This volume is based on the long-awaited proceedings of the UK National Lowland Heathland Conference held in Nottingham in September 2002. Containing many expanded and additional contributions the publication has been edited by Ian Rotherham (Sheffield Hallam University) and Janice Bradley (Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust), and hopefully threaded together into an integrated whole that will be of interest and value to heathland managers. The papers or chapters are presented in three main sections: Part 1: Issues and Overviews; Part 2: Local and Regional Case Studies in Restoration, Creation and Management; and Part 3: Concluding Thoughts.
The book reflects the depth and variety of the contributions which ranged across taxonomic groups and from site management or restoration, to creation of new heaths. Heaths are considered from perspectives of ecology and history, from birds to mammals, and from invertebrates to higher plants. These are landscapes for nature conservation, but also for recreation and tourism and they vary from rural idylls to post-industrial restorations.