Ed Tripp - heathland research

Ed Tripp tells us about the work he did as an OPAL scientist at the University of Nottingham, researching the current state of heathland in the UK, and exploring the best ways to conserve this precious habitat.

The decline of heathland

Heathland habitats once extended over several million hectares in western Europe, but now they amount to less than 350,000 hectares.

Not only is the total area of heathland in decline, but it's becoming increasingly fragmented due to afforestation, conversion to agriculture, and urban development.

The damaging effects of pollution

Heathland communities are also being damaged by atmospheric pollution. The main cause of this is nitrogen from cars, industry and agriculture.

Pollution is reducing the ability of native heathland plants to grow better than invasive species. It may also lead to further invasion by non-heathland species.

What I wanted to find out

I wanted to identify the local and regional factors that determine heathland vegetation composition and how our heathland is likely to change in the future. Is pollution having a major impact? How are invasive species affecting heathland communities? What effect is climate change having?

Things I investigated

Butterfly in heathland

The diversity of plants, lichens and mosses in a range of heathland, and determining the extent to which this is affected by heathland size, nitrogen pollution, location and environmental characteristics
The extent to which the fertility of heathland soils has been modified by nitrogen pollution
The recovery of heathland lichen communities
The effects of climate change, using seeds from different climates to determine whether a species has adapted to the local climate, or if seeds from warmer regions could be used to sustain heathlands in a warmer climate