Habitats Conservation in EC Law-From Nature Sanctuaries to Ecological Networks

• Main Author: Sadeleer, Nicolas de
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University PressOxford 2005
• Subjects: Tundra
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199278787.003.0007; https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/52217860/isbn-9780199278787-book-part-7.pdf

Abstract Although less marked than on other continents, Europe’s biological diversity displays a number of particular characteristics. Significant variations in the physical environment (climate, soils, hydrology, winds, topography), the influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the different regional seas, as well as the geological and climatic history of the region (glaciations) have contributed to the evolution of a rich diversity of animal species, ecosystems, and natural landscapes on the continent. Various large groups of inland and freshwater ecosystems (forests, moors, brush land, and steppes), mountains (rocky outcrops and sands), internal freshwater systems (lakes and rivers), wetlands (peat-bogs, swamps), deserts and tundra (agricultural and artificial em-systems) span the continent, shaped both by the physical conditions characterizing the continent (soils, climate, hydrology, exposure, and so on) and by human activity.