"On that part which is called Putney Heath furze and bramble grow thick and luxuriant. One may look far in some directions and see no houses...to spoil the effect of exclusion and wilderness. Over all is the vast void sky and the rapturous music of the skylark." (W H Hudson, 1898)

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1.    Aims

To develop a strategic approach to the protection, management, creation and restoration of heathland within London.

To promote the value of heathland and secure the involvement of Londoners in its conservation.

Classic heathland is covered mainly by low-growing shrubs such as heather (or 'ling'), which turn it a rich purple in late summer and autumn. This habitat could once be seen on large areas of common land around London, where local people grazed animals and drovers stationed their stock on the way to market. Such grazing helped to keep scrub and trees from invading the open landscape. Heathlands also played a vital role in local communities, as gorse and peat yielded a valued source of fuel and the open nature of heaths presented a perfect setting for village celebrations.

On a global scale the habitat has declined drastically and we in the UK are responsible for looking after twenty per cent of all that now remains. This decline has been acute in London too, where today heathland is limited to a few surviving fragments. Before it disappears altogether, we must act quickly to save these remnants, restore degraded areas and create new heathlands wherever it may be appropriate.

The heathland left in London is still a significant habitat type; important as the last refuge of a distinctive group of plants and animals. These include heather, dwarf gorse, the linnet, the green hairstreak butterfly and the adder, which is now a very rare and threatened species within the Capital.

Heathland is found on free-draining acid soils that are low in nutrients. It consists characteristically of an intimate mosaic of tussocky grasses and dwarf shrubs, with associated stands of common gorse, broom and hawthorn. Areas of bare ground may also be present, as well as boggy areas and small pools where the ground is locally wetter. Typical marginal habitats include acid grassland, bracken stands and young birch woodland.

 

3.    Current Status

Lowland heathland is listed as a priority habitat for conservation in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (DOE 1995). London's surviving fragments make up about 80 hectares in total, with the largest single area being found at Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath, split between the boroughs of Wandsworth and Merton. Other boroughs containing significant areas include Bromley, Croydon, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. Boroughs such as Kingston-upon-Thames, Barnet, Bexley, Camden, Greenwich, Richmond-upon-Thames and Redbridge each have very small relict areas.

Many of London's remaining heathland sites have suffered neglect and mismanagement and are fast losing their characteristic plants to coarse grasses, bracken and developing woodland. So much so that some heathland species, such as common cottongrass and bog asphodel, are now reduced to a few plants in a single site. Gauges of habitat quality on heaths include the age-range of heather and kindred plants, the extent of important associated habitat components such as scrub and bare ground and, of course, their comparative species diversity.

Because of their limited extent and degraded quality, London's heaths no longer support the nationally rare birds and reptiles associated with the habitat elsewhere in southern England, although the Dartford warbler, a highly specialised songbird of heathland habitat, might well be encouraged to make a comeback.

4.    Specific Factors Affecting the Habitat

Much of London's remaining heathland is in public open spaces and on golf courses. The varied expectations of different site users put considerable pressure on the managers of these areas, who must attempt to accommodate competing recreational demands. Heathland habitat continues to be lost through a combination of intensive management imposed to provide formal recreation areas, inappropriate recreational uses and the mismanagement or passive neglect of heathland which allows scrub and woodland to develop.

The management required to limit succession on heathland is highly labour intensive. In the past when tracts of heathland were much larger, controlled burning of alternate portions was often used as a valuable management technique. This is now made impossible, as the remaining heathland fragments are too small for partitioning to be feasible. Today, fires caused either by accident or arson can be very damaging, especially to invertebrates.

Grazing is currently considered to be one of the best ways of managing heathland, but is constrained in London. The size and fragmented nature of the habitat is again a problem, most areas not being large enough to support average flock or herd sizes, while disturbance by the public and stock availability are also prohibitive. Solutions to such constraints might be found by English Nature's current Grazing Animals Project.

Restoration of heathland sometimes calls for tree felling. This is often extremely unpopular when members of the public are unaware of the overriding need for it. Respect for public opinion can therefore further constrain necessary action.

