1.3: How are habitats formed?

on

There is actually no such thing as a natural habitat! It seems that not one square inch of our land has not been influenced by human activity at some point and in some way. That said, some of the habitats we see today have existed for hundreds (or even thousands) of years and have developed a flora and fauna of their own. There are several iron age forts in my home county of Dorset, for example, that have been largely unchanged for over 2,000 years.


Human activity has been altering our landscape and natural habitats from
Neolithic times, possibly even before [Eggardon Hill - Dorset]

Human intervention comes in many ways, some that immediately come to mind are:

  • Grazing of livestock
  • Drainage of meadows for agriculture
  • Removal of hedgerows and woodland
  • Ploughing and the planting of crops
  • Application of chemical fertilisers
  • Spraying of herbicides and insecticides
  • Coppicing and pollarding of woodland
  • Introduction of species from overseas
  • Mineral extraction
  • Building houses, factories and roads
  • Changes to the course and flow of rivers
  • Coastal erosion protection schemes

Human activity is one factor that determines the habitats we see today but the underlying geology of an area will also affect what we see. Natural vegetation that has been generated on chalk (a calcareous soil) will, in general, be different from that occurring on our heaths (acid soils).


Location, altitude and climate are also significant factors in habitat creation. Habitats and related species in the uplands of northern Britain are very different from those in the lowlands of the south. Likewise, the habitats of wetter and exposed western areas will differ from those on the drier and more sheltered eastern side of the country.


Geology, location, human intervention and time have formed the habitats we have today and the often unique animals and plants that are associated with them and it is further human management over yet more time that is key to keeping it that way. Management is essential to prevent our established habitat from reverting to a covering of woodland as it once was and is also necessary to correct mistakes made in the past in habitat usage and in inappropriate species that might have been introduced.

Comments

Post a Comment