General conclusions:
- Grazing by livestock is an appropriate management for lowland heathland, to deliver conservation objectives.
- Management regimes using appropriate grazing can produce a greater diversity of habitats and thus a greater biological diversity than other management types such as burning or cutting.
- Grazing impacts must always be considered in terms of the intensity of grazing and the livestock types used; negative effects, or poor achievement of targets can arise from inappropriate grazing. The negative impacts of grazing on biodiversity over much of upland heathland in Britain illustrates the consequences of overgrazing.