Peak District - Ecology

Ecology

The gritstone and shale of the Dark Peak supports heather moorland and blanket bog environments, with rough sheep pasture and grouse shooting being the main land uses. The limestone plateaux of the White Peak are more intensively farmed, with mainly dairy usage of improved pastures. Some sources also recognise the South West Peak (near Macclesfield) as a third type of area, with intermediate characteristics.

Woodland forms around 8% of the Peak National Park. Natural broad-leaved woodland is found in the steep-sided, narrow dales of the White Peak and the deep cloughs of the Dark Peak, while reservoir margins often have coniferous plantations.

Lead rakes, the spoil heaps of ancient mines, form another distinctive habitat in the White Peak, supporting a range of rare metallophyte plants, including Spring Sandwort (Minuartia verna; also known as leadwort), Alpine Pennycress (Thlaspi caerulescens) and Mountain Pansy (Viola lutea).