Pioneer heather

This is the established stage in which the heather develops from seed into small pyramid shaped plants accounting for about 10% of vegetation cover.

Building heather

In this stage the heather forms a closed canopy accounting for some 90% of vegetation cover.

Mature heather

In this stage heather plants become woody, with thick stems and fewer green shoots. The canopy begins to open up as other plants, especially bryophytes, begin to increase in cover.

Degenerate heather

In the degenerate stage the central branches of heather plants tend to die off, creating gaps in the centre of the bush in which heather seedlings may become established. Heather contributes only 40% of vegetation cover. Eventually plants may die, although on wet sites the collapsed branches can re-root by layering.

The relative proportions of the growth of heather are important as they each support a different fauna and other associated species.

Heather beetle

Heather beetle Lochmaea suturalis feeds almost exclusively on heather, defoliating particularly mature and old plants. Both the larval and adult stages feed on heather and in 1998 and 1999 the heather on the reserve suffered badly, particularly after the very wet spring of 1999. Outbreaks are often sporadic and the severity of attacks is reduced by managing the heather carefully to ensure a high proportion of pioneer and building heather on the reserve.