There is considerable interest in attempting to restore heathland vegetation on lowland sites to reverse some of the extensive loss of this habitat. Pywell, Webb & Putwain tested a range of methods on an area of South Middlebere Heath, Dorset (Journal of Applied Ecology 32:400-411). This site was converted from heathland to farmland in the early 1960s but has been left unmanaged since about 1986.