Habitats in Montgomeryshire

 

A habitat is a collection of physical conditions and biological resources that are present in an area supporting specific species of plants, animals, and fungi. The purpose of developing and actively managing habitats is to ensure we are providing environments for the widest possible diversity of wildlife.

 

An ecosystem that defines a habitat includes the underlying geology, the chemical and biological structure that makes up the supporting base (whether land or marine), and the influences that cross the boundaries into and out of the habitat. Some species are very tolerant of varying conditions and will survive in a number of habitat types; others are very intolerant of change and will only survive in very specific conditions.

 

Habitats are not static nor are they discrete. Over time one habitat type will change and evolve into another. A typical example is a freshwater pond that, left to natural events, becomes overgrown with plant life, then tends towards a wetland marsh before scrub and eventually woodland takes over. Change may be slow, taking hundreds or even thousands of years; or it may be sudden caused by geological or environmental events. A specific habitat, in a natural state, does not stand on its own with sharp boundaries and, although it is convenient to talk about specific habitats, in practice there is a continuum of habitats, based on many physical and biological parameters, that blend into each other.

 

In Britain, despite our population density and our relatively small landmass, we have a wide variety of natural habitats from marshy flat wetlands, through mature woodland, to high peak mountains. In Montgomeryshire, we have examples of many of those. Montgomeryshire does not have a true coastal area or the rugged rocky mountains of North Wales and Scotland, but it does boast:

 

  • Mature Deciduous and Coniferous Woodland
  • Scrub and hedgerow
  • Upland Heathland and Moor
  • Grassland and Meadow
  • Rocky Slopes and Scree
  • Wetlands
  • Freshwater Lakes and Rivers
  • Arable and Farmland
  • Gardens (often a mixture of a number of habitats in a small area)

The habitats looked after by members of Montgomeryshire Habitats Management Group include samples of all of these.

Use the pull-down sub menu above to see articles on specific habitats.