THE ECOLOGICAL CHANGES OF BRECKLAND GRASS HEATHS AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF MANAGEMENT

1. Sites of previous vegetation quadrats were revisited and reanalysed. There was a trend from characteristic Breckland communities with an abundance of lichens, winter annuals and cushion-forming mosses towards rank grassland. 2. A survey of Breckland grass heaths showed that the characteristic plant communities were found on rabbit-grazed but not sheep-grazed sites. 3. Sites which had been rotovated had shorter grass, a higher abundance of lichens and annual plants, less organic matter and greater rabbit activity than control plots. 4. Encouraging rabbits and disturbing the soil are essential to maintain these heaths.