General guidance: Restoring reedbed by removing the surface plant material effectively takes the successional sequence full circle. Where large areas are involved sections of a site can be excavated in sequence over periods of 5 years or so. This allows a mosaic of different age reedbeds to be maintained and with it a dynamic, which helps to ensure greatest diversity and representation of all the stages in succession. In some cases this approach can be more cost effective than cutting (unless this is for economic purposes) as the period when intervention is required is extended. This is especially true where the works are followed up by creating changes in the water levels, which can arrest the speed of reed succession.