Burning of moorland has been practised for a number of reasons. For example, when grazing is insufficient to control growth. This is recorded in Britain in the fourteenth century.[5] Uncontrolled burning frequently caused (and causes) problems, and was forbidden by statute in 1607.[來源請求] With the rise of sheep and grouse management in the nineteenth century it again became common practice. Heather is burnt at about 10 or 12 years old when it will regenerate easily. Left longer, the woodier stems will burn more aggressively and will hinder regrowth. Burning of moorland vegetation needs to be very carefully controlled as the peat itself can catch fire, and this can be difficult if not impossible to extinguish. In addition, uncontrolled burning of heather can promote alternative bracken and rough grass growth which ultimately produces poorer grazing.[6] As a result, burning is now a controversial practice; Rackham calls it "second-best land management".[1]
Mechanical cutting of the heather has been used in Europe, but it is important for the material to be removed to avoid smothering regrowth. If heather and other vegetation are left for too long, a large volume of dry and combustible material builds up. This may result in a wildfire burning out a large area, although it has been found that heather seeds germinate better if subject to the brief heat of controlled burning.[來源請求]
In terms of managing moorlands for wildlife, in the UK, vegetation characteristics are important for passerine abundance, whilst predator control benefits red grouse, golden plover, and curlew abundances. To benefit multiple species, many management options are required. However, management needs to be carried out in locations that are also suitable for species in terms of physical characteristics such as topography, climate and soil.[7]
文学作品中的高沼
Dartmoor in winter covered in snow. Several tors top the sparsely vegetated hills.
The development of a sensitivity to nature and one's physical surroundings grew with the rise of interest in landscape painting, and particularly the works of artists that favoured wide and deep prospects, and rugged scenery.[8] To the English Romantic imagination, moorlands fitted this image perfectly, enhancing the emotional impact of the story by placing it within a heightened and evocative landscape. Moorland forms the setting of various works of late Romantic English literature, ranging from the Yorkshire moorland in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to Dartmoor in Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmesian mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Enid Blyton's Famous Five series featured the young protagonists adventuring across various moorlands where they confronted criminals or other individuals of interest. Such a setting enhanced the plot as the drama unfolded away from the functioning world where the children could solve their own problems and face greater danger. Moorland in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire is the setting for Walter Bennett's The Pendle Witches, the true story of some of England's most infamous witch trials. In Erin Hunter's Warriors series, one of the four Clans, WindClan, lives in the moorland alone.
Michael Jecks, author of Knights Templar Mysteries, sets his books in and around Dartmoor, England. Paul Kingsnorth’s Beast is also set on a western English moor, using the barren landscape and fields of heather to communicate themes of timelessness and distance from civilization.
Colombia is one of only three countries in the world to be home to páramo (tropical moorland) and more than 60% of the paramo regions are found on its soil.[10]
^Buchanan, G. M.; Pearce-Higgins, J. W.; Douglas, D. J.T.; Grant, M. C. Quantifying the importance of multi-scale management and environmental variables on moorland bird abundance. Ibis. 2017, 159 (4): 744–756. doi:10.1111/ibi.12488.
^Norton Anthology of English Literature; Romantic Literature.
^Moorland. BBC Nature. BBC. October 2014 [3 April 2015]. (原始内容存档于2018-09-01). Moorlands are upland areas with acidic, low-nutrient and often water-logged soils. In their cold, windy and wet conditions colourful heather plants dominate, growing on the deep peaty layers. These seas of pinks and purples are a haven for many small mammals and insects, but fewer reptiles than on lowland heaths. British moorland may look like wilderness, but it is actually a man-made and highly managed landscape, with regular burning to allow new heather growth. Some 10–15% of the world's moorland is found in the UK, mainly in the north and west of the country.
^Luteyn, James L. Páramo Ecosystem. Páramos: A Checklist of Plant Diversity, Geographical Distribution, and Botanical Literature. Missouri Botanical Garden. 1999 [2020-07-22]. (原始内容存档于2021-04-15). (The Páramo Ecosystem) It is concentrated in the northwest corner of South America, mostly in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.