# D3 Bracken
Photo: Chris Gilbert
# Definition of landscape category
D3 Bracken - Areas having at least an 80% cover of bracken (Pteridium aquilinum).
An invasive species, characteristically found on steep slopes extending along valley sides. Very variable in appearance depending on time of year. Up to June it is identifiable from the presence of last years residue of dead plant material, having a characteristic russet-brown colour. After June it appears green and bushy.
# Aerial Definition
- Google photo sphere Bamford Edge (opens new window) Showing bracken is summer with mature fronds
- Google photo sphere Three Shires Head (opens new window) Showing bracken in winter died back to orange/brown
# In the Peak District
Bracken (D3) as a habitat is not recorded systematically within the PDNP, although it is mapped in some areas. In the Peak District, and most national parks, it is characteristically found on steep slopes extending along valley sides. The area of bracken changes continuously, so until now it has not been practical to map bracken across the PDNP. It was estimated that bracken cover had expanded by 1% per year since the 1960s in a sample area of the Dark Peak. Expansion tended to be at higher altitudes than in the past and occurring more on north- and east-facing slopes, where previously it had been more characteristic of south-facing slopes. Such expansion could be an indicator of climate change, particularly a reduction in frost days, warmer winters and drier summers.
Many bracken patches occur in unenclosed acid grassland/heather mosaics. This creates a mosaic that is an important habitat for twite (Linaria flavirostris - one of our rarest and declining breeding bird species), whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus), adder (Vipera berus) and common lizard (Zootoca vivipara).