Heathland is a "mosaic habitat"

It says the success of efforts to restore the environment in 1,000 hectares of Dorset should be extended elsewhere across the country.

The society says the heathland provides important habitats for a range of rare species, including birds such as the Dartford warbler and the nightjar, and invertebrates like the silver-studded blue butterfly.

It says the Dorset Heathland Project has also shown economic spin-offs by becoming a focus for tourism activities.

International importance

The RSPB now wants the government to adopt the doubling of lowland heathland as an environmental target.

"Our message for the government is that the loss of heathland - and we have seen 40% of it disappear in the last 50 years - can be tackled head-on," said Graham Wynne, the RSPB's chief executive.

DARTFORD WARBLER Dartford warblers occur only on heathland and in Dorset numbers have increased Nigel Symes, RSPB

"The irreversible loss of heathland to development has been slowed and there is now recognition that this special habitat should be protected.

"The next big challenge is to re-create some of what we have lost. The RSPB is seeking commitment to double the area of heathland to 64,000 ha by 2020."

Heathland is a "mosaic habitat", covered by a mixture of heathers and grassland.

This type of lowland environment is found almost exclusively in North-western Europe with the UK's mild, marine climate especially accommodating to its plants.

Chainsaw clean-up

But Britain is said to have lost over 70% of its heathland since the early 1800s.

The decline can be put down to many factors, including:

• the reduction in light grazing by livestock
• the planting of pine forests for wood production
• urban sprawl into the countryside
• increased extraction of sands and gravels

This saw invasion by scrub species such as bracken and rhododendron which smothered the traditional heather habitat and the wildlife that depended on it.

The RSPB's Dorset Heathland Project was established in 1989 to reverse the decline caused by past neglect and to prove that large scale restoration of heavily degraded heathland is both achievable and cost-effective.

This involved clearing scrub and trees with chainsaws, and managing the heather so it could quickly reclaim the land it had lost.

Looking good

The experience picked up in the project has now been set down in a practical guide for others to follow in an RSPB publication, A Practical Guide To The Restoration And Management Of Lowland Heathland.

One of the guide's authors and RSPB advisory officer, Nigel Symes, is confident that heathland has a bright future, as long as there is commitment to support the challenge of doubling the area of heathland: "Lowland heathland is of immense importance for wildlife.

The southern damselfly is returning to the heathland

"All six British reptiles, fascinating insects such as the heath tiger beetle, and spectacular fly-eating sundew plants all depend on well-managed heaths.

"Dartford warblers occur only on heathland and in Dorset numbers have increased on heaths restored by the Dorset Heathland Project team."

The warbler has now been promoted to the amber list of species about which there is medium conservation concern as a result of the Dorset work.

The nightjar remains listed as being of high conservation concern - it is red listed - although its numbers have been rising, too.