Only skilfully managed grazing maintains both the rich mosaic of plants (and thus insects, birds and mammals) on which the biodiversity value rests, and only that same grazing keeps the vegetation below knee height, through which walking and riding are possible.
The grazing also, of course, sustains the visual textures of Dartmoor’s landscapes and enables the opportunity to see it, which with its accessibility are the reasons for its designation as a National Park.
Dartmoor holds the richest concentration of prehistoric sites in western Europe. Bronze Age hut circles, pounds and ceremonial monuments are particularly numerous. They only remain visible to us if the vegetation is grazed to at least the intensity that it was by the builders of those structures. |