Definition of moorland Moorland

/mʊˈɹlæˌnd/ - [murland] - moor•land

We found 5 definitions of moorland from 5 different sources.

What does moorland mean?

Noun
moorland - open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
		moor
		champaign, plain, field a university town in east central Illinois adjoining Urbana

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moorland (Noun)
Open land that has an acidic peaty soil and is mostly covered with heather or bracken.

Moorland or moor is a type of habitat that one can find in upland areas, that are characterised by acidic soils.

Moorland habitats are rather common in the neotropics and tropical Africa but one can find them also in small scattered places in northern and western Europe, northern Australia, North America, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In the tiny areas of European moorlands tend to be environments with only very few species. They are often dominated by heather. In the far more extensive moorlands of the tropics species diversity can be extremely high.

Moorlands differ from typical heathland in being colder and much wetter, often with extensive bogs.

Famous moorlands in the UK.

Notable areas of upland moorland in Britain include the Dark Peak, the Forest of Bowland, the Lake District, the Pennines, Mid Wales, the Southern Uplands of Scotland, the Scottish Highlands and a few very small pockets in western Herefordshire.

Conservation.

In Europe if the heather and other vegetation is left for too long, a large volume of dry and combustible material builds up. This is may cause a fire which may burn out a large area. But generally moorland wildlife copes with even major fires and are easily able to recover if such intense burnings are not too frequent.