A heath is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining, infertile, acidic soils, characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. It is closely related to moorland, which generally describes high-ground heaths in cooler, damper climates, particularly in Great Britain. Heaths occur on every continent except Antarctica: they form extensive, biodiverse communities in Australia that depend on recurring fire cycles for their upkeep, and also occur in southern Africa, Texas, New Caledonia, Chile and along Mediterranean shores, though many of the heaths native to Europe are vanishing and now rank among its rarer habitats.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Demonstrates
Without periodic disturbance such as fire, grazing or cutting, heathland undergoes ecological succession toward scrub and woodland, so its open character is itself a maintained successional stage.
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