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.
Facts
Partially Attested
Protected StatusThe article says most heathlands are protected, but heaths are global and protection varies by country. 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.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In Biome
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Open Questions
Source Heath (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Heath (habitat) (Wikipedia)
Anthropogenic heaths sectionQuote, Anthropogenic heaths section
Consequently, most heathlands are protected.
Heath (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section, second paragraph, on global distribution and European rarityQuote, Lead section, second paragraph, on global distribution and European rarity
Heaths are widespread worldwide but are rapidly disappearing and considered a rare habitat in Europe.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.- Demonstrates: Wildfire
- In Biome: Montane Grasslands and Shrublands
- Demonstrates: Succession
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
What is the total global area of heath habitat?
Heath is a globally distributed shrubland habitat type occurring on every continent except Antarctica (Australia, southern Africa, Texas, New Caledonia, Chile, Mediterranean shores and elsewhere), not one bounded place, and this atlas's own cited Wikipedia article gives no single combined global area figure for it anywhere in the text, only qualitative statements that it is widespread and that many of its European stands are vanishing.
What would resolve this A single authoritative global inventory of heath habitat extent across every continent where it occurs, using one consistent definition of what counts as heath as opposed to moorland or other shrubland.
Physical geography / vegetation ecologyHeath (Wikipedia)
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