Dorset is home to a wide variety of habitats, such as heathland, grassland, woodland, wetland and coastal areas, which support a whole range of species. But over the years the amount and variety of wildlife in our county has reduced and many areas for nature have been split up or lost, leading to a nature emergency.
Explore these pages to read more about Dorset's biodiversity, land cover, and key declines in nature.
Dorset’s central position on England’s southern coast, and geological diversity, are key factors in Dorset’s wildlife richness. From extensive acidic and infertile sands, gravels and clays in the south-east of the county, to a central broad sweep of high, rolling chalk country, clay vales to the north and west and a complete sequence of Jurassic rocks along its coastline, the stage is set for an impressive range of habitats.
Fine examples of chalk downland survive on steeper slopes where grazing maintains species-rich grassland featuring fine grasses, aromatic herbs, and a select band of orchids. Dark green fritillary and Adonis blue butterflies still flourish in places, alongside stripe winged grasshoppers, and countless other insects.
The coastal limestones exhibit some differences from the chalk. Often the grassland here is dominated by coarse tor-grass, but where well-grazed, these coastal slopes in Purbeck support England’s largest population of early spider orchids. Lulworth skipper butterflies are restricted to this coast, while Portland’s unique landscape is a stronghold for many scarce species, including mosses and lichens.
Kingcombe and Powerstock Common are among the best surviving examples of the scattered pastures and hay meadows of the clay vales, these species-rich grasslands display gems such as waxcap fungi, adder’s tongue and green winged orchid and are home to surviving populations of marsh fritillary butterfly.
Heathlands surrounding Poole Harbour and stretching from the river Avon almost to Dorchester, represent an evocative, cultural landscape that for millennia supported a rural economy. The Dorset heaths are internationally important and are some of the biggest and finest remaining areas of lowland heathland in the UK, representing around 14% of England’s heathland. The heathers, gorses and bog-moss filled mires still impart a sense of the wild. For those keen to search and listen, there is an unrivalled suite of special wildlife. Treasures like Dorset heather, marsh gentian, golden bog-moss, nightjar, woodlark, sand lizard, and silver-studded blue butterflies - some which are unique to Dorset or have their largest populations here.
Dorset’s scatter of truly ancient woodlands varies with soils and topography. On steep chalk slopes ash and field maple trees are typical, while on heavier or more acidic soils, oak and hazel dominate, in all cases accompanied by other smaller trees and shrubs. Spring flora of these old woodlands include bluebell, wood anemone, ramsons, woodruff and early purple orchid. Veteran trees in wood pasture and old parkland can support rare lichens that are internationally important.
Across and through this range of broad habitats, run Dorset’s rivers. The flashy clay river Stour and its many tributaries, and smaller similar rivers like the Brit and Corfe, and the ephemeral winterbournes. Dorset is also home to globally important chalk streams. England boasts the highest number of chalk rivers in Europe, and Dorset alone accounts for around 14% of these streams by length. As well as the watercourses, with their fish, invertebrates, kingfishers, water voles and otters, floodplains still support riparian woodland of willow and alder, or reedbeds and wetland habitats like marshes. In rare cases, floodplains are also home to species-rich grassland, wildflower meadows of marsh marigold, marsh orchids, and ragged robin. The heathlands in the south east of the county form part of the Dorset and New Forest Important Freshwater Landscape, which is 1 of 24 nationally important areas for freshwater biodiversity, with many high-quality river reaches and an exceptional concentration of endangered aquatic species.
Most of these rivers eventually feed into Dorset’s 2 natural harbours, Christchurch and Poole, the latter being the second largest in the world. There are coastal habitats of saltmarshes, reedbeds, shingle spits, cliffs and chines and, at Studland, the largest area of acidic sand dune heath in England. Winter bird numbers of international importance, nesting terns and gulls, and now osprey and white-tailed eagle are highlights of these wonderful places, often to be witnessed from vantage points in nearby towns. Nestled within a busy urban area, the combined area of Christchurch Harbour, Hengistbury Head, Stanpit Marsh and the Lower Stour is a nature-rich haven. This area is home to over 25% of the UK’s native plant species, 40% of its moths and butterflies, and 50% of its bird species.
Another outstanding feature is the Fleet - the largest area of brackish lagoon in the country - sheltered behind Chesil, one of England’s 3 great shingle structures. Both sites hold special wildlife.
Dorset's coastline forms part of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognised for its outstanding rocks, fossils and landforms. It stretches 95 miles across parts of Dorset and East Devon.
The Dorset nature recovery maps show ecological networks that cover most of the semi-natural habitats we have in Dorset: grassland, woodland, heathland, wetland and coastal.
Semi-natural habitats are those that have been changed in some ways by human activity, but still retain much of their biodiversity and natural processes. Other nature areas may still provide habitat or be managed using nature-friendly practices, but have been more seriously changed by human activity, and so lack the same level of biodiversity and naturally well-functioning ecosystems.
