The island nation is located in the northwestern part of Europe and is famous for its changeable and somewhat harsh climate with rains, fogs and frequent winds. All this is directly interconnected with flora and fauna. Perhaps the flora and fauna of the UK is not as rich in species as in other countries of Europe or the world, but this does not lose its beauty, charm and uniqueness.
Relief characteristics
The territory belonging to the United Kingdom can be divided into two areas: High and Low Britain. The first region also includes Northern Ireland and is located in the west and north of the country. The area is characterized by stable ancient bedrocks, it is a highly disconnected uplands and a small number of lowlands. Low Britain is spread out in the south and east of the country. It is characterized by a hilly landscape and small hills, at the baseyoung sedimentary rocks occur. In conjunction with climate and soils, the terrain has an impact on the characteristics of the flora and fauna of the UK.
UK climate and water
The Gulf Stream has a significant impact on the climatic conditions in the country. It creates a moderate oceanic background with high humidity. Winters are mild and summers are cool with frequent fogs and strong winds. The average annual temperature is +11 °C in the south and about +9 °C in the northeast. There is a lot of precipitation. The reason lies in the area of low pressure that stretches east across the Atlantic Ocean, in the southwest winds that prevail throughout the year, and in the mountains located in the western part of the country.
The kingdom is rich in water resources. Due to the large amount of precipitation that exceeds evaporation, deep rivers are connected in a dense network almost throughout the country. The largest lakes are in Northern Ireland (Loch Tay) and Scotland (Loch Lomond, Loch Ness in the photo above). The places are very picturesque, various kinds of animals live here.
Soil and vegetation
Great Britain is characterized by the predominance of brown forest and podzolic soils, on rocks of limestone nature - humus-carbonate. As a rule, all of them are leached due to heavy rainfall. Therefore, the flora of England is very scarce, forests occupy only about 10% of the area of the region. So the animals of Great Britain are mainly inhabitants of the plains, meadows and reservoirs. woodlandslightly larger in Scotland, but moorland, meadows and peat bogs dominate there as well. The predominant tree species are pine, larch, spruce and oak. In the lower reaches of the mountains of Wales and England, hornbeam, elm, beech, and ash are also found. In the south of the country, some evergreen species typical of the Mediterranean grow. The flora and fauna of Great Britain determines its climate. Natural meadows in Wales and England are home to wild pale yellow daffodils (the emblem of the Welsh), orchis and primrose. Above the mountainous areas there are cereal-forb areas with juniper, crowberry and blueberry. The Scottish Highlands are dominated by sphagnum-cottongrass peatlands with meadow rue and alpine knotweed.
Some plants from picturesque meadows have long become symbols of both the British themselves and their neighbors. Shamrock, or ordinary clover, is probably familiar to many, it is associated with the name of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. And the wild leek is the emblem of the people of Wales. The thistle weed (pictured) has been a symbol of Scotland for more than 500 years, embodying the same rebellious and proud disposition of the inhabitants of the region.
Animal world of Great Britain
The fauna of the country is also not very diverse and is typical of northern Europe. At the moment, there are about 70 species from the class of mammals, despite the fact that 13 of them are imported, and not native, there are no endemics. Birds are very diverse (588 species). At the same time, about 250 regularly inhabit the territory, and 300 are observed rarely or duringspan. The cold climate is not conducive to the diversity of reptiles that are sensitive to temperature changes. There are only six indigenous land species, plus sea turtles (5) and reptiles introduced to the island by humans (7).
Class Mammals: Animal Species
The coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and this explains the large number of marine life. So, on sandy and pebble beaches you can meet common and long-faced seals. The territorial waters are inhabited by blue and humpback whales, sei whale, fin whale, minke whale, dolphins (gray, Atlantic white-sided, pilot whale, white-faced, striped, bottlenose dolphin, killer whale), as well as porpoise, high-browed bottlenose, belt-toothed, beaked whale and sperm whales.
Some animals of Great Britain as a result of active hunting for centuries have now become rare. There are not so many wild artiodactyls in the forests as before: European roe deer, noble, spotted and water (rare, vulnerable species) deer, fallow deer, Chinese muntjac. Of the large predators, there are fox, wolf, forest cat, marten, ermine, weasel, ferret, otter, etc. Habitual inhabitants are badgers, wild boars, shrews. The order of lagomorphs is represented by a sufficient number of species: hare, hare and wild rabbit, voles, dormouse, rats and mice, Carolina and common squirrels.
It is also worth noting the diversity of representatives of the Chiroptera family (20 species in total). Some animal names are unusual, while others are familiar to many: large and small horseshoe, Europeanbroad-eared, late and two-color leather, long-eared, water, mustachioed, Brandt's night and night bat, small and red evening bat, bat, brown and gray earflaps.
Birds of Great Britain
Of more than five hundred species of birds, more than half in the country are only migrating. Human activities have a huge impact on their natural habitats. This leads to fluctuations in the number of different species. So, as a result of the drainage of swamps, the number of waterfowl has noticeably decreased, but sparrows and pigeons, whose populations are very large, feel great in cities. The animal world of Great Britain is not very rich in terms of diversity, and birds are no exception. Of the indigenous inhabitants, it is worth noting finches, starlings, tits, robins, kingfishers (pictured), red-breasted robin (symbol of the country), petrel, blackbirds, etc. The number of game birds is small, but pheasants and partridges are still found.
What types of reptiles live?
Conditions for reptiles, to put it mildly, are not the best. Therefore, there are only 11 species, and five of them are marine inhabitants (turtles). The first three representatives are lizards: quick, viviparous and brittle spindle (pictured). The latter species is more reminiscent of a snake, as it does not have legs. These are quite ordinary wild animals, distributed everywhere. Of the snakes, there are three types: ordinary snake, copperhead and viper. Indigenous inhabitants of the coast include sea turtles: loggerhead, Bissa, green and Atlantic ridley.
Exceptof these reptiles, at least seven more species were introduced into the country at different times. These include the red-eared and European marsh turtles, wall and green lizards, viper and water snakes, Aesculapius snake. Some animals of the UK once lived on its territory, but became extinct, and were subsequently re-introduced.
Representatives of the class Amphibians
There are few native amphibian species, only eight (5 tailless and 3 tailed). In rivers and stagnant reservoirs there are newts: thread-bearing, common and comb (pictured). Of the representatives of anurans, common and common toads, frogs (pond, nimble and grass). At least eleven introduced species are known. These include newts (alpine, grey-spotted and marbled), edible frog, fire salamander, yellow-bellied toad, etc.
Invertebrate inhabitants of the UK
These wild animals are hardly noticeable, but the most numerous both in terms of total number and species diversity. The mollusk type is represented by 220 terrestrial species. The most common and numerous class is, of course, insects. There are over 20,000 species in the UK, including beetles, lepidoptera, orthoptera and dragonflies.
UK animals are characterized by a meager number of species and an overall low population. It is connected not only with the climate. Human economic activity, deforestation, draining of swamps and extermination, which lasted for centuries, certainly contributed.
