Heathlands

The Heaths of Essex Today

Heathlands are a habitat that is characteristic of East Anglia, harbouring a mix of species that is unique to their poor sandy soils. Yet while Suffolk and Norfolk hold hundreds of hectares of this habitat, Essex now has less than 5 hectares within a county nearly 40,000 hectares large.

All that remains are a few isolated pockets at Epping Forest, Danbury Ridge, and Tiptree Heath. These fragments are the last remnants of what were once large areas of open-heathland that were found throughout the county. Many of these areas were used as common land for rough grazing with sheep and cattle, but the changes in agriculture and improvements in soil management and reclamation over the past 200 years has rapidly depleted their numbers.

Others have been depleted or completely lost as the grazing is abandoned and the heaths are overrun by invasive trees and brambles while many of those that remain are under constant pressure from demand for housing, industry and commercial land.

Heathlands and Wildlife

The easy drainage and poor nutrient levels found in sandy soils creates a set of conditions that favour a particular group of plants and animals. Heather, broom and gorse form brightly coloured banks of shrubs beneath which many smaller, more delicate plants such as cross-leaved heath, heath rush, heath bedstraw, purple moor grass and heath grass can be found.

This mix of plants in turn supports a wide range of other species that are particularly adapted to heathland conditions, and without the continued existence of these habitats they would disappear from our county. In particular there is a whole range of invertebrates that are specifically adapted to heathland conditions, which in turn provide a food source for reptiles, mammals, birds and other invertebrates. As the area of heathland in Essex has rapidly declined so many of these species have come under threat.

Once common species of butterfly such as the small copper and grayling have declined over the past 30-40 years, while others, such as the silver studded blue are now extinct in our county. For those fragments of heaths remaining, many are further threatened by a lack of management. Without regular grazing or cutting, invasive plants such as birch, bramble and bracken take over the sites, increasing shade levels and driving out the true heathland plants.

Aims for 2000

• Increase the area of heathland in the county from 5.5 hectares to 200 hectares (0.5% of county area).
• Secure and protect those remaining areas of natural heathland in the county and campaign against any further loss.
• Encourage good management practices for, and better use of, all remaining heath lands in Essex.
• Promote and encourage the creation of new heathland habitat by land owners through schemes such as Habitat Creation Scheme and Long Term Set Aside.

Achieving the Heathland Aims

• Encourage the use of native heathland plants and creation of heathland habitat in new developments, - landscaping, road building, recreational and amenity areas.
• Promote good management practices for owners of existing heathlands through adoption of appropriate long term plans.
• Encourage deforestation of heathlands lost to tree invasion. Encourage and promote heathland habitat for appropriate grazing management.