The lowland heath resource within the region has become highly fragmented and most are small in size
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Lowland Heathland
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Lowland heath occurs below an altitude of 300m on low sandstone hills and glacial and wind blown sand deposits. The habitat is characterised by a predominance of dwarf shrubs, almost always with heather Calluna vulgaris as the dominant species, and frequent bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus and bell heather Erica cinerea. Western gorse Ulex gallii can also be a prominent feature of the sward, particularly near the coast and in the south of the Region.
Management of lowland heath varies considerably across the North West. Some larger areas are grazed with sheep and are burnt on a rotational basis, while many small areas are more or less unmanaged. Scrub clearance to maintain the open habitat sometimes takes place, particularly on those sites which are nature reserves.
Current Status
Nationally lowland heath is a priority for nature conservation because it is a rare and threatened habitat. In England only one sixth of the heath present in 1800 now remains and 56% of the lowland heath present before 1940 has been destroyed. Some 58,000 ha of lowland heath occurs in the UK, this is about 20% of the global extent of this habitat, making it an internationally important habitat in the UK. About 55% of the UK total of this habitat occurs in England.
The lowland heath resource within the Region has become highly fragmented, especially around the large population centres and along the coast and the majority of examples are small in size.
For further information please see the document for download on this page.
