Habitats
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is home to a wide range of habitats for wildlife to live in. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is part lowland and part upland and the range of habitats from lowland meadow to upland heath reflects this.
Many of the habitats are more common in some parts of the National Park than others and occur together where conditions suit them. For example, calcareous grassland, limestone pavement and upland mixed ashwoods are typical of areas where Carboniferous limestone occurs and are concentrated in the Craven District of the Park. As can be seen from the following pages, many of the habitats listed can be grouped into broad land classes within the National Park.
350 million year old limestone rocks created from ancient coral seas producing a wonderful rocky landscape with internationally important habitats and species that thrive in these lime-rich areas.
Windswept purple heather moorland and blanket bog fringed with rough rushy pastures. An internationally important home to breeding birds such as merlin and golden plover. Alive in spring and summer with the sound of the lapwing and curlew.
A landscape of walled fields enclosing flower-rich meadows and pastures made by people over centuries of traditional farming practices.
Patches of small farm woodlands in inaccessible gills and on steep limestone slopes. In the south and west internationally important upland ashwoods next to limestone pavement and grassland with more acidic oakwoods in the north and west.
Clean powerful upland rivers quick to flood and recede feeding most of the rivers in North Yorkshire to the Humber. Home to a wide range of wildlife from crayfish to otters.
Historic villages and towns connected by country roads and ancient routeways. Old buildings with crevices for bats and birds to nest and roost. Flower-rich road and rail verges provide refuges for uncommon flowers.
