Biodiversity of Wales

{{Main|Flora of Wales}}

File:Gagea probably bohemica seglea.JPG]]

The sessile oak (Quercus petraea), one of Wales' most common species, can be found across the region. English holly (Ilex aquifolium), one of the few native evergreen trees, can be found in southern Wales. The wych elm (Ulmus glabra), a native species, suffers from disease and competition introduced by exotic species.{{Cite book |last=White |first=John |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57576205 |title=Trees : a field guide to the trees of Britain and Northern Europe |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Jill White, S. M. Walters |isbn=0-19-851574-X |location=Oxford |oclc=57576205}}

The cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), a herbaceous perennial, can be found throughout Wales. Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), a small flowering shrub, can be found in central Wales. Within the British Isles, the Snowdon lily (Gagea serotina) is found only on the slopes of Snowdon.{{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=R. G. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/13580311 |title=Flowering plants of Wales |date=1983 |publisher=National Museum of Wales |isbn=0-7200-0271-0 |location=Cardiff |oclc=13580311}}

Important Plant Areas (IPAs) in Wales are areas of "the highest botanical importance" as determined by Plantlife.{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Important Plant Areas (Wales) |url=http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wales/wild_plants/important_plant_areas_wales/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227071301/http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wales/wild_plants/important_plant_areas_wales/ |archive-date=27 December 2010 |access-date=26 September 2012 |website=Plantlife Cymru}}

{{Main|Animals of Wales}}

Around Cardigan Bay and Pembrokeshire coast, minke and pilot whales are common in the summer while fin and killer whales are rare. Bottlenose dolphins are common and Risso’s dolphin and Atlantic white-sided dolphin are rare. Whales, grey seals, basking sharks and sunfish can also be seen.{{Cite web |title=Wildlife and bird watching in Wales |url=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/uk/wales/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109183751/http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/uk/wales/#cr |archive-date=9 November 2012 |access-date=28 September 2012 |website=Wildlife Extra}}

File:Pony_in_brecon2.jpg]]

Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) are the two largest mammal species in Wales. Roe deer are found in central and northern Wales. Fallow deer are found in rural and semiurban areas of Wales. The European polecat (Mustela putorius) can be found in both urban and country environments. Found in the same area is the red fox, one of the most common mammals in Wales.{{Cite book |last=Whitfield |first=Philip |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39763764 |title=The Simon & Schuster encyclopedia of animals : a visual who's who of the world's creatures |date=1998 |publisher=Simon & Schuster Editions |isbn=0-684-85237-3 |location=New York |oclc=39763764}}

The red deer, one of five native deer species, is the biggest non-marine mammal in Wales. (Although native populations of deer have long been extinct). Fallow, muntjac roe and sika deer can also be found. pine martens are very rarely seen. Other mammals include badgers, foxes, hares, hedgehogs, otters, rabbits, stoats, weasels, red squirrels, and 13 species of bat.

{{main|List of birds of Wales}}

File:Milvus milvus R(ThKraft).jpg (Milvus milvus)|225x225px]]About 430 species of birds have been found in Wales. Red kites and ospreys are some "signature species" of Wales. Dippers, choughs, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, short-eared owls, Manx shearwaters, whimbrel and plovers are also common. Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus), a rare species in Britain, has several nesting places in Wales. Red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica), once a common species, has reduced population dramatically due to human hunting. Red grouse can be found at the extreme north part of Wales.

Adders, common lizards, notably around Oxwich Bay and grass snakes have been recorded. Some sand lizards bred by Herpetological Conservation Trust volunteers and Chester and Jersey Zoos have been released into the wild.[http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/news-sandlizard.html Sixty more Sand lizards re-introduced to the sand dunes of north and west Wales] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320105434/http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/news-sandlizard.html |date=20 March 2015 }} Wildlife Extra, Retrieved 28 September 2012.

Native species include ash, birch, oak, willow, holly, juniper, Scots pine and yew. Planting and conservation of natives species is encouraged, because they tend to better survive the local environment. They also help balance the biodiversity and provide wood and timbers.{{Cite web |title=Planting Native Trees for Biodiversity |url=http://www.nativetrees.org.uk/native-trees/planting_natve_trees_for_bio_diversity.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013213031/http://www.nativetrees.org.uk/native-trees/planting_natve_trees_for_bio_diversity.php |archive-date=13 October 2012 |access-date=28 September 2012 |website=Tree Nurseries of Powys}}

Ash, service tree, wild leeks, Tenby daffodil.[http://www.ccgc.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/habitats--species/terrestrial/species/flowering-plants/wales-ancient-roots.aspx Species] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518091105/http://www.ccgc.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/habitats--species/terrestrial/species/flowering-plants/wales-ancient-roots.aspx |date=18 May 2015 }} CCW, Retrieved 28 September 2012.

Wales has over 300 species of mosses and liverworts.

