Description of the heathland and fen ecosystem

Introduction

Heathland is a vegetation dominated by subshrubs, particularly heather, bell heather, crowberry and bilberry. Trees and shrubs are sparse or absent. Heathland is fairly poor in species but does have characteristic species, some of which are unique to this habitat. The Dutch heathlands are on higher-lying sandy soils and in the coastal dunes. In this Nature Compendium, dune heathland has been included in the section on dunes.

Within or adjacent to heathlands there are fens, raised bogs or active dunes. Haethland fens are small pools of water that is poor in nutrients and lime. Raised bogs have a thick layer of peat that has been formed by peat moss. The active dunes are bare or sparsely vegetated areas of sand.

Heathland land use: present and past

Whereas dune heathland is a natural phenomenon, the heathlands on sandy soils were created from forest by human activity. For centuries the heathland was an essential component of a particular farming system. The farmers grazed their sheep on the heathland. In winter, they kept their livestock in sheds that were bedded with heather sods cut from the heathland. In spring, the dung-impregnated sods were spread on the arable fields, as fertiliser. The heathland was maintained by sod-cutting, mowing and burning.