For example:
The graph below shows roughly how these different habitat types and land uses cover Dorset. The percentages are based on a land cover map produced for Dorset using local data, expertise, and some satellite imagery in 2018. The map identified 163 habitat classes using the Integrated Habitat System, which were simplified into 30 legend classes, from which the ecological networks were created.
Although water only covers about 2% of the county, there are 46116km of rivers and streams across Dorset. Of these, almost a third are globally rare chalk streams (1460km).
Urban areas cover 11% of the county, including buildings, roads, and some of the green infrastructure in-between, as well as gardens in people's homes. Overall residential gardens cover around 4% of Dorset, but in some towns around 70% of the area is covered by gardens.
Using data from the census, the map below indicates how much of each area of Dorset is covered by gardens. This highlights the importance of using wildlife-friendly gardening practices everywhere, especially in areas where gardens provide most of the space for nature and important connectivity with the wider countryside. Find out more on how our gardens and public parks can make a big difference to nature recovery in priority 6.
Dorset is widely recognised as a reservoir of biodiversity, providing a home for rare and declining wildlife. This status brings with it a responsibility to safeguard and promote populations of wildlife such as bat species and rare reptiles, which are not commonly found elsewhere. Taking steps to protect and enhance species and ecosystems.
Where species exist in low numbers or in sub-optimal habitats, such as the hazel dormouse, taking steps to protect them and enhance their habitats ensures biodiversity ‘hotspots’ continue. This allows space for species populations to thrive and eventually disperse and establish more widely. One way this can be achieved is through the establishment of protected areas like wildlife reserves. And through bolstering the wider ecological network, involving native and local habitat communities.
Until recently, Dorset’s habitat diversity and wildlife abundance had remained relatively stable for thousands of years. However, in recent decades, the amount, variety and condition of habitats and species in Dorset has reduced. Many areas for nature have been degraded, split up or lost. The State of Nature report shows similar trends are happening across the UK.
In many places, habitats have become smaller and disconnected (known as fragmentation). This prevents species from moving freely from place to place, making them more vulnerable to pressures and increasing the risk of extinction. An example of this can be found on Turbary Common, where urban development has fragmented the heathland. This has led to resident adders being isolated from other populations, resulting in inbreeding which has caused deformities in their scales.
Nature (biodiversity) decline means that our ecosystems are not thriving and are less able to cope with change. This often results in a decline and degradation of essential ecosystem services, such as clean water and good air quality, which benefit people.
1930 to 2015
1930 to 2015
1930 to 2015
1930 to 2015
1930 to 2000
In 2019:
Some key drivers of these declines in nature have been changes in the way people live over recent decades. This section explains the impacts of these changes.
Farming and forestry have long been an important part of Dorset’s culture and economy, with farmland being the main wildlife habitat in England for thousands of years. The amount of land used for farming in Dorset has remained similar over the years, but there has been significant change in the types of farming practices. Following the 2 world wars of 20th century there was a national drive for self-sufficiency in food and timber production, an unprecedented increase in availability of cheap artificial fertilisers and pesticides, and new machinery and cheap fuel to shift away from hand labour and horsepower. Changes in farming and forestry practices made it easier for many of us to access food and timber, but we now realise many of these practices have contributed to declines in biodiversity and been too disruptive to the natural functioning of ecosystems.
Nature, farming and forestry must continue to go hand in hand. Sustainable farming and forestry practices are needed to reverse declines in biodiversity and ensure ecosystems are functioning to support both food and timber production.
Development is part of modern life, as we build homes, public buildings, offices, factories, and roads, or extract natural resources from quarries and woodlands. As development has increased over recent decades, we have changed many natural areas into man-made surfaces which has disrupted natural processes and introduced more pressures like pollution and disease. But development can be done sustainably, to ensure the natural environment is left in a better state after development than it was before. We can also take steps to increase the amount of natural features and spaces in urban areas.
Climate change is also likely to have contributed to changes or declines in nature, as a result of changing temperatures, rainfall patterns and increases in extreme weather events. These changes and their impacts on nature are likely to increase in the future and must be considered as part of nature recovery.
The percentages in this graph come from a land cover map created in 2018 using local data and satellite imagery. The data is indicative, not definitive, but provides a useful indication of roughly how different habitat types and land uses cover Dorset. Please see the Guide to Dorset’s nature recovery maps for further information on how the map was created and data used.
The census area and garden coverage map shows all the census output areas in Dorset, these are areas with similar numbers of people and houses used for national statistics. The areas are shown in different shades of green based on how much of the area is covered by gardens, using data held by Dorset Council garden waste team, and BCP Council's green infrastructure strategy. The map is not definitive but gives an indication of the coverage of residential gardens across Dorset.
Information in this section is taken from:
