How to achieve effective bracken management using best practice methods.
Contents
What is bracken?
Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) is a fern native to the UK, found in woodlands, on hillsides, heathlands, and moorlands. It can benefit wildlife, reduce soil erosion, store carbon and support woodland regeneration. However, dense bracken stands can also reduce biodiversity and hinder woodland establishment. This necessitates management in certain areas.
How can bracken be managed?
To manage bracken, land managers need to assess the risks it poses and decide if any control is necessary. If control is needed, options include mechanical methods like:
- ploughing
- cutting
- bruising, or
- rolling
When these methods are not suitable, herbicides approved for that use may be used. Until 2023 the main herbicide used for bracken control in Wales was Asulox, but this is no longer allowed.
Bracken best practice guidance 2024
In 2022, a UK Bracken Working Group was established by the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisations. The aim was to reduce over-reliance on herbicides in bracken management and promote more sustainable approaches. This group released UK best practice guidance in 2024 as part of their efforts to develop a UK-wide strategic bracken management framework.
Bracken management report 2025
We are working in collaboration with NatureScot and Natural England to develop this work further. A series of workshops were held across GB in Spring 2025. They gathered information on current bracken management practices and sought to identify what further advice land managers would like to be able to access. The findings of this work will help inform the next steps of this project. They are available at Strategic Bracken Framework - Stakeholder Research (RDE747) - Final Report on Zenodo.Com.