Editing Dartmoor (section)

== Wildlife ==
Because of Dartmoor's height and granite geology, it experiences strong winds and has acidic soils. In consequence it has been subject to very little [[intensive farming]], and all these factors combine to form the basis of the important ecosystems found here. The landscape is one of granite with [[peat bog]]s overlying it. While the [[Moorland|moors]] topped with granite tors are the most iconic part of Dartmoor's landscape, only about half of Dartmoor is actually moorland. Equally important for wildlife are the [[blanket bog]]s, upland heaths and the oak woodlands, which are all of global importance.<ref name="plantlife">{{cite web|url= https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/nature-reserves-important-plant-areas/important-plant-areas/dartmoor|title=Dartmoor IPA| website=Plantlife| access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref> Dartmoor is a [[Special Area of Conservation]] (SAC) with four habitats (''Northern Atlantic wet heaths with Erica tetralix''; ''European dry heaths''; ''Blanket bog''s and ''Old sessile oak woods with Ilex and Blechnum in the British Isles'') being listed as primary reasons for the selection of Dartmoor as a SAC. In addition the area has a population of the [[southern damselfly]], which is also a primary reason for its selection along with populations of [[Salmo salar|Atlantic salmon]] and [[Lutra lutra|otter]] being qualifying reasons.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/protectedsites/sacselection/sac.asp?EUCode=UK0012929| title= Dartmoor – Special Area of Conservation | website = Joint Nature Conservation Committee|access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Wisht.jpg|thumb|Inside Wistman's Wood in summer]]
[[Wistman's Wood]] is one of the old sessile oak woods that contribute to the listing of Dartmoor as a SAC and is possibly a surviving fragment from the earliest [[Neolithic]] woodland clearances. It is home to exceptional epiphytic mosses, liverworts and lichens. Nearly 50 species of moss and liverwort are found in the wood along with 120 types of [[lichen]], including Smith's horsehair lichen, speckled sea-storm lichen and pendulous wing-moss. Over 60 species of lichens grow on the exposed surfaces of the granite tors, including granite-speck rim-lichen, purple rock lichen, [[Acarospora fuscata|brown cobblestone lichen]] and goldspot lichen and many rare lichen grow on rocks exposed by mining that are rich in [[heavy metals]]. On the upland heaths heather ([[Calluna|ling]]) and [[bell heather]] are common along with [[western gorse]]. In dry grassy areas [[tormentil]], [[heath bedstraw]] and [[heath milkwort]] are all common. [[Cross-leaved heath]] and [[purple moor grass]] grow in wetter spots and in the boggy areas many different species of [[sphagnum]] and other mosses can be found, along with [[liverwort]]s, [[Hare's-tail Cotton-grass]], [[round-leaved sundew]] and [[bog asphodel]], and in the valley bottoms, many different [[sedge]]s, [[bogbean]] and [[pale butterwort]] all grow.<ref name="plantlife" />

A large variety of bird species can be found on Dartmoor including ones that have declined elsewhere in the UK, such as [[Eurasian skylark|skylark]] and [[common snipe]]; some are even rare nationally, such as the [[ring ouzel]] and the [[Common cuckoo|cuckoo]]. There are internationally important populations of [[meadow pipit]] and [[European stonechat|stonechat]].  Woodland birds include a number of migrant species, like the [[European pied flycatcher|pied flycatcher]], the [[wood warbler]] or the [[common redstart]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/wildlife-and-heritage/wildlife/birds| title=Birds| website = Dartmoor National Park| access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref> Mammals found here include otters, hazel dormice and nearly all of the UK's 16 bat species. Three rare species: the [[barbastelle]], and the [[greater horseshoe bat|greater]] and [[lesser horseshoe bat]]s are of particular importance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/wildlife-and-heritage/wildlife/mammals| title=Mammals| website = Dartmoor National Park|access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref> The upper reaches of the rivers are spawning grounds for Salmon and [[trout]]; [[Palmate newt]]s, frogs and toads breed in the numerous small pools. Two shrimp species can be found on Dartmoor: [[fairy shrimp]] that can be found in temporary pools, and, in underground streams, very rare cave shrimp. The world's largest land slug, the [[Limax cinereoniger|Ash black]], is also found. Reptiles include [[common lizard]]s and [[Vipera berus|adders]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/wildlife-and-heritage/wildlife/other-animals| title=Other animals| website = Dartmoor National Park|access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref> The farmland in the wet valleys around the edge of the moors is the most important habitat for insects, including: the [[marsh fritillary]] butterfly, southern damselfly, [[Hemaris tityus|narrow-bordered bee hawkmoth]] and [[Eristalis cryptarum|bog hoverfly]]. Areas of [[bracken]] are home to the [[high brown fritillary]] and [[pearl-bordered fritillary]]. Insects found in the heathlands include the [[emperor moth]], [[green hairstreak]] and the [[bilberry bumblebee]]. The old oak woodlands have a distinctive group of insects including the [[blue ground beetle]] and [[Ectoedemia heckfordi|Heckford's pygmy moth]], a species found nowhere else in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/wildlife-and-heritage/wildlife/insects| title=Insects| website = Dartmoor National Park|access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref>