Heath, mire and rush pasture mosaics

What we need to do and where

Holne moor valley mire, Adrian Colston

Snapshot

What wildlife-rich looks like:

Lightly-grazed, open habitat mosaics on healthy acidic, nutrient-poor soils across Devon.  Includes dry and wet heaths with scattered trees and scrub, wet mires and blanket bogs, rush pastures and wet woodlands and extensive blanket bogs. The mosaics and varied structure are teeming with plants and invertebrates. Dunlin nest in the upland blanket bogs, drumming snipe and clapping nightjars can be heard over wetlands and heaths. Species such as cuckoo, whinchat and curlew nest across the county again.

Focus Species:

Mammals: Otter, beaver and water vole

Birds: Dunlin, curlew, snipe, whinchat, cuckoo, nighjar, Dartford warbler and other birds in the heath, moor and rough grassland group

Moths and butterflies: Marsh fritillary, narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth, dingy mocha, small grass emerald moth and others in the heathland moth group.

Other invertebrates: Heath potter wasp, narrow-headed ant, bilberry bumblebee, bog hoverfly and other valley mire flies, tormentil globetail hoverfly, Dartmoor bog spiders, southern damselfly, fairy shrimps.

Plants: Great sundew, lesser butterfly orchid, south-west Dartmoor downs specialist plants, heath lobelia and other plants in the heavily grazed wet acid grasslands and heaths plants group.

Status:

UK priority habitats: Blanket bog, upland and lowland heathland, lowland fen (referred to here as mire), purple moor-grass and rush pasture (referred to here as rush pasture)

Irreplaceable habitats: Blanket bog, lowland fen

1. About

Devon’s acid, nutrient-poor soils support a complex mosaic of dry and wet heaths, moors and mires. These habitats have evolved over 1,000s of years since woodland clearance began across the UK during the Bronze Age (around 2500 – 800 BC). They’re largely found on land which is unsuitable for arable and which was used for rough grazing as part of farming systems. Light grazing (often cattle or ponies) was enough to prevent these areas reverting to woodland and created a mosaic of wildlife-rich habitats.   
 
Dry heathland develops on acidic free-draining soils (podzols) where shrubs such as heather and gorse grow, with bilberries in upland heaths. Where soils are waterlogged for at least part of the year, wetland habitats form (often on gley soils). These include wet heath (with cross-leaved heather and cotton grass), fen meadows (with purple moor-grass and flowering plants such as meadow thistle and devil’s bit scabious), mires (with sundews and bog mosses) and the very acid upland blanket bogs with deep peat (peat soils).
 
These habitats form complex mosaics that grade into each other as physical conditions change.  
 
Since the 1800s, many heathlands have been converted to other land uses such as conifer plantations, quarries and urban development. Agricultural improvements led to heaths and mires being drained and fertilised for food production. Other areas have reverted to woodland as rough grazing was no longer needed. 
 
The main remaining areas of mosaic habitats include:

  • Extensive areas of upland heath, bog and mire on unenclosed Dartmoor and Exmoor
  • Complex mosaics of species-rich rush pastures, mire, wet heath and wet woodlands on the wet soils of north Devon, enclosed Dartmoor and the scarp slopes in east Devon and the Blackdown Hills. Often known as Culm grassland in north Devon, as Rhos pastures on Dartmoor and as spring-line mires in the Blackdowns.
  • Mosaics of acid grassland, heathland, mire, bracken and scrub on commons known as the South West Dartmoor Downs.
  • Heath mosaics of dry heath, wet heath, valley mires and scattered trees and scrub on the Pebblebeds, Bovey Basin, Haldon and east Devon ridges and plateau.
  • Smaller areas of heath on the coast and a few remaining smaller mires scattered across the county, including the dune systems at Braunton Burrows and wet heathy grasslands in the South Hams around Andrews Wood SSSI.

Devon’s heaths and wildlife value

Devon’s distinctive yellow and purple heathlands are found on nutrient-poor, acidic podzol soils as well as acidic gley soils. The largest areas of heathland are found on Dartmoor and Exmoor. Other key areas are the Pebblebed Heaths, the east Devon plateau and ridges (Trinity Hill, Fire Beacon Hill and Gittisham Hill), Haldon and the Bovey Basin.

Heathland is also found along both Devon coasts (west of Bolt Head, north of Saunton and a small area at Berry Head) and as part of the north Devon Culm grassland mosaic. Some areas, such as Hense Moor SSSI in the Blackdown Hills, are currently mapped as heath but are better considered as mire mosaics.    

Heathlands are defined by dwarf shrubs such as heathers, western gorse and bilberry. Characteristic species of Devon’s heaths include bell heather (Erica cinerea), heather (Calluna vulgaris) and a small grass called bristle bent. Wet heathland develops where drainage is impeded. Bell heather is replaced with wetland-loving species such as cross-leaved heather (Erica tetralix), purple moor-grass, cotton grass, deer grass and bog mosses (sphagnums). At higher altitudes on Dartmoor and Exmoor species such as bilberries become more common. 

The plant communities on these heaths are only found in the wet and mild western fringes of Europe and Devon’s heathland is internationally important. Heathlands aren’t botanically rich, but the mosaic of habitats and structural diversity support specialist species. This mosaic includes:     

Bare areas of sand and soil, especially on warm south-facing slopes: Important nesting and basking areas for invertebrates such as bees, wasps, ants and snakes such as adder and smooth snake. The only site in England for the narrow-headed ant is Chudleigh Knighton Heath.

Open areas for flowering plants: Heath lobelia was once common on the wet heaths around Shute in east Devon but is now only found at one site and Andrew’s Wood in the South Hams. Violets are an important foodplant for rare fritillary butterflies.

Young heather shoots: An important food source, including for silver-studded blue butterfly caterpillars.

Mature heather, gorse and patches of scrub and bracken: Important shelter, nesting and feeding habitat for invertebrates and birds such as stonechat and Dartford warbler. Open ground between scrub provides safe ground-nesting sites for species such as nightjar, tree pipit and meadow pipit. Bracken provides important shelter for rare fritillary butterflies.

Scattered trees: Provide song posts for birds such as tree pipits.

Valley mires, pools and wet runnels: Provide habitat for dragonflies and damselflies, sundews and rare species such as southern damselflies and pennyroyals.

Compact, damp ground in wheel ruts: Supports specialist plant species such as three-lobed crowfoot.

There is more information on plant communities in the LNRS Habitat Classification Table and the Lowland Heathland, Upland Heathland and South West Dartmoor Downs LNRS papers. See Find out more below.

Heathland: management and impacts

Historically, heathlands were maintained for their economic value. They provided important rough grazing for small numbers of cattle, ponies and sheep. Turf was cut for fuel (for example from Stockland Turbaries in the Blackdown Hills), gorse was used to feed livestock, bracken was used for bedding and heather was used for thatch. They were often burnt (swaled) to provide new soft growth for grazing livestock. All Devon’s heaths have historical remains of life dating back to the Bronze Age and these activities stopped them reverting to woodland.

However, huge areas of Devon’s heaths have been lost. The former open commons on the east Devon and Blackdown Hills plateau and ridges were enclosed in the 19th century and only a few remnants survive. Heaths across Devon’s lowlands and uplands were planted with conifer in the early 20th century. Areas of heath over china and ball clay at Lee Moor and the Bovey Basin have been lost to quarrying. The introduction of Scottish Blackface sheep onto Dartmoor around 1880 appears to have had a severe impact on both vegetation and certain species. Species recorded as widely scattered across south-west Dartmoor commons declined drastically in the following 150 years, including heath fragrant-orchid and field gentian.

After the 1947 Agricultural Act, farming in areas like Dartmoor and Exmoor intensified, with more grazing, drainage and re-seeding. Heathland and mires were lost and large areas of drier acid grassland have developed across much of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Heathlands have been undergrazed in parts of the uplands. This has led to areas on steeper slopes becoming dominated by gorse, scrub and bracken with other areas now dominated by purple moor-grass (Molinia caerula). See Key pressures and opportunities below for more information.

Many lowland heaths have been lost to scrub and secondary woodland as they’re no longer needed by farmers for rough grazing. Most are now managed as nature reserves by organisations such as Devon Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and Clinton Devon Estates. Heathland remnants in the Blackdown Hills near Stockland and Kilmington are being restored and managed by local residents and parish councils. 

There is more information in the Lowland Heathland, Upland Heathland and South West Dartmoor Downs LNRS papers. See Find out more below.

Mires

In Devon, mires (or fens) are generally  found on wet, very acid soils, especially gley soils. They’re incredibly valuable for wildlife, supporting both widespread and specialist species.  Most receive water from seepages, springs and small streams and they would have once been very common across Devon. However the mass production of drain tiles and pipes in the early 19th century led to huge areas of Devon’s wet soils being more efficiently drained and mires were lost. By 1939, between 50% and 75% of Devon had undersoil drainage.

A concentration of mires remains on the scarp slopes of east Devon and the Blackdown Hills. Springs appear where permeable greensand meets the underlying impermeable mudstone rocks and as a result wet gley soils (known as Hense) have developed. The largest surviving sites are Hense Moor and Southey and Gotleigh Moor which, along with Bolshayne Fen (near Colyton) and Bulmoor Pastures, are designated as SSSIs. There are also tiny areas of mire on the Sidmouth to Dorset coastal landslip and a calcareous mire at Spring Head SSSI on the chalk near Axmouth.

Valley mires are found as part of heathland-wetland mosaics on Dartmoor and Exmoor as well as in the Pebblebed and Haldon heaths. They often develop in wet, shallow valleys. Large areas of species-rich valley mires are found on Dartmoor and support a wealth of wildlife, particularly flowering plants, bryophytes, invertebrates (dragonflies, bog hoverfly and other rare flies) and breeding birds such as snipe and curlew (now very rare). Wetland flushes also occur on Dartmoor and Exmoor where water seeps from springs

Important mire habitats also form in dune slacks at Braunton Burrows SSSI and Swanpool SSSI and there may once have been an extensive area on the grazing marshes between Braunton and the dunes. The only known mire in south Devon is Wolborough Fen SSSI in Newton Abbot. 

These spring-line mires, valley mires and flushes are fed by well-oxygenated and mineral-enriched water and can be very species-rich. Characteristic species in more acidic mires include bog mosses (sphagnums), cotton grass, purple moor-grass, cross-leaved heath, bog asphodel and common sundew. Drier areas can have devil’s-bit scabious and meadow thistle, which are characteristic of fen meadows (see below). Rare species can include greater sundew, fir club-moss, and broad-leaved cotton grass, fen fragrant orchid and marsh helleborine.

There is more information on plant communities in the LNRS Habitats Classification Table and the Lowland Fens and Upland Heathland and Bogs LNRS papers. See Find out more below.

Blanket bogs

Blanket bogs are rain-fed wetlands which form on peat soils that are generally more than 40cms deep. The peat layer isolates vegetation from ground water to create wet, very acid and very nutrient-poor conditions that support species such as bog mosses, cross-leaved heath, cotton grasses and bog asphodel. Bog pools can also form on the blanket bog.

Blanket bog is extensive on the higher parts of Dartmoor, but less extensive on Exmoor. There is one raised mire in Devon, at Tor Royal Bog.

Blanket bog is an important carbon store and healthy bogs also absorb carbon. However, over the centuries blanket bog on both Dartmoor and Exmoor has been affected by activities such as peat cutting, land drainage, agricultural improvement and unsustainable grazing and burning practices. More recently it has been affected by climate change and atmospheric nitrogen and ozone pollution. As a result, only a fraction of the blanket bog is hydrologically functional and in good condition. Restoring and rewetting these areas are now conservation priorities and considerable amounts of money are being invested to achieve this. Also see Climate in Wider themes.

Peat is partially decomposed vegetation. In the rainy uplands of Dartmoor and Exmoor, high rainfall leaches minerals from the soil creating an impermeable layer (known as an iron pan) which prevents drainage. The resulting water-logged soils are perfect for bog mosses (sphagnum). These mosses and other plants decompose very slowly due to lack of oxygen and, over 1,000s of years, form a deep layer of peat.  

Focus Species include breeding dunlin, bog spiders and bog hoverfly.

There is more information on plant communities in the LNRS Habitats Classification Table and the Upland heaths, mires and bogs LNRS paper. See Find out more below.

Purple moor-grass and rush pasture (fen meadows)

Devon is a stronghold for purple moor-grass and rush pasture (or fen meadows). This is a UK priority habitat which can occur as mires get drier or as wet, acidic grasslands get wetter. Rush pastures are found on damp, acidic, nutrient-poor gley soils. They are found in complex mosaics of habitat with wet heath, mires and wet woodland. These habitats grade into each other, making mapping difficult.  

Rush pastures are found on the wet, acidic Hallsworth and Wickham soils of the Culm Measures between Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Cornwall border, where the mosaic of wetland habitats is known as Culm grassland. They’re also found on the wet Laployd soils in enclosed areas of Dartmoor, where the mosaic of habitats is sometimes known as Rhos pasture. There are also small areas on Hense soils in the scarp slopes mires of the Blackdowns and east Devon, where mires and wet pastures grade into each other.  

This habitat is dominated by tussocks of purple moor-grass (Molinia). The most species-rich communities support meadow thistle, devil’s-bit scabious (the foodplant for marsh fritillary butterfly and narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth), heath spotted-orchid, bog asphodel, creeping willow, meadowsweet, greater bird’s-foot trefoil, water mint and a variety of sedges. Rarer plants include round-leaved sundew, pale butterwort and lesser butterfly orchid. Bog mosses are often found, and open pools support marsh St John’s-wort, bogbean, marsh pennywort, bog pondweed and other aquatic plants. 

Focus Species include marsh fritillary and narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth (which require devil’s bit scabious), the tormentil globetail hoverfly, lesser butterfly orchid and grasshopper warblers.

Health check

Lowland heaths health check

To be finished during the consultation in discussion with NE and with latest CWS data

Area

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SSSIs

Favourable or unfavourable recovering (UR): Chudleigh Knighton Heath (UR), Bovey Heathfield (UR),

Little Haldon (UR or declining), Great Haldon Heaths (UR), Haldon Forest (Favourable, includes heath restored from former commercial forestry), East Devon Pebblebed Heaths, Lambert’s Castle Units 2, 4, 7 (UR), Blackdown and Sampford Commons (UR)

Unfavourable declining: Maiden Down

County Wildlife Sites

Upland habitats health check

To be finished during the consultation in discussion with NE and with latest CWS data

Area of heathland

It’s hard to establish the exact extent of upland heath as mosaic habitats are difficult to map.

The Nature of Dartmoor report: ~  11,500ha of heather moorland on Dartmoor

JNCC citation for the SAC states that 40% of the Dartmoor SAC is upland heath = 9,263 ha.   

Exmoor National Park estimates that there is ~ 7,000ha of upland heath and 1500ha of lowland heath across Exmoor (Devon and Somerset). The  JNCC states that it accounts for 83% of the SAC =  8,856ha. 

Exmoor lost 20% of its upland heath between 1940 and 1980 as a result of government funded agricultural improvement schemes. However, Dartmoor lost much less of its upland heath during the same period.

Area of mire

Estimating the extent of mire is hard as mapping techniques have varied. An unpublished DNPA analysis from 2020 suggested that there may be 5,400ha of mire on Dartmoor’s commons, moorland and newtakes. National England’s National Vegetation Classification analysis for the North and South Dartmoor SSSIs gives ~  402ha.

Area of bog

It’s hard to estimate the area of bog as some is mapped as blanket bog, some as wet heath and some as Molinia mire.

Dartmoor:  ~ 3,432ha of blanket bog + 7,848ha of degraded blanket bog (DNPA 2020). There is over 17,500ha of peat soils more than 40cms deep on Dartmoor (Luscombe et al 2016). 

Exmoor:  ~  480ha of quality blanket bog and an additional 4,400ha of degraded and mostly Molinia dominated blanket bog (ENPA 2001). 

SSSIs

Dartmoor SAC covers 23,158ha and includes areas of upland heath, valley mires, flushes and blanket bog https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/UK0012929.  It has three SSSIs: North, South and East Dartmoor.

Favourable: 5.23%; Unfavourable recovering: 48.05%; Unfavourable no change: 38.82%; Unfavourable declining:7.9%. 

Exmoor SAC covers 10,670ha and includes mosaics heath, mire and blanket bog https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/UK0030040 . There are four SSSIs on Exmoor (Devon and Somerset) which include upland habitats and around 60% of these are in the SAC. The 4 Exmoor SSSIs are North Exmoor, South Exmoor, Exmoor Coastal Heaths and West Exmoor Coast and Heaths.

Favourable = 14.23%; Unfavourable recovering = 81.02%; Unfavourable no change = 4.35%; Unfavourable declining = 0.4%. 

Condition of bogs

The University of Exeter’s research indicated that of the 17,510ha of peat over 40cm in depth only 360ha (0.8%) was intact and hydrologically functional. They also identified around 2,289ha which should form the primary focus for restoration. (Luscombe et al 2017).

Significant areas of Dartmoor and Exmoor have been in environmental schemes for approaching thirty years and despite their detailed management prescriptions the figures above show that the vast majority of these heathlands are not in ‘favourable condition’ as determined by Natural England’s Assessments. 

Mires health check

To be finished during the consultation in discussion with NE and with latest CWS data

Area

SSSIs:

Favourable or unfavourable recovering: Sothey and Gotleigh Moors, Hense Moor (unf recovering), Braunton Swanpool, Bolshayne Fen

Unfavourable: Wolborough Fen + possibly Springhead Fen.  Assessed as in unfavourable recovering condition in 2009. In 2014 it appeared to be in unfavourable declining condition, with scrub and tall swamp vegetation developing over the species-rich fen and little sign of appropriate management.   

Purple moor-grass and rush pasture health check

To be finished during the consultation in discussion with NE and with latest CWS data

Area (JNCC, 2008):

In Devon and Cornwall only 8% of that present in 1900 remains, with 62% of sites and 48% of the total area being lost between 1984 and 1991 

Devon and NE Cornwall Culm –  530 purple moor-grass and rush pasture sites = ,3981ha

Dartmoor, Rhos pasture – 400 sites = 1,000ha

Blackdown Hills –  90 sites = 300ha

SSSIs:

Found in 26 SSSIs=  1,081 hectares. Dunsdon Farm SSSI is also a National Nature Reserve.

Eight of these are also Special Areas of Conservation. Six culm Grassland sites are now DWT Nature Reserves, covering some 200 hectares. 

Found in small areas within five SSSIs on Dartmoor. 

Found in four SSSIs in the Blackdowns Hills:  Hense Moor, Ashculm Turbary, Southey and Gotleigh Moor and Blackdown & Sampford Commons.  There are also two Devon Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves.

Natural England’s Favourable Condition Assessment for Devon includes the category Fen, Marsh and Swamp – Lowland which includes Purple Moor-Grass Pastures but doesn’t specifically identify the condition of Purple Moor-Grass Pasture SSSIs.  

County Wildlife Sites (2024 data)

814 sites =  2,834 ha.

522 of these have been monitored between 2009 and 2022 and have been categorised as red, amber and green depending on their condition.

91 (17.4%) totalling 295ha (15.2%) were Red

283 (54.2%) covering 805ha (41.5%) were Amber

148 (28.4%) covering 838ha (43.2%) were Green.

Key pressures and opportunities

To shorten through Consultation

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Funding: the viability of livestock farming under new agri-environment funding

Grazing, and therefore livestock farming, is an essential part of the management of heath, mire and rush pasture sites. However, lowland and upland livestock farming make very little, if any, profit and currently (2025) depend on agri-environment funding under the Basic Payment Scheme and Countryside Stewardship.

Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, there are serious concerns about the viability of livestock farming, particularly on upland hill farms. By 2027, the Basic Payment Scheme and Countryside Stewardship will be replaced by the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, that will pay farmers to provide ‘public goods’ (for example environmental management or access).

Need to update this section – Moorland SFI, species-rich grassland options in SFI, Higher Tier, FiPL etc

At the time of writing (June 2025) much is still unknown about how this will evolve. It’s possible there will be a major restructure of farm businesses that will result in fewer farmers and new land uses. This all has huge implications for future grazing and the management of heaths, mires and rush pastures across Devon.

It’s critical that new schemes continue to pay for nature recovery. Significant areas of Dartmoor and Exmoor have been part of environmental schemes for almost 30 years, and despite their detailed management prescriptions, the vast majority of heathlands in and outside SSSIs are not in favourable condition (determined by Natural England’s assessments of SSSIs). However, understanding how to restore upland habitats is complex – see the Molinia and Dartmoor Land Use Group drop downs below. Dartmoor’s large areas of mosaic upland habitats are on multiple adjoining unfenced commons which makes these issues more complex.

Many lowland sites are no longer part of farming systems and abandonment and lack of grazing remains a major threat. It can be difficult to source graziers with appropriate stock for heathland habitats and many sites lack infrastructure such as fencing, shelter and water supplies. Funding through agri-environment schemes should be made available to landowners and managers in all areas, so they can buy, for example, stock, fencing materials and water bowsers. The Farming in Protected Landscapes schemes that have been running in Devon’s Protected Landscapes have proved very successful and have allowed funding to be targeted to where it’s most needed in a way that’s more flexible than currently possible through national schemes. See Find out more below for more information.

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Landscape Recovery Projects (ELM)

Need to add a few lines on the Landscape Recovery Projects – Central Dartmoor, East, West, Exmoor, Luppitt  – opportunities……

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Short-term funding for projects

Talk to DWT regs Working Wetlands…ended in 2021?  Some work with farmers to restore and manage Culm grasslands continues through Devon Wildlife Trust’s North Devon Natural Solutions project.

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Molinia expansion over upland heathland

Large areas of upland heath on Dartmoor and Exmoor’s commons are dominated by monocultures of purple moor-grass (Molinia caerulea) that has been outcompeting heather since the early 2000s. These areas can only be effectively grazed by cattle (and to a lesser extent ponies) during the growing season, from May to July.
 
Although the reasons why Molinia is dominating are not clear, they could include:
 
– Lower stock numbers since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 and since the introduction of the Environmentally Sensitive Areas scheme in xxxx
– Atmospheric nitrogen pollution.
– Heather beetle (Lochmaea suturalis)attacks reducing the health and abundance of heather.
– Damage from historic peat cutting, drainage and unsustainable grazing and swaling practices.
 
Historic human activities have severely damaged the structure of the peaty soils. Combined with more recent atmospheric nitrogen pollution and climate change, this may mean that Molinia-dominated landscapes take decades to recover or cannot ever be restored.
 
The dominance of Molinia means that large areas of wet and dry heath are inaccessible to stock. This forces animals into areas that are not dominated by Molinia, which then become over-grazed, further reducing heather cover. Many areas of dry heath have also become dominated by gorse (Ulex gallii and europaeus), which again causes overgrazing in more open areas.
 
There is concern that the large areas of land dominated by Molinia and gorse have created a huge fuel load that increases the risk of uncontrolled wildfires on Dartmoor and Exmoor.

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Dartmoor Land Use Group

 In 2023, Natural England offered five-year extensions to existing Higher Level Stewardship agreements. They required commoners on Dartmoor to reduce stock (sheep, cattle and ponies) and undertake a phased removal of winter sheep grazing, which Natural England argued would allow dwarf shrub communities to recover. The extensions were offered to ensure there was a continuity of agri-environment funding for hill farmers prior to the introduction of the Moorland Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).
 
Hill farmers fiercely opposed the stock cuts so Defra agreed to an independent review of the proposals (the Fursden Review). The review reported to Defra in December 2023. Its key wildlife recommendations include:
 
– The first ecological and environmental priority for Dartmoor is to improve hydrological function and re-wet blanket bogs and peatlands. 
– The second priority is to control Molinia, using a combination of active management practices, including grazing. 
– Encourage development of wood pasture and tree growth in suitable locations, particularly along valley sides, as part of an agreed land-use plan. 
– Undertake more research and monitoring to understand the full range of environmental factors that affect the growth of heather and dwarf shrubs on Dartmoor.
 
Update to include Defra response, Land Use Group / proposed Land Use Plan etc

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Nitrogen pollution

To add

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Connectivity

It’s vital that connectivity between habitats is restored. Species loss from patches of isolated habitat is fast and more mobile species need large areas of suitable habitat mosaics, often with a varied structure as discussed above. 

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Opportunities to restore heathlands from conifer plantations

Many remaining lowland heaths are isolated fragments of once much larger areas. Adjacent conifer plantations are often on heathland soils and have good potential for restoration, especially where there are relics of heathland flora.

Heathland has been successfully restored from conifer in Haldon Forest and could be expanded. Trinity Hill and Shute Hill in east Devon are good candidate sites. Wet heathland developed quickly after forestry was cleared at Shute Hill, although it has now been replanted with trees. 

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Water management: the benefits of mires and bogs

Ploughing and draining mires and fen grasslands outside SSSIs continues to be a potential threat in Devon. Drainage of surrounding land can affect water supplies. Land that has also been re-seeded and fertilised is much harder to restore.

However, wetlands can help to slow the flow of water, reducing flooding and improving water quality downstream. Since around 2015, this has led to increased funding to restore and manage habitat through initiatives such as South West Water’s Upstream Thinking project and natural flood management schemes. For more information see Inspiration and Find out more below.   

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Surrounding land use: water quality and supply

Mire habitats depend on a supply of clean water. Work on land surrounding, and especially above, mire habitats should not affect water quality or natural hydrological processes through, for example, run-off from roads, run-off from slurry stores and arable land, house building and pollution from housing and industry.   

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Restoring quarries

SJ to add – Potential loss of habitat due to existing mineral permissions at Lee Moor (Smallhanger) Bovey Basin etc but opportunities through restoration at Bovey Basin, Lee Moor etc

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Expanding woodland and planting trees

There is currently a huge push to increase woodland cover in Devon to reduce carbon emissions and create wildlife habitat. Heathlands and mires are found on poor agricultural land so are often preferred areas for tree planting schemes. While woodland is an important part of habitat mosaics, it’s critical that tree planting does not cause the loss of wildlife-rich mire, bog and heathland habitats, or areas where these habitats can be restored.

There is a growing interest in the conservation, restoration and expansion of temperate rainforest, particularly to expand existing ancient woodlands onto open upland habitats. While expanding temperate rainforests is a priority, it must be carefully managed. It should not lead to the loss of rare wetland habitats or areas where they could be restored, or to the loss of open habitats used, or potentially used, by rare species such as waders, fritillary butterflies and whinchats. The proposed Dartmoor Land Use Plan is critical and should be informed by mapping of these areas in the LNRS.

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Non-native invasive species

The invasive non-natives Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) and American skunk-cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) can be a problem in wet sites. The skunk-cabbage is a particular problem in some Dartmoor wetlands where it outcompetes native vegetation.

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Recreational pressure

The vast majority of Devon’s open heathland habitats are open access land and many areas (especially Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Pebblebed Heaths) are visited by significant numbers of people. At the most popular sites, high visitor numbers are causing physical damage and dogs off leads are sometimes worrying sheep. Projects such as We Love Dogs are tackling this problem. For more information see Find out more below. 

2. What we need to do and where

For information on management and funding see Find out more below.

Priority

Better (wildlife-rich), bigger and more mires. bogs, heaths and rush pasture mosaics that are connected to a network of habitats across the landscape.

Restoring bogs and mires is a top priority due to their benefits for wildlife and carbon reduction.

Actions for heath, mire and rush pasture mosaics

Manage and restore mosaics of wildlife-rich heathland, mire, moor and rush pasture, ensuring habitats have structural diversity.   

Consultation question:  do we need to say anything more specific about what wildlife rich / favourable condition looks like? Link to SSSI condition information as a useful source of advice for non SSSIs? Or is better to be site specific?

Upland bogs, heaths and mires

  • When increasing tree cover, avoid sensitive sites in breeding and restoration areas for species that need open habitats such as waders, fritillary butterflies, rare invertebrates and whinchats. These sensitive areas have been mapped for the LNRS. Some species zones cover large areas  so some increased tree cover in these areas may be possible but should only be done with ecological species advice. See Where to focus action below.
  • Continue work to re-wet peatlands and associated blanket bog habitats on Dartmoor and Exmoor through, for example, restoring natural hydrological systems or blocking gullies. 
  • Manage and restore upland heathland and mire mosaics. Continue to experiment with methods to control Molinia using a combination of active management practices, including grazing. Share learning, for example from pony grazing at Molland, Challacombe, Gideligh, Throwleigh and Bellever.
  • Develop re-wetting techniques on slopes with wet heath to stop the lateral flow of water and reduce the dominance of Molinia. 
  • Carefully increase wood pasture and tree cover into the upland mosaic as part of an agreed land-use plan. It’s critical that this avoids existing sensitive habitats such as valley mires and bogs, and restoration areas for mires and bogs.

Wetlands: mires, rush pastures and wet heaths

  • Ensure that there is no agricultural, road or building run-off onto wetlands. 
  • Manage existing habitats through light grazing and scrub control as needed.
  • Maintain and create buffer zones (ideally wildlife habitats or less intensively managed land) around all wetlands and their water sources to protect them from possible pollution. 
  • Expand these buffer zones where possible so they link to other priority habitats (heathlands, wildlife-rich grasslands and woodlands) to form cohesive ecological networks and improve habitat resilience and functioning ecological landscapes.   
  • Restore wetlands that have been damaged by drainage and agricultural improvement.  