The endangered species are: Bartramia stricta, Cryphaea lamyana, Ditrichum plumbicola, Hamatocaulis vernicosus, Pallavicinia lyellii, Petalophyllum ralfsii, Riccia huebeneriana and Sematophyllum demissum.

• Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros)
• Red squirrels

• Hen harrier
• Black grouse
• Curlew
• Golden plover

There are five native reptiles in Wales. These include grass snakes, sand lizards, common lizards and slowworms.

There are six native amphibians in Wales. They are the common toad, great crested newt, natterjack toad, palmate newt, smooth newt and common frog.

An estimated 25,000 invertebrate species live in land and freshwater habitats in Wales.

Welsh biodiversity has been reduced by human activity. Many native species were lost because of lack of woodland support.[http://www.ccgc.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/habitats--species/terrestrial.aspx Terrestrial] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116070745/http://www.ccgc.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/habitats--species/terrestrial.aspx |date=16 November 2012 }} CCW, Retrieved 28 September 2012. Believed to be home to some of Wales's rarest land invertebrates, some 2,500 disused coal tips are the subject of study by the Welsh Government; the tips are home to a wide variety of other wildlife.{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title=Coal tip repairs threaten rare wildlife, ecologists warn|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66632770|author=Steffan Messenger & Gavin Fischer|date=29 August 2023|access-date=29 August 2023}}

Many conservation projects have been set up to preserve the red squirrel.{{Cite web |title=Conservation of red squirrels in Wales |url=http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/habitats--species/terrestrial/species/mammals/red-squirrels.aspx?lang=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518135444/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/habitats--species/terrestrial/species/mammals/red-squirrels.aspx?lang=en |archive-date=18 May 2015 |access-date=18 September 2012 |website=Countryside Council for Wales – Landscape & Wildlife}} There is a great decline in the number of hedgehogs.{{Cite web |title=BBC Wales – Nature – Wildlife – Hedgehog |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/nature/sites/species/mammals/hedgehogs.shtml |access-date=2022-07-20 |publisher=BBC}} The use of pesticides has caused a major decline in honeybees; a Pollinator Action plan was launched at the Royal Welsh Show in July 2012.{{Cite web |date=2012-07-24 |title=Royal Welsh Show: Honeybee action plan launched |url=https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/royal-welsh-show-honeybee-action-plan-launched |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Farmers Weekly |language=en-US}}

Wales has 175 species on the Section 74 list of Species of Principal Importance for the Conservation of Biological Diversity. However, the list of species and habitats of principal importance in Wales is now based on new legislation in the form of sections 6 and 7 of the Environment (Wales) 2016 Act.{{cite web|title=Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/3/section/6/enacted|website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=19 February 2017}}{{cite web|title=Biodiversity lists and duty to take steps to maintain and enhance biodiversity |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/3/section/7/enacted|website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=19 February 2017}} In Wales, the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) was implemented by the Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP).Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee, Halting Biodiversity Loss: Thirteenth Report of Session 2007–08; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence, The Stationery Office, 2008. {{ISBN|0215524845}}, {{ISBN|9780215524843}}. p120. The Countryside Council for Wales also assists in sustainability management.{{Cite web |title=Managing land, water and sea |url=http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/managing-land-and-sea.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006082254/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/managing-land-and-sea.aspx |archive-date=6 October 2011 |access-date=25 September 2012 |website=Countryside Council for Wales – Landscape & wildlife}}

Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP) organises the overall plan, and on a local scale, each council carries out its own surveys and reports back, then produces management and protection plants for the identified species and habitats.{{Cite web |title=Wales Biodiversity Strategy |url=http://ukbars.defra.gov.uk/archive/plans/wes.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904083840/http://ukbars.defra.gov.uk/archive/plans/wes.asp |archive-date=4 September 2012 |access-date=25 September 2012 |website=Biodiversity Action Reporting System}}

The Welsh government cooperates with European Community directives on the conservation of wild birds and natural habitats and wild flora and fauna as well as with NATURA 2000.{{Cite web |date=30 June 2016 |title=The birds and habitats directives |url=http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/consmanagement/conservationbiodiversity/habitatdirective/?lang=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324210742/http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/consmanagement/conservationbiodiversity/habitatdirective/?lang=en |archive-date=24 March 2017 |access-date=25 September 2012 |website=Welsh Government}}

File:Narcis 1.JPG|Daffodil

File:Sorbus domestica.JPG|True service tree

File:Wild leeks (Whitefish I) 1.JPG|Wild leeks

File:Ulmus glabra-tr.JPG|Wych elm

File:Quercus petraea 06.jpg|Sessile oak

File:Ilex-aquifolium (Europaeische Stechpalme-1).jpg|Holly

File:Cardamine pratensis.jpg|Cuckoo flower

File:Andromeda polifolia 002.JPG|Bog rosemary

File:Lloydