A heath () is a
shrubland habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
found mainly on free-draining infertile,
acid
An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
ic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation.
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...
is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
—a cooler and damper climate.
Heaths are widespread worldwide but are rapidly disappearing and considered a rare habitat in Europe. They form extensive and highly diverse communities across
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in humid and sub-humid areas where
fire regimes with recurring burning are required for the maintenance of the heathlands.
[Specht, R.L. 'Heathlands' in 'Australian Vegetation' R.H. Groves ed. Cambridge University Press 1988] Even more diverse though less widespread heath communities occur in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
. Extensive heath communities can also be found in the Texas
chaparral,
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, central
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, and along the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. In addition to these extensive heath areas, the
vegetation type is also found in scattered locations across all continents, except
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
.
Characteristics
Heathland is favored where climatic conditions are typically hard and dry, particularly in summer, and soils acidic, of low fertility, and often sandy and very free-draining; a
mire may occur where drainage is poor, but usually is only small in extent. Heaths are dominated by low shrubs, to tall.
Heath vegetation can be extremely plant-species rich, and heathlands of Australia are home to some 3,700 endemic or typical species in addition to numerous less restricted species.
The
fynbos
Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...
heathlands of South Africa are second only to tropical rainforests in plant biodiversity with over 7,000 species.
In marked contrast, the tiny pockets of heathland in Europe are extremely
depauperate with a flora consisting primarily of
heather (''Calluna vulgaris''),
heath (''Erica'' species) and
gorse (''Ulex'' species).
The bird
fauna
Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
of heathlands are usually cosmopolitan species of the region.
[ In the depauperate heathlands of Europe, bird species tend to be more characteristic of the community, and include Montagu's harrier and the tree pipit. In Australia the heathland avian fauna is dominated by nectar-feeding birds such as honey-eaters and lorikeets, although numerous other birds from ]emu
The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...
s to eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
s are also common in Australian heathlands. The birds of the South African fynbos include sunbirds, warblers and siskins. Heathlands are also an excellent habitat for insects including ant
Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
s, moths, butterflies and wasps; many species are restricted entirely to it. One such example of an organism restricted to heathland is the silver-studded blue butterfly, '' Plebejus argus''.
Anthropogenic heaths
Anthropogenic
Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to:
* Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity
Anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows:
* Human impact on the enviro ...
heath habitats are a cultural landscape that can be found worldwide in locations as diverse as Northern and Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
, the Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
and New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
.
These heaths were initially made or expanded by centuries of human clearance of the natural forest and woodland vegetation by grazing
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...
and burning. In some cases, this clearance went so far that parts of the heathland have given way to open spots of pure sand and sand dunes, with a local climate that, even in Europe, can rise to temperatures of in summer, drying the sand spot bordering the heathland and further raising its vulnerability for wildfires. Referring to heathland in England, Oliver Rackham says, "Heaths are clearly the product of human activities and need to be managed as heathland; if neglected, they turn into woodland".
The conservation value of these human-made heaths has become much more appreciated due to their historical cultural value as habitats; consequently, most heathlands are protected. However, tree incursion also threatens them because of the discontinuation of traditional management techniques, such as grazing and burning, that mediated the landscapes. Some are also threatened by urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...
. Anthropogenic heathlands are maintained artificially by a combination of grazing and periodic burning (known as swailing), or (rarely) mowing; if not so maintained, they are rapidly recolonised by forest or woodland. The recolonising tree species will depend on what is available as the local seed source, and thus it may not reflect the natural vegetation before the heathland became established.
In literature
The heath features prominently in:
* ''King Lear
''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...
'', by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
* '' Wuthering Heights'', by Emily Brontë
* '' The Return of the Native'', by Thomas Hardy
* '' Ethan Frome'', by Edith Wharton
* '' The Letters of Vincent van Gogh'', by Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
Gallery
File:Lüneburger Heide 109.jpg, Lüneburg Heath, an anthropogenic heath in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
, northern Germany
File:Fynbos.jpg, Fynbos
Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...
heathland, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
File:Heath.jpg, Heathland at Woodbury Common, Devon (England), featuring purple flowers of '' Calluna vulgaris'' and yellow flowers of '' Ulex gallii''
File:Botany_Bay_National_Park_-_panoramio_(29).jpg, Heathland in Royal National Park, Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
File:Netherlands, Veluwe (2), Epe, Renderklippen.jpg, Heathland in the Veluwe forest, Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
File:Jussi heath in autumn.JPG, Heath in the Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve in Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
File:Heath Poland.jpg, Heath on the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
File:Die back valley gnangarra.jpg, A heath landscape in the Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
mountains of Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, with a " dieback"-infested valley in the mid-ground
See also
* Bolster heath {{Short description, Type of vegetation community
Bolster heath or cushion moorland is a type of vegetation community that features a patchwork of very low growing, tightly packed plants found at the limits of some alpine environments. The cushion ...
* Chalk heath
* Garrigue
* Maquis shrubland
* Matorral
* Scrubland
References
External links
The Countryside Agency
information on types of open land
{{Authority control
Habitats
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Landforms
Land management
Cultural landscapes