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UNITED KINGDOM
Plants and Animals

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EnglandNorthern irelandScotland
Wales

Plants and Animals

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of four countries; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. TheWorldOfInfo has chosen to deal with each individual country.

Heath on the North York Moors, EnglandHeath on the North York Moors, EnglandPhoto: Colin Grice in the public domain

About 7,000 to 5,000 years ago, birch and pine forests covered England. In 1919, only 4% of the total area of England was covered by forests. Due to good management of existing forests and a replanting program, the total amount of forest land had risen again to 10% in the mid-1990s. The animal world of England is not very rich in species. Large mammals such as red deer and roe deer are distributed locally and the fallow deer introduced in Roman times is quite widespread. This also applies to fox, tie and otter, although the latter is not so common anymore. Read more about the Plants and Animals of England

Gannets WalesGannets WalesPhoto: Dr Mary Gilham archive project (CC BY 2.0) no changes made

Wales, together with most of Great Britain, belongs to the Atlantic flora region with characteristic plant species such as ivy, foxglove, wild honeysuckle and heather. Plant species from other flora regions are also found in Wales. Wales is best known for its many and large colonies of waterfowl. For example, the Welsh coastline is home to large colonies of seabirds. One of the largest colonies of gannets in the world, about 30,000 pairs, resides on Grassholm Island. Read more about the Plants and Animals of Wales

Harebel Northern IrelandHarebel Northern IrelandPhoto: Toubib CC 3.0 Unported no changes made

The Irish island is also called the "emerald isle" because of the many shades of green that dominate the island. Only 5% of the island is covered with forest, mostly planted coniferous wood. Northern Ireland is rich in bats. The common pipistrelle bat is common. They are only 4.5 cm in size and weigh no more than a few grams. Other species include the little pipistrelle bat, Nathusius pipistrelle bat, Daubenton's water bat, brown long-eared bat, bearded bat and the Frill-tailed bat. Read more about the Plants and Animals of Northern Ireland

Red Deer ScotlandRed Deer ScotlandPhoto: Mehmet Karatay CC 3.0 Unported no changes made

In Scotland there are some vegetation types that are characteristic of the Atlantic climate. The forests in Scotland are generally deciduous forests. Beech forests are found on the poorer soils and the evergreen yew, holly and rowan are also found here. In the more humid forests we find an undergrowth of wood anemone, bingel herb, bilberry and bracken. The Scottish Highlands is home to some of Scotland's symbols, the golden eagle and the red deer, of which over 300,000 live in the Highlands. Special birds in this area are the capercaillie, corncrake and the endangered marsh ptarmigan. Read more about the Plants and Animals of Scotland


Sources

TheWorldOfInfo.com/england

TheWorldOfInfo.com/northern-ireland

TheWorldOfInfo.com/scotland

TheWorldOfInfo.com/wales

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated September 2024
Copyright: Team The World of Info