CHAPTER VII 
MOORLAND ASSOCIATIONS 
General distribution of moorland. Classification of moorland associations. 
The fen formation. “Hochmoor” and “Flachmoor.” Moors and 
Fens. Bryophytes of the moors. Factors related to the distribution 
of the moorland associations. Heather moors. Transitional as- 
sociation of heather moor and siliceous grassland. Bilberry moors. 
Transitional association of heather moor and bilberry moor. Cotton- 
grass moors. ‘Transitional association of cotton-grass moor and 
siliceous grassland. Transitional association of heather moor and 
cotton-grass moor. Retrogressive moors. The Peak of Derbyshire. 
Bare peat. Sub-Alpine grassland. Zonation of the moorland and 
grassland associations. List of species of the moor formation. 
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF MOORLAND 
THE moorland associations occur on peat whose waters are 
poor in soluble mineral salts and are also acid in reaction. In this 
district, the peat is almost wholly confined to the plateaux and 
to the upper slopes of the sandstones and shales. Peat also 
occurs in places which the existing geological maps indicate as 
Carboniferous Limestone ; but most of such localities on exami- 
nation prove to have a surface layer of chert (figure 1). Certain 
volcanic and metamorphic rocks of the limestone area also bear 
moorland plants over limited tracts; and, as already stated (see 
pages 122—6), heather (Calluna vulgaris) and some of its associ- 
ates are found on leached limestone soils. There are no lowland 
peat moors in this district, although they are not rare on the 
plains both on the east and west of the Pennines. 
The peaty uplands consist of gently sloping plateaux. These 
are usually dip slopes, or less often the slopes of the valleys 
of small streams. The peat of the lower plateaux is shallow 
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