Atlantic mixed forests | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Palearctic |
Biome | temperate broadleaf and mixed forests |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 380,246 km2 (146,814 sq mi) |
Countries | |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | critical/endangered [1] |
Protected | 59,657 km2 (16%) [2] |
The Atlantic mixed forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in western Europe. It extends along the western edge of continental Europe, from southwestern France through northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, northwestern Germany, and western Denmark. Most of the region's forests and dunes have been converted to fields, pastures, and forest plantations, and its once-extensive wetlands have mostly been drained and filled. [1]
The ecoregion covers an area of 380,246 km2. The terrain is generally flat or gently rolling, except in Brittany where the terrain is hilly and the coast is rocky. In several places, notably the Landes forest in southwestern France, dunes extended inland for miles from the shore. [1]
Mixed oak forests are typical, with Quercus robur , Betula pendula and Betula pubescens prevalent on acidic soils, and Q. robur and Fagus sylvatica on other soils. In the southern portion of the ecoregion Quercus petraea and Q. pubescens are also present. In the northern part of the ecoregion Abies alba also occurs. Pinus pinaster grows naturally on sandy soils, and has been planted extensively to stabilize dunes, along with Pinus sylvestris . Heathlands dominated by Calluna vulgaris , Ulex and Juniperus communis occur in coastal areas subject to wind and salt spray. [1] Substantial areas of the German, Danish and Dutch parts of the ecoregion used to be covered with extensive bogs, which now have been mostly destroyed for agriculture.
The original forests hosted a large variety of animals. Large mammals native to the region include red deer, roe deer and wild boar. Wolves [3] and lynx are returning in parts of this region. Wisents are reintroduced as well. [4] Formerly it was also inhabited by brown bears, eurasian elk, and the now globally extinct aurochs. Seasonally, harbor porpoise from the North Sea follow the rivers deeply into the country's interior. [5]
The forests are home to blackbird, blue tit, great tit, common chaffinch, firecrest, black woodpecker, black stork, goshawk, eurasian sparrowhawk, little owl, eagle-owl, among others. The golden eagle used to live here as well, but was exterminated. Mammals such as pine marten, wood mouse, badger, and European wildcat call the forests home, as do insects like cockchafer, stag beetle and dor beetle.
The region's numerous rivers and streams are inhabited by fish species such as Northern pike, common roach or bream. Formerly widespread migratory fish such as Atlantic salmon, sea trout, European sea sturgeon, allis shad or the European eel are now all endangered due to factors including habitat destruction and fragmentation by hydropower, pollution and foreign disease. Otters and beavers were exterminated, but are now making a comeback. Aquatic invertebrates include the great ramshorn and the endangered freshwater pearl mussel. Examples for birds associated with wetlands, rivers and other bodies of water include white stork, white-tailed eagle, little ringed plover and numerous species of duck, e.g. the mallard.
The Wadden Sea area on the northern coast is important for migratory birds.
The peat bogs in the northern part of the ecoregion have a specialized fauna consisting of insects like Aeshna subarctica , Agonum ericeti , Agriades optilete , amphibians like the moor frog and birds such as common snipe, swamp harrier, golden plover.
Open landscapes such as fields, heaths and meadows, whose extent was probably expanded by anthropogenic deforestation following the introduction of farming to the region, are the preferred habitat of species such as grey partridge, red kite and European hare. Many of these species are now endangered due to modernized agricultural practices.
59,657 km2, or 16%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Another 19% of the ecoregion's area is forested but unprotected. [2]
In France, the system of regional nature parks preserves biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. Regional nature parks include farms and villages as well as forests, heathlands and wetlands. Regional nature parks in the Atlantic mixed forests include Armorique, Brenne, Boucles de la Seine normande, Caps et Marais d'Opale, Causses du Quercy , Gâtinais français, Haute Vallée de Chevreuse, Landes de Gascogne, Loire-Anjou-Touraine, Marais Du Cotentin Et Du Bessin, Marais poitevin, Montagne de Reims, Oise-Pays de France, Perche, Vallée de la Scarpe et de l'Escaut avesnois, and Vexin français.
Protected areas in the Netherlands include De Alde Feanen, De Biesbosch, De Groote Peel, De Hoge Veluwe, De Loonse en Drunense Duinen, De Maasduinen, De Meinweg, Drents-Friese Wold, Duinen van Texel, Dwingelderveld, Drentsche Aa, Nieuw Land, Oosterschelde, Sallandse Heuvelrug, Schiermonnikoog, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Veluwezoom, Weerribben-Wieden, and Zuid-Kennemerland national parks. [6]
Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) in northern Germany includes area of heathland, bog, and downy oak forest, as well as coppiced woodlands and pine plantations.
The European Environment Agency's Digital Map of European Ecological Regions (DMEER) designates two Atlantic forest ecoregions – the Northern Temperate Atlantic and Southern Temperate Atlantic. [7] The WWF's system combines them into one Atlantic mixed forests ecoregion, with the same external boundary.
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The Scandinavian montane birch forests and grasslands is defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a terrestrial tundra ecoregion in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
The Euxine–Colchic deciduous forests is an ecoregion of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests along the southern shore of the Black Sea. The ecoregion extends along the thin coastal strip from the southeastern corner of Bulgaria in the west, across the northern coast of Turkey, to Georgia in the east, where it wraps around the eastern end of the Black Sea.
The Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests is an ecoregion in southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia, and Malta.
The Naracoorte woodlands is an ecoregion in southern Australia. It covers the Naracoorte coastal plain in southeastern South Australia and southwestern Victoria. It is coterminous with the Naracoorte Coastal Plain IBRA region. Only 10% of the ecoregion's area still has its original vegetation; most has been converted to agriculture and pasture.
The Po Basin mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the basin of the Po River in northern Italy and Switzerland's Ticino canton.
De Maasduinen National Park(duinen = dunes) is a national park in the Dutch province of Limburg, founded in 1996 and covering approximately 4500 ha. The landscape consists of forests and heathlands on a sandy plateau along the river Meuse close to the German border. The estate 'de Hamert' is the heart of the park. Until 1998 the national park was called 'De Hamert' after this estate. The present name is derived from the parabolic dunes which date from the last glaciation.
The North Atlantic moist mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion in Northwestern Europe. It consists of maritime forests and heathlands on the western and northern coasts of Ireland, Scotland, and neighboring islands. The ecoregion has undergone major habitat loss.
The Celtic broadleaf forests are a terrestrial ecoregion that covers most of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.
The Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests is an ecoregion in the lands around the Aegean Sea. The ecoregion covers most of mainland Greece, the Greek Aegean Islands, the western coast of Turkey, the southern Vardar river valley in North Macedonia, the southern Struma river valley at the extreme south-western corner of Bulgaria.
The Central European mixed forests ecoregion is a temperate hardwood forest covering much of northeastern Europe, from Germany to Russia. The area is only about one-third forested, with pressure from human agriculture leaving the rest in a patchwork of traditional pasture, meadows, wetlands. The ecoregion is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome, and the Palearctic realm, with a Humid Continental climate. It covers 731,154 km2 (282,300 sq mi).
Located in the Scandinavian Peninsula, Sweden is a mountainous country dominated by lakes and forests. Its habitats include mountain heath, montane forests, tundra, taiga, beech forests, rivers, lakes, bogs, brackish, marine coasts, and cultivated land. The climate of Sweden is mild for a country at this latitude, largely owing to the significant maritime influence.
The Pannonian mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Europe. It covers an area of 307,720 km2 in all of Hungary, most of Slovakia, about half of Croatia and Slovenia, around a third of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Serbia, and minor parts of Austria, Czech Republic, and Ukraine.
The Carpathian montane conifer forests, also known as Carpathian montane forests, is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in the Carpathian Mountains of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine.
The Cantabrian mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It extends along the coastal Cantabrian Mountains and Galician Massif of Northern Spain, extending south into northern Portugal, and northwards through the westernmost Pyrenees to southwestern France. The ecoregion extends from the seacoast to the highest peaks of the Cantabrian Mountains. The highest peak is Torre Cerredo at 2,648 meters elevation.
The Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the interior valleys and plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula. The ecoregion lies mostly in Spain, and includes some portions of eastern Portugal.
The Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the Mediterranean coastal region of northeastern Spain, Southern France, the Balearic Islands and a small part of Italy.
The Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It extends along the Pyrenees mountains which run east and west along the border between France and Spain, and includes all Andorra. The ecoregion extends from the lower slopes of the Pyrenees to its highest peaks, which include Aneto, Posets, and Vignemale.
The Alps conifer and mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in central Europe. It extends along the Alps mountains through portions of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Slovenia. The ecoregion extends from the lower slopes of the Alps to its peaks, which include Mont Blanc, at 4,809 m (15,778 ft) the highest peak in the Alps.
The Southland temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion on New Zealand's South Island. The natural vegetation was mostly forest, but over the centuries human activities, including grazing and fires, replaced much of the original forest with grassland and agriculture.