Lowland heath is an important habitat for protecting many species because it is a type of old, natural area. Natural England's Environmental Stewardship program describes lowland heath as including dry heath, wet heath, and valley mire areas, usually found below 250 meters (820 feet) in elevation. These areas grow on acidic soils and shallow peat, and are covered with a mix of plants such as heathers, gorse, fine grasses, wildflowers, and lichens. Heathers and other small shrubs typically cover at least 25% of the ground. In contrast, upland heath, which is found above 300 meters (980 feet) in elevation, is called moorland. An example of this is Dartmoor.
Characteristics
Lowland heath grows in soils that are acidic (pH less than 5), poor in nutrients, often sandy, and drain water quickly. These soils are typically called podsols. Because there are no earthworms that dig deep into the soil, the layers of soil are clearly defined. A thick layer of slowly decaying leaves often covers the ground. This habitat is easily affected by drought in summer because the soil drains water quickly. Many plants in this area have waxy surfaces, which makes fire a risk. Plants and animals that live here have adapted to these difficult conditions.
There are three types of lowland heath based on their location and climate: wet (soil with rocks or clay that stop water from draining), dry (soil that drains water well), and humid (soil between wet and dry). Wet heaths have more plant species than dry heaths, including sphagnum mosses and carnivorous plants like Drosera and Pinguicula.
Development
About 80% of lowland heath has been lost since the year 1800. The United Kingdom holds one-fifth of the world’s remaining lowland heath. Pollen grain dating using carbon has shown that lowland heath existed in the UK for 14,000 years after ice caps melted. As the climate warmed, trees grew and replaced tundra heath.
Around 5,000 years ago, humans began clearing forests, allowing heathland to return on acidic, sandy soils. The area of heathland is believed to have reached its highest level around the 16th century. After that time, improvements in agriculture and transportation allowed nutrients to be added back to the soil, making it possible to grow crops other than heathland plants, or heathland was no longer actively managed as it had been before.
Heathland succession begins with grasses and bracken, then changes to gorse and heather, and eventually becomes woodland, including birch, pine, and oak.
Heathland is a man-made habitat. Originally, the area was wooded with rich soil. When the trees were removed, the soil eroded and nutrients, especially nitrogen, were washed away.
Indicators
Heathers (Ling, Calluna vulgaris) are common on moorland. They have pale purple flowers and grow many branches. Their leaves grow in pairs, not in groups, and are oily to reduce water loss. A special fungus, Hymenoscyphus ericae, helps the plant by breaking down soil materials to release nutrients. Bell heather (Erica cinerea) blooms in mid-July with crimson-purple flowers. Its leaves are dark green and grow in groups of three. Cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) grows in wetter areas. It has rose-pink flowers that droop at the end of each stem. Its leaves form a cross shape, are gray with hairs, and curl downward to trap moisture. These plants grow less in summer and more in winter. Heathers take six years to form a bush, which grows until about 25 years old. By 30 years old, the center of the bush may have gaps, and mosses may begin to grow there due to moist conditions. The plant starts to decline after 30 years.
Gorse (Ulex europaeus) flowers year-round but most often in spring. Western gorse is smaller and blooms from mid-July to mid-August in exposed areas. Dwarf gorse grows on Dorset heaths. Gorse belongs to the pea family and works with bacteria to add nitrogen to the soil, which helps plants grow.
Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) is a type of fern. It is hard to remove because of its deep, tough underground stems called rhizomes. People once cut bracken to use as bedding or burned it to make ash lime.
Grasses include purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea), which grows in wet areas and is edible when young. Fescues (Festuca spp.) and bristle bent grow in drier areas.
There are no mammals in lowland heath areas, but many insects live there.
Common animals in lowland heath include:
– Snakes and reptiles. The smooth snake is found only on heaths in Dorset. The sand lizard also lives on heaths and sand dunes.
– Birds: Dartford warbler, European stonechat, European nightjar, Eurasian hobby (eats insects and small birds), tree pipit, and Eurasian wren.
Structure
An ideal heathland has plants of different heights and shapes, along with scattered trees and shrubs, some open ground, wet areas, ponds, and bogs.
The amount of dwarf shrubs should be between 25% and 95%, with at least two common types. There should be a mix of heather of different ages, with young heather covering 10% to 15% and old heather covering 10% to 30%. The amount of unwanted plants, such as bracken, harmful weeds, or invasive nonnative species, should be less than 10%. The amount of trees and shrubs should be less than 15%.
Threats
Threats to heathland include changes in how farmland is used; planting trees where there weren't any before; fire; not enough care (too much overgrowth), such as the spread of thorny bushes and a type of fern called bracken; building homes; digging for rocks or minerals; too many nutrients in the soil, often from dog waste; pine and silver birch trees, which grow quickly and block sunlight from reaching other plants; plowing the land; and predatory cats in urban heathland areas.
Management
Options include cutting trees (such as for firewood), using grazing animals to manage plant growth, controlling thick, woody plants, ensuring a range of tree ages, and meeting the needs of specific species.
A UK Biodiversity Action Plan aims to restore 58,000 hectares (140,000 acres) of lowland heathland and create an additional 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres). In England, grants are available through Natural England's Environmental Stewardship scheme.
UK lowland heath
Lowland Heath is found in the UK in Devon, Hampshire, Dorset (mostly found here), Sussex (some), Kent (some), Surrey (some), Lincolnshire (some), County Durham (some), Cornwall, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Merseyside, Cheshire, and Suffolk.
In East Devon, the heath is located in areas such as Gittisham Common, Woodbury Common, Mutter's Moor, Aylesbeare Common, Pebblebed Heaths, Trinity Hill, Venn Ottery Common, Bystock Pools, Fire Beacon Hill, Hartridge Common, Offwell Heath, and Hense Moor.
In Staffordshire, lowland heath can be found at Cannock Chase and Wetley Moor, both of which are protected areas known as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.