Braken control for volunteers on small conservation sites. For centuries, the harvesting of Bracken Pteridium aquilinum primarily for bedding and thatch acted to suppress its spread. The cessation for decades of this traditional management, exacerbated it is thought by the effects of climate change, has seen a rapid expansion in bracken cover. With few exceptions, Bracken encroachment is generally percieved to be detrimental to biodiversity as well as a number of land uses including agriculture, forestry, archaeology, recreation and water catchment quality.