What is Heath?
[[Image:Heath.jpg#file|right|thumb|Heathland at Woodbury Common, [[Devon]] ([[England]]), featuring purple flowers of ''[[Calluna]] vulgaris'' and yellow flowers of ''[[Ulex gallii]]'']] [[Image:Die back valley gnangarra.jpg|right|thumb| Heath landscape in the [[Stirling Range]], [[Western Australia]], with a [[Phytophthora cinnamomi|dieback]]-infested valley in the mid ground]] A '''heath''' or '''heathland''' is a [[shrubland]] [[habitat]] found mainly on low quality, [[acid]]ic soils. It has open, low growing woody [[vegetation]]. There are some clear differences between ''heath'' and ''[[moorland]]''. For example ''moorland'' has a very peaty topsoil, and it is also free-draining, whereas a heath is not. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths<ref>{{cite book|last= Polunin, Oleg & Walters, Martin 1985 |title= A guide to the vegetation of Britain and Europe |year= 1985 |url= https://archive.org/details/guidetovegetatio0000polu |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 0-19-217713-3|page= [https://archive.org/details/guidetovegetatio0000polu/page/220 220]}}</ref> with&nbsp;— especially in Great Britain&nbsp;— a cooler and damper [[climate]]. Heathland is common worldwide. They form extensive and diverse communities across [[Australia]] in [[humid]] and sub-humid areas. Fire regimes with burning maintain the heathlands.<ref>Spech R.L. 1988. Heathlands. In ''Australian vegetation'' R.H. Groves (ed) Cambridge University Press.</ref> Even more diverse though less widespread heath occurs in Southern Africa. Extensive heath communities can also be found in the [[California]] [[chaparral]], [[New Caledonia]], central [[Chile]] and along the shores of the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. In addition to these extensive heath areas, the vegetation type is also found in scattered locations across all continents except [[Antarctica]]. == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Habitats]] [[Category:Ecosystems]]