Heathlands

  • Restore connectivity between areas of heathland. 
  • Graze heathlands to maintain or restore a healthy mosaic of heathers and gorse with bare areas and scattered trees and scrub. 
  • Restore heathland that has been lost to secondary woodland, scrub and bracken, maintaining areas of these habitats as part of the mosaic. Aim to achieve a balance between elements of the mosaic.   
  • Restore heathland from commercial forestry plantations. Survey commercial forestry plantations on former heathland to determine potential areas for restoration. 

Nitrogen

  • Consultation question:  what do we say here?
  • Create a strategy to help farmers reduce air pollution from nitrogen.

Safeguard and improve water sources to wetlands (also see Water and Watercourse corridors)

  • Limit livestock access to watercourses by fencing and providing water troughs. However, managed access can help provide a mosaic of microhabitats along a watercourse. Reduce livestock numbers in the surrounding riparian zone.
  • Follow best practice when managing nutrients, slurry and manure.
  • Avoid planting arable crops on soils vulnerable to erosion and run-off. Use the Environment Agency’s ALERT tool to help decision-making.
  • Improve infiltration in the riparian zone by reducing compaction.
  • Support the expansion of beaver populations across Devon.
  • Manage and reduce road and road drain runoff.
  • Improve treatment of wastewater from all sources.

Control invasive species

  • Control and where possible eradicate invasive non-native species such as Himalayan balsam and American skunk-cabbage.  See Invasive and disease.

Non-mapped actions

Funding – discuss and add through Consultation

  • Secure long-term funding to enable habitats to be managed and monitored, including funding for the six relevant Landscape Recovery projects.
  • Ensure that future ELM funding, including Landscape Recovery projects, allows extensive livestock farming to remain viable and that flexible prescriptions build on research and maximise benefits for Devon’s heaths, mires, bogs and rush pastures, including the restoration and management of existing sites.  Call to extend FiPL?
  • Continue to fund the South West Peatland Partnership to retain existing personnel and allow this top priority work to continue.
  • Target other funding streams to heaths and mires including BNG and funding for nature-based solutions.

Advice and awareness

  • Develop a joined-up land management advisory service (farming and forestry) that:
    • Shares learning from farmers, foresters, other land managers, ecological monitoring and research.
    • Promotes best practice in the management and restoration of heath, mires, bogs and rush pastures.
    • Promotes all available funding streams.
    • Works with Defra to develop flexible agri-environment schemes that support nature restoration and viable farm businesses.
  • Raise awareness of the value of heaths, mires, bogs and rush pastures.

Research

  • Undertake more research and monitoring to understand which environmental factors affect the growth of heather and dwarf shrubs and how to best reduce Molinia cover on Dartmoor.
  • Undertake more research on wetland mosaics (Culm grasslands, Rhos pastures and mires) including integrated farming systems, environmental buffering of water courses, the effects of different management regimes and restoration techniques. 

Other relevant actions

Click on the links below to find more detailed information about the Focus Species listed below.

  • Moths and butterflies: Bracken and violet butterflies, wet grassland butterfly and moths, small grass emerald (and other heathland species)
  • Bees, ants and wasps: Heath potter wasp, narrow-headed ant, bilberry bumblebee
  • True flies: Bog hoverfly and other valley mire flies, tormentil globetail hoverfly
  • Spiders and harvestmen: Dartmoor bog spiders
  • Flowering plants and ferns: Great sundew, lesser butterfly orchid, south west Dartmoor downs specialists, grazed wet acid grasslands and heath (including heath lobelia)

Where to focus action

Actions are prioritised to the following High Opportunity Areas (in bold). See Mapping for the LNRS Viewer and information on how areas have been mapped, including any health warnings, particularly regarding mapped habitats.

Unenclosed Dartmoor: actions for upland heath, bog and mire  

Mapped habitats and peat soils include:

  • Upland heathland
  • Upland acid grassland (areas where there is most potential to restore heathland are not mapped)
  • Valley mires
  • Flushes, fens, marsh and swamp
  • Blanket bog
  • Unvegetated degraded blanket bog and heathland over degraded blanket bog where there may be opportunities to restore blanket bog.
  • The Dartmoor deep peat layer (more than 40cms deep) where there may be potential to restore peat and blanket bogs

Unenclosed Exmoor: actions for upland heath, bog and mire 

Mapped habitats and peat soils include:

  • Upland heathland
  • Mires
  • Blanket bog
  • The Exmoor deep peat layer (more than 40cmc deep) where there may be potential to restore peat and blanket bogs

North Devon Culm, Dartmoor Rhos pasture, east Devon spring-line mires: actions for mosaics of rush pastures, wet heath and mire, grading into drier heath and acid grassland.

South-west Dartmoor Downs: actions relating to a mosaic of acid grassland, bracken, mire, scrub and heathland communities

Bovey Basin, Haldon, Pebblebeds, east Devon plateau: actions for lowland heath mosaics of dry and wet heath and some valley mires   

Coastal Wildbelt: actions for lowland heath (layer is under Coast)

Existing mapped habitats.  

  • Lowland heaths
    • Lowland mires
    • Purple moor-grass and rush pasture

Health warning:  These habitats are all mosaics that grade into each other, which means they are difficult to map. Therefore there will be inconsistencies and errors in the maps of existing habitats shown on the LNRS Viewer. Habitats may be missing or misnamed.

Species:

  • Mammals: water voles and beavers
  • Birds: Dartmoor waders, whinchats, willow tits
  • Butterflies: marsh fritillary, pearl-bordered fritillary, high brown fritillary
  • Flies: bog hoverfly and tormentil globetail hoverfly

3. Inspiration

Case studies

There’s lots of great work going on across Devon for heath, mire and rush pasture. For example:

Farmer led case studies to be added through consultation with the farming steering group. Draft text below.   

On Dartmoor the Duchy tenants at Challacombe Farm have restored extensive areas of upland heath using agri-environment funding and sensitive grazing regimes. On Throwleigh and Gidleigh Commons in north-east Dartmoor, Natural England has granted exemptions to commoners so they can graze cattle in winter, which has reduced the volume of Molinia and led to a significant increase in heather.  

