, outlining some of the experi mental approaches that have been taken to reverse succession and re-establi sh the heath and grass-heath communities. Successes and failures are noted. The importance of the holistic approach espoused by Duffey, combining hist orical information on land use, continuous monitoring and experimental appr oaches to intervention management are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.