Humid heath, as the name suggests, is an intermediate habitat that sits between dry heaths and wet heaths, and can arise as a result of drainage or drying of wet heath vegetation. It typically forms on damp soils in the mild, oceanic climate of south-west England and south Wales, where it can be characterised by the occurrence or frequency of bristle bent Agrostis curtisii and western gorse Ulex gallii, alongside Calluna, bell heather Erica cinerea and cross-leaved heath E. tetralix.
Humid heath
Reference state 1 – Humid heath
Away from the areas of humid heath that are characterised by the presence of Agrostis curtisii, humid heath can arise as a consequence of drainage, repeated burning and / or neglect. In these situations, as the bog moss (Sphagnum) component of the wet heath habitat diminishes so does the ability of the habitat to retain…