Changes in the burning of heather moorland were studied in the Borders and Grampian Regions of Scotland using aerial photographs from the 1940s, 1960s and 1988. Seven out of 32 sites examined in Borders showed no evidence of heather burning. Five of these were close to conifer plantations. In Grampian only one site studied had not been burnt. Despite this difference mean areas of heather burnt in the two regions were similar in all periods studied, with no evidence of a decline since the 1940s. Narrow (<50 m wide) burns were much more frequent in Grampian than Borders in all periods, reflecting a predominance of grouse moor management. Burns varied more in size in Borders, with more large burns than in Grampian. This reflects the greater mixture of grouse moore and sheep farming interests in Borders. Burning rates ere apparently far below the considered optimum (every 10-15 years) in both regions in all periods. This is discussed in relation to the decline in area of heather moorland in Britain. Reprinted from Biological Conservation, Vol. 60, Hester, A.J.//Sydes, C., Changes in burning of Scottish heather moorland since the 1940s from aerial photographs, p. 25-30, ©1992, with permission from Elsevier.