It is feared that the nutrient enrichment of heathland soils from the polluted atmosphere, particularly nitrogen washed from the air by rain, is an insidious but important cause of habitat degradation. Car exhaust fumes are a major contributor. The vigour with which grasses such as purple moor-grass can invade dwarf shrub stands is thought to be evidence of this worrying process.

5.    Current Action

5.1 Legal status

All of the heathland sites identified in the London Biodiversity Audit are included within Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).

Some sites receive statutory protection, either as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), for example Wimbledon Common, Keston and Hayes Commons (Bromley) and Croham Hurst (Croydon); or as Local Nature Reserves (LNR), examples being Stanmore Common (Harrow), Hounslow Heath (Hounslow) and Rowley Green Common (Barnet). Poor's Field (Hillingdon) and Richmond Park (Richmond) are within National Nature Reserves (NNR). Two sites (Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park) are candidate Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under European legislation for their stag beetle interest. Epping Forest is also a candidate SAC whose criteria include the heathland.

Specially protected species associated with London's heathland sites include common lizard, slow-worm, adder and possibly great crested newt and hobby. The presence of these species may impose legal restraints on management.

5.2 Mechanisms targeting the habitat

These current actions are ongoing. They need to be supported and continued in addition to the new action listed under Section 7.

5.2.1 Management and restoration

The majority of publicly owned sites have management plans and some have benefited from grant aid schemes, financing various fencing and scrub clearance projects. Unfortunately, present resources are not reversing the decline in the quality of London's remaining heathland. The current management effort is simply insufficient to permit the extensive restorative action which is now required.

Despite this, heathland restoration is taking place across London, for example on Wimbledon Common and at Addington Hills (Croydon). Projects to create heathland have even taken place on a small scale at Hounslow Heath and Hampstead Heath (Camden). Such schemes are successful in expanding the quality and extent of heathland habitat, but only when there is a long-term commitment to their maintenance.

These special plants and animals are characteristic of heathland in London.

Most of these actions are specific to this habitat. However, there are other, broader actions that apply generically to a number of habitats and species. These are located in a separate 'Generic Action' section which should be read in conjunction with this document. There are generic actions for Site Management, Habitat Protection, Species Protection, Ecological Monitoring, Biological Records, Communications and Funding.

Please note that the partners identified in the tables are those that have been involved in the process of forming the plan. It is not an exclusive list and new partners are both welcomed and needed. The leads identified are responsible for co-ordinating the actions · but are not necessarily implementers.

Objective 1 To secure appropriate management for heathland

Target: Appropriate management in place on all existing heathland sites by 2011

Objective 2 Conserve important species through better understanding of their ecology and habitat management needs

Target: Disseminate guidance about the appropriate management of key species to heathland managers by 2003

Objective 3: To create new areas of heathland habitat, reflecting historical distribution and suitable geological conditions and restore areas of recoverable but degraded heathland.

Target: Begin implementation of a costed restoration strategy by January 2003.

Objective 4 Develop appreciation of heathland landscapes

Target: Undertake training for teachers and promote heathland through public leaflet by 2003

Relevant Action Plans

London Plans

Woodland; Acid Grassland; Churchyard and Cemeteries; Parks, Amenity Grasslands & City Squares; Open Landscapes with Ancient/Old Trees.

Adder; humble bumble

National Plans

Lowland Heathland; Lowland Dry Acid Grassland; Lowland Wood Pasture and Parkland; Urban Habitat Statement.

Key References

English Nature (1997). Fact sheet 2: Heathland creation for wildlife. Research Report 260: Habitat Restoration Project: Fact sheets and Bibliographies.

English Nature and RSPB (1997). The Lowland Heathland Inventory.

Gimingham, CH (1992). The lowland heathland management handbook. English Nature.

Michael, N (1996). The lowland heathland management booklet, version 2. English Nature Science No.11.

Webb, N (1986). Heathlands. A natural history of Britain's lowland heaths. Collins New Naturalist.

Abbreviations

Contact

The Lead for this habitat is English Nature.

cross-leaved heath © Mike Waite

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