Graze the Moor project

The Graze the Moor Project at Molland Moor on Exmoor is a long-term partnership between the owners, the tenant, Natural England, Exmoor National Park Authority and others. Together they have restored a moor that had become dominated by Molinia and lost much of its heather back to an area where the Molinia is much reduced and heather and bilberry are once again flourishing. This was achieved by a combination of herbicides, fire management and over-winter cattle grazing, and more recently with targeted grazing using no-fence satellite collars.  

Peatland restoration

Since 2010 restoration work has taken or is taking place on 13 different deep peat sites. As a result, dunlin numbers have increased in areas such as Winney’s Down and Cowsic Head. On Exmoor, the Exmoor Mires project identified 3,000ha of mire suitable for restoration. To date over 2,600ha have been completed (Brazier et al 2020). Peatland restoration work on Dartmoor and Exmoor is being carried out by the South West Peatland Partnership, although the project is only funded until 2025. 

Blackdown Hills?   – work with National Highways to reduce flooding – habitat management at Bolham Water for marsh frits etc.

Where to visit

To be added through consultation

Always follow the Countryside Code and stick to footpaths and sites that are managed for public access. 

For information on these and other sites that are open to the public please see the Explore Devon website.  

4. Find out more

Links to be added and tidied up through consultation (some of the references can be left in the detailed LNRS papers and taken out of here)

LNRS Habitats Classification Table   link to be added

UKHab (2023) The UK Habitat Classification https://ukhab.org

Upland heaths, mire and bogs

Upland heaths, mires and bog – overview for the LNRS,  2023, Adrian Colston
 
South West Dartmoor Downs – overview for the LNRS, 2023, Andy Byfield.
 
Moorland initiatives on Dartmoor and Exmoor
 
Dartmoor Projects 
Dartmoor Dynamic Landscape – HLF 
Dartmoor Headwaters Natural Flood Management Project 
Dartmoor Hill-farming Project 
FiPL projects 
Favourable Condition Assessments for Dartmoor’s moorland SSSIs NE 
Friends of the Dart – HLF  
Heather condition assessment Dartmoor SSSIs NE 
Managing and monitoring Molinia FCL/FoDCA/ HAUCA 
Mangement Plan for Harford and Ugborough Common FCL 
Our Common Cause – FCL/HLF 
Pony / heather project  – Bellever Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust 
Quantifying the extent of Molinia on Dartmoor’s Commons Adrian Colston / SWPP 
Ring Ouzel monitoring Devon Birds / RSPB 
South West Peatland Partnership 
Tackling Invasive Plans 
Two Moors Pine Martin Project  – Seeking to restore populations of this native species DWT  
Whinchat Project FCL/RSPB/HLF 
Wistman’s Wood expansion plan DoC, NE Moor Trees 
 
Dartmoor Landscape Recovery Projects 
Central Dartmoor Landscape Recovery 
Walkham Valley Landscape Recovery Project 
Wilder East Dartmoor Landscape Recovery 
 
Exmoor Projects 
ENNIS – the Exmoor Non-Native Invasive Species Project. 
Exmoor Hill-farming Network 
Exmoor Pioneers – past, present and future – To provide improved access and interpretation alongside nature recovery works in and around the moorland of the old royal forest of Exmoor. HLF 
FiPL projects 
Graze the Moor Project – An innovative grazing project based on the southern edge of Exmoor National Park. 
Headwater of the Exe Project  – Working to promote and support sustainable land management. 
Riverlands Project – Reviving the Porlock Vale Streams 
South West Peatland Partnership 
Sowing seeds – a project to create more wildlife-rich meadows on Exmoor 
Treescapes Project – Visualising future tree and woodland planting in Exmoor 
Two Moors Pine Marten Project  – Seeking to restore populations of this native species DWT  
Nature Recovery Vision for Nature Recovery ENPA 
 
Exmoor Landscape Recovery Projects 
Arlington Estate nature recovery and connection to Exmoor 
Holnicote River Corridors 
RivivingReviving Exmoor’s Heartland 
 
Ecology links
Averis A., Averis B. Birks J., Horsfield D., Thompson D. & Yeo M. (2004) An illustrated guide to British Upland Vegetation. Pelagic Publishing. 
 
Brazier, R.E., Angus, M., Benaud, P., Gatis, N., Luscombe, D.J., Anderson, K., Ashe, J., Barrowclough, C., Carless, D., Freeman, G., Gillard, M., Grand- Clement, E., Hand, A., Malone, E., McAleer, A. and Smith, D. (2020) Mires on the Moors: Science and Evidence Report 2020, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK. 
 
Colston (2017a) Atmospheric pollution from ozone – an elephant in the uplands 
https://adriancolston.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/atmospheric-pollution-from-ozone-an-elephant-in-the-uplands 
 
Colston A. (2017b) Atmospheric Nitrogen Pollution and its impact on Dartmoor – the other elephant in the countryside. https://adriancolston.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/atmospheric-nitrogen-pollution-and-its-impact-on-dartmoor-the-other-elephant-in-the-countryside 
 
Colston A. (2020). Hill-farming incomes and the Agricultural Transition Plan – whither Dartmoor? 
https://adriancolston.wordpress.com/2020/12/16/hill-farming-incomes-and-the-agricultural-transition-plan-whither-dartmoor/ 
 
Colston A. (2021) Stakeholder attitudes to the narratives of the Dartmoor Commons: tradition and the search for consensus in a time of change. PhD thesis. Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter.   
https://adriancolston.wordpress.com/2021/07/27/my-phd/ 
 
Colston A. (2021) The Dartmoor Fire – an inevitable event. https://adriancolston.wordpress.com/2021/02/12/the-dartmoor-fire-an-inevitable-event 
 
Defra (2023) Independent review of protected site management on Dartmoor 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-protected-site-management-on-dartmoor/independent-review-of-protected-site-management-on-dartmoor 
 
DNPA (2001) The Nature of Dartmoor – a biodiversity profile 
 
DNPA, (2020) Analysis of priority and associated habitats on Dartmoor by catchment. Unpublished. 
 
ENPA (2001) Exmoor Biodiversity Action Plan 
 
JNCC (2008a) UK Biodiversity Action Plan Habitat Descriptions: Upland Heathland 
 
JNCC (2008b) UK Biodiversity Action Plan Habitat Descriptions: upland flushes, fens and swamps. 
 
JNCC (2008c) UK Biodiversity Action Plan Habitat Descriptions: Blanket bog. 
 
Luscombe D., Gatis N., Carless D., Anderson K. and Brazier R. (2016) Dartmoor peatland investigation and mapping project report. University of Exeter. Report for the DNPA. 
 
Luscombe D., Carless D., Anderson K. and Brazier R. (2017) Dartmoor peatland investigation and mapping supplementary report. University of Exeter. Report for the DNPA. 
 
Rodwell J. S. (1991) British Plant Communities volume 2 Mires and Heaths. Cambridge University Press. 
 
Key delivery partners:
Natural England, DNPA, ENPA, RSPB, National Trust, DWT, SWT, Dartmoor Hill-farm Project, Exmoor Hill-farm Project, landowners e.g Duchy of Cornwall, Dartmoor Commoners Council, individual Commons Associations, Dartmoor Preservation Association, Dartmoor Society, Exmoor Society, Foundation for Common Land
 

Lowland heathland

Lowland Heathland overview for the LNRS, Phil Wilson

Links to some of the best lowland heathland sites:

East Devon District Council: Trinity Hill (https://www.eastdevon-nl.org.uk/ambassador/trinity-hill-local-nature-reserve) 

East Devon District Council: Fire Beacon Hill (https://www.eastdevon-nl.org.uk/ambassador/fire-beacon-hill-local-nature-reserve) 

RSPB: Aylesbeare Common (https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/aylesbeare-common) 

Devon Wildlife Trust: Venn Ottery Common (https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves/venn-ottery) 

Devon Wildlife Trust: Bovey Heathfield (https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves/bovey-heathfield) 

Teighbridge District Council: Little Haldon (https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/sports-and-leisure/parks-and-open-areas/other-habitats/little-haldon-heaths/) 

Stockland Parish Council: Stockland Turbaries https://stocklandvillage.co.uk/about-stockland/turbaries-new/

SSSIs:

Chudleigh Knighton Heath: favourable/unfavourable recovering (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1002480.pdf) 

Bovey Heathfield: unfavourable recovering, past scrub invasion  (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1004093.pdf) 

Little Haldon: mainly unfavourable recovering, some units declining – lack of management and scrub invasion (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1002656.pdf)  

Great Haldon Heaths : unfavourable recovering – lack of management (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1001602.pdf)  

Haldon Forest: Favourable, this includes heath restored from former commercial forestry  (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1005936.pdf) 

East Devon Pebblebed Heaths:  mostly favourable or unfavourable recovering (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1004364.pdf) 

Lambert’s Castle Units 2, 4, 7: Unfavourable Recovering – lack of management (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1000318.pdf) 

Blackdown and Sampford Commons: mostly unfavourable recovering – lack of management leading to scrub and bracken development (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003750.pdf) 

Maiden Down: Unfavourable declining – no recent management   (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1005795.pdf) 

Key partners for delivery include:

Devon Wildlife Trust 

East Devon and Blackdown Hills Protected Landscapes

Forestry Commission 

RSPB 

Teignbridge District Council 

East Devon District Council 

Clinton Devon Estates 

MoD 

Stockland Parish Council 

Kilmington Parish Council 

Mires (fens)

UK BAP Priority habitat description for Lowland Fens
 
Wheeler et al (2009) provides a comprehensive description of fen types based on characteristics of water supply https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c234340f0b645ba3c6eb6/scho0309bpoe-e-e.pdf.   
 
Lowland Fen overview for the LNRS, Phil Wilson
 
 
Add links on NFM + Upstream Thinking etc etc
 
Colston A. (2022) Defra’s 2021-22 Farm Business Income stats – what do they mean for Dartmoor? https://adriancolston.wordpress.com/2022/11/16/defras-2021-22-farm-business-income-stats-what-do-they-mean-for-dartmoor/
 
DBRC (2024) County Wildlife Sites condition spreadsheet 
 
SSSIs and links to citations:
Sothey and Gotleigh Moors: All apart from one unit assessed as in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition in 2020). https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1002636.pdf 
Hense Moor: Unfavourable recovering condition. https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1000722.pdf 
Braunton Swanpool: favourable condition. https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1001195.pdf 
Wolborough Fen.  Unfavourable declining condition. https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1005692.pdf 
Bolshayne Fen: Favourable condition. https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1006370.pdf 
Springhead: NE assessed this as in unfavourable recovering condition in 2009.  In 2014 it appeared to be in unfavourable declining condition, with scrub and tall swamp vegetation developing over the species-rich fen, and little sign of appropriate management.   
https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1002862.pdf 
 
 

Culm / Rhos pastures

DCC (2009) Rhôs Pasture. Devon Biodiversity and Geodiversity Action Plan (archived)

Defra (2024a)  MAGIC website https://magic.defra.gov.uk/StaticMaps/Priority%20Habitat%20Inventory%20-%20Purple%20Moor%20Grass%20and%20Rush%20Pasture%20(England).pdf

Defra (2024b)  MAGIC website https://magic.defra.gov.uk 

DWT (2014a) The Culm: a landscape that works 

DWT (2014b) Culm Grassland: An Assessment of Recent Historic Change 

DWT (2020) NIA Culm Grassland Flood Management Project Vegetation Monitoring Summary

2020 

DWT (2021) Culm Grassland Natural Flood Management Project Final project report 2016 – 21 

JNCC (2008) UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Habitat Descriptions: Purple Moor Grass and Rush Pastures 

NE (2024) Favourable Condition Assessment spreadsheet. Natural England 

Rodwell J. S. (1991) British Plant Communities volume 2 Mires and Heaths. Cambridge University Press. 

Rodwell J. S. (1995) British Plant Communities volume 5 Aquatic communities, swamps and tall-herb fens. Cambridge University Press. 

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