Dorset Habitats: Chalk downlands
Colin Varndell looks at the landscapes, the flora and the fauna of Dorset’s chalk downlands
Published in May ’12
The steep chalky slopes of Cowdown Hill near Sydling St Nicholas
How often have we stood on one of Dorset’s impressive hills like Eggardon or Hambledon, admiring the open countryside stretching away into the distance before us? These patchworks of green fields may make magnificent scenery, but the meadows and pastures we view today are not what they once were. In fact, from the point of view of native flora and fauna we are viewing little more than hostile wasteland. The advent of chemicals, driven by market forces to eradicate native wild plants and increase the yield of crops, have turned these once flower rich meadows into sterile deserts. While standing on the ramparts of Eggardon, it is only the habitat immediately beneath our feet, which now remains unspoilt or ‘unimproved’.
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