| Celtic broadleaf forests | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location of the Celtic broadleaf forests | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Palearctic |
| Biome | temperate broadleaf and mixed forests |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 209,000 [1] km2 (81,000 sq mi) |
| Countries | |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | critical/endangered [1] |
The Celtic broadleaf forests are a terrestrial ecoregion that covers most of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.
The Celtic broadleaf forests occupy most of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, including the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Portions of western Ireland and Scotland are in the North Atlantic moist mixed forests ecoregion, and the Scottish Highlands are in the Caledonian forest ecoregion. Southeastern and south-central England are in the English Lowlands beech forests ecoregion. [2]
The climate of the forest is oceanic, leading to frequent precipitation, high precipitation days, high moisture and low sunshine levels; temperature extremes are rare. The combination of moisture and low evaporation (low sunshine amounts) leads to high dampness levels.
The principal plant communities include: [1]
Plant communities with smaller areas include:
In addition to the two native oak species (Quercus robur and Q. petraea), broadleafed deciduous trees include common ash, silver birch, European aspen, and common elm.
Animals known to inhabit the forests are as follows;
Many other species once inhabited the forest; however, due to exploitation of natural resources, deforestation and hunting, many animals have become locally extinct. Many of these animals were once numerous across the British isles, including the grey wolf, brown bear, wild boar, Eurasian lynx, and European beaver.
Ninety percent[ citation needed ] of the Celtic forest habitat has been destroyed, generally over the last few thousand years, due to agriculture, fire-wood use and general deforestation. The outcome is an ecoregion which has not only lost most of its pristine cover, but which has been heavily degraded by fragmentation. The forests today are in a critical status, with the majority of the land having become the rolling pasture-hills typically associated with England.
This ecoregion is relatively young, having been buried under deep ice during the last glacial maximum. Human habitation began with Mesolithic peoples who were present shortly after the ice retreated, c. 9000–8000 years ago, scattered throughout the present-day English portion of the ecoregion, as well as in the Welsh, Irish, and eastern Scottish areas of the Celtic broadleaf forests.
Archeological evidence shows indigenous towns such as York had existed for a millennium prior to the Romans arriving, but the recorded history of the ecoregion begins with major Roman urban settlements established in the first century AD. Viking settlement in coastal areas of western Scotland, Wales, and eastern Ireland was widespread from at least the ninth century AD.
Temperate rainforest are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain.
The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont and coastal plain of seven states, extending from coastal southwestern Maine, southeastern New Hampshire, eastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, southward through Connecticut, New York State, New Jersey, southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.
An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Mediterranean area. These savannas were maintained historically through wildfires set by lightning, humans, grazing, low precipitation, and/or poor soil.
The Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, are on the island of Corsica. The ecoregion includes the high-altitude regions of Corsica's mountain ranges.
The English Lowlands beech forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in the United Kingdom, as defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the European Environment Agency (EEA). It covers 45,600 km2 (17,600 sq mi) of Southern England, approximately as far as the border with Devon and South Wales in the west, into the Severn valley in the north-west, into the East Midlands in the north, and up to the border of Norfolk in the north-east. The WWF code for this ecoregion is PA0421.
The Sarmatic mixed forests constitute an ecoregion within the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature classification. The term comes from the word "Sarmatia".
Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests is an ecoregion, in the temperate coniferous forest biome, which occupies the high mountain ranges of North Africa. The term is also a botanically recognized plant association in the African and Mediterranean literature.
The Dinaric Mountains mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in Southeastern Europe, according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It also is in the Palearctic realm.
The Western Himalayan broadleaf forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion which is found in the middle elevations of the western Himalayas, including parts of Nepal, India, and Pakistan.
The Allegheny Highlands forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion located in a large part of the Allegheny Plateau physiographic province, including both unglaciated and glaciated portions, in Pennsylvania and New York within North America, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The United States EPA defines the area as belonging to the Northern Central Appalachians and Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands ecoregions.
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.
Celtic Rainforest is a colloquial term which refers to the temperate rainforest of Ireland and Great Britain. These woodlands are also variously referred to as Atlantic rainforest, Upland Oakwoods, Atlantic Oakwoods or Western Oakwoods. Today, the Celtic Rainforest exists as small fragments of the temperate rainforest that once covered much of Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. The majority of these fragments occur on steep-sided slopes above rivers and lakes which have avoided clearance and intensive grazing pressure. There are notable examples in Scotland on the islands and shores of Loch Maree, Loch Sunart, Loch Lomond, and one of the best preserved sites on the remote Taynish Peninsula in Argyll. In Wales, they occur on steep-sided riverine gorges in Snowdonia and Mid Wales. In England, there are examples in the Lake District, and steep-sided riverine and estuarine valleys in South West England, including the Fowey valley in Cornwall, and the valley of the river Dart which flows off Dartmoor, and has rainfall in excess of 2 metres per year.
The Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests is an ecoregion located in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
The Pannonian mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Europe. It covers an area of 307,720 km2 in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Croatia.
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 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.
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 Northwest Iberian montane forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It lies in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula, includes inland mountains, foothills, and plateaus in northwestern Spain and northeastern Portugal.
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.
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