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You are in Natural Heritage: Heathlands
Lowland heaths have declined as a result of agriculture reclamation, while in the upland grazing, especially by sheep, has become intensification, replacing heather with grasses such as the unpalatable mat grass.
On upland margins agricultural reclamation has resulted in significant losses of lowland heath.
Blanket bogs have been cut for turf and have also experienced heavy grazing, as the uplands have become more intensively used for agricultural production.
This favours grazing tolerant species at the expense of others and can lead to erosion of the peat as the vegetation cover is removed.