Effectiveness of Sheep Grazing of the Invasive Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) at Kirkside Farm, Macduff, Aberdeenshire
2021
Van Der Wal, René
This trial project is a practical experiment to investigate if and how land managers could best use sheep to control substantial giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) infestations – in this case in a woodland site – with a view to preparing practical advice for land managers. Where giant hogweed has taken over in an area it can be a difficult, time consuming and expensive problem to tackle and requires the use of herbicides. This study has been assessing the opportunity of using sheep to control giant hogweed in a trial site at Kirkside Farm near Macduff at the bottom of the River Deveron catchment. This trial is part of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative and where the Deveron Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust, Aberdeen University and Kirkside Farm have been working together to assess: The impact of sheep grazing on the volume of giant hogweed throughout the site, and The impact of sheep grazing on the rest of the vegetation community By monitoring and recording our work we will issue a good practice guide for land managers who may wish to control invasive plant problems through sheep grazing.
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