Nationally important Suffolk site had been ‘severely impacted’ by 2022 drought
A rare, and nationally important, heathland habitat cared for by the National Trust on the Suffolk coast is showing signs of recovery having been severely impacted by extreme heat and drought in 2022.
Dunwich Heath is important for the rare and precious habitat that is home to special species including nightjar, woodlark and adders. Its patchwork of pink and purple heather is now back in bloom.
Heathland is home to many special species, including adders. Image: Barry Edwards / National Trust.
Experts say three different types of heather typically grow and flower there from June to September and their colours transform the landscape into a bright and vibrant patchwork. They add the heather is struggling to cope with hotter, drier summers.
The 2022 summer drought coincided with the middle of the heather flowering season which meant much of the entire heath failed to flower with some plants also dying.
Last summer, specialist drone surveys using infrared technology confirmed that there had been a 60% loss in heather.
Teams noted there were visible areas of ‘die off’ and discoloration which raised concerns about the wider impact on the habitat.
Where there was significant die off in the heather, there was also a lower number of insects, particularly pollinators, which provide crucial food for nesting birds.
Resident species such as the Dartford warbler depend on reliable food sources year-round, with numbers dropping from 30 breeding pairs to just under 20 from 2022 to 2023.
Dunwich is one of the county’s most photographed landscapes. Image: Jemma Finch / National Trust.
Encouraging signs of recovery
This year has seen encouraging signs of recovery with a recent drone survey (in June) showing just over 10% of the heather has now recovered. National Trust rangers believe that this is due to increased rainfall as February was the wettest on record in East Anglia.
‘Results from the recent drone survey have confirmed that just over half of the heathland is now made up of live heather. This time last summer, it was down to 40%, so it’s really encouraging,’ says Sam Cooper, NT Area Ranger at Dunwich Heath.
‘The wet start to the year has certainly helped, and we’ll be continuing to monitor how the weather impacts not just the heather itself, but the birds and other wildlife that depend on it.’
Every year, during the autumn and winter months, small areas of heather are cut to encourage new growth and this creates a mosaic of heather of different ages helping to produce a more diverse habitat for a range of wildlife.
Last year, Sam and his conservation team, which is partly made up of volunteers, started the first of several trials to help establish the quickest method to restore the heather.
Some areas of heather were left uncut to see if they would recover, other areas were cut and then scraped to encourage growth from seed, and some areas were just cut, with the cuttings removed.
‘It’s still too early to see the full effect, but we’ve already observed some differences between our trials and we’ll use this to inform how we further manage the habitat.’
‘As the UK’s largest conservation charity we are experiencing first-hand the consequences of more frequent extreme weather events, such as the prolonged period of drought that severely impacted the heath at Dunwich,’ says Ben McCarthy, NT’s Head of Nature Conservation and Restoration Ecology.
‘Habitats threatened by our changing climate’
‘Many rare wildlife and plant species rely on this and other habitats threatened by our changing climate.’
‘This is why one of our priority asks for the new government is to address this significant issue to help ensure generations for years to come can enjoy the nature, beauty and history of this country and sights such as carpets of purple heather are not lost.’
‘It’s great to see so much heather back in flower and looking the best it has in years,’ adds Richard Gilbert, Property Operations Manager at Dunwich Heath.
‘This time of year is always a favourite among our visitors, in part because Dunwich is the only place in the East of England where the heathland extends to the sea, so you get fantastic views and contrasts between the sky, sea and heath.’
‘Visitors can help us preserve this special landscape by picking up their litter, keeping dogs on leads, sticking to the paths and refraining from lighting barbecues or cigarettes, as these can easily ignite dry vegetation where fires spread rapidly and are difficult to control.’