Heathland habitats are better, bigger, and connected, and where there are gaps, more wildlife habitat is created.
The Dorset heaths are some of the biggest remaining areas of internationally important lowland heathland in the UK, including dry and wet heath. This priority reflects Dorset’s special responsibility to support the exceptionally high biodiversity of these existing heathland habitats and make them better through reducing damaging recreational pressures and changes to management.  

Where possible heathland habitats can be made bigger through expanding them, and more joined up to enable wildlife to travel between them for food, water, breeding and to increase resilience to climate change. Where necessary this may involve creating a range of new habitats to fill in gaps and connect heathlands with other habitat types. 

Many fragments of Dorset heaths are near towns and urban areas, so it is also important that heathland is protected from risks like wildfires, pollution, loss of vegetation and damaging recreational use. This can be done through heathland mitigation work that protects heathlands while also enabling development to continue.

Typical heathland species

Nightjar bird
Nightjar
Dartford warbler bird
Dartford warbler
Heath grasshopper
Heath grasshopper

Nature recovery in action

The Purbeck Heaths Grazing Unit, covering 1,370 hectares across Hartland Moor, Stoborough Heath and Arne at the heart of the Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve, is using domestic livestock to mimic the actions of the large wild herbivores that once shaped and created the habitats that our heathland species need. 

Alongside the cattle, ponies, and deer that already graze the heath, woolly Mangalitsa pigs have now been introduced. Pigs dig and root through the soil, creating essential bare patches that foster biodiversity, providing nesting spots for species like ants, and solitary bees and creating space for seeds to germinate where otherwise they might struggle. Dark soil warms up quickly, making ideal basking spots for insects. 

Alongside the reintroduction of beavers and the rewetting of peatlands, these projects to restore natural processes are putting the Purbeck Heaths at the forefront of nature recovery in the UK. 
Pigs grazing on Purbeck Heath
Photo credit: Mark Singleton 

Potential activities

See what activities people can carry out to help achieve this priority. You can view them all, or just look at the one most relevant to you. These activities are a guide and are not exhaustive, as there are many small activities involved in habitat management and restoring ecosystems.

The activities and Dorset’s nature recovery maps provide a starting point, but additional land management and ecological advice will often be needed to support activities on individual sites. 

Explore by sector

Select the sector you're interested in to see the relevant activities for this priority.

Explore all potential activities

Listed here are all the potential activities for this priority:
  • protect existing heathland sites, managing them to improve their condition and increase connectivity between fragmented sites, for example by managing rides and tracks
  • manage heathland to have a varied structure of heather and bare ground and to stop the colonisation of invasive plant species. For example, through light extensive grazing, mowing, heather and turf cutting, and some licenced small- scale burns. Burning is often not the most appropriate management method, licencing, consultation and regulations must be followed before burns
  • expand and connect current and potential heathland sites so they are big enough to protect from external pressures and encourage natural process
  • restore dry and wet heath habitats to improve ecosystem function, restoring wet heaths and valley mires alongside dry heaths allows natural hydrological processes to function. In some places this will enable peat formation, which in turn captures and stores carbon
  • manage some open areas in forests, such as heathland, wetland and peatland, to provide a network of habitats for wildlife, connected with existing habitats beyond the woodland site. Maintain woodland tracks, edges and rides to support heathland connectivity
  • reduce the risk of fires to protect precious heathland habitats and prevent wildfire spreading to nearby homes and communities. For example, raising awareness that it’s illegal to barbecue on heathlands or sharing practical advice for people to protect their homes from wildfire
  • reduce pressures from recreational disturbance on heathlands. For example, providing suitable alternative natural greenspaces (SANGs) and raising awareness of ways people can enjoy heathlands responsibly, by continuing the work of Dorset Heaths Partnership
  • managing heathland sites with high levels of air pollution by more frequent heath management, more intensive grazing or soil stripping to take away nutrient rich soil and invasive plants and create bare ground. Continue wider efforts to protect heathlands from air pollution
  • buffer and expand heathland sites by reducing intensive farming on nearby land and consider changing land management practices or heathland restoration on suitable land
  • As part of heathland habitat creation or enhancement, keep existing wet features like depressions or re-wet historically wet areas of the land
  • restore heathland where appropriate, following the open habitats policy. This may include removing conifers and managing natural regeneration
  • explore opportunities to restore heathland from conifer plantation, especially where this can expand and connect existing heathland, restore disrupted hydrology to favour peat formation or utilise less productive conifer plantations
  • apply learning from recent changes in the management of conifer forests on former heathland in Purbeck to other relevant parts of Dorset
  • create and enhance bare ground areas on heathland to benefit plants, invertebrates, and sand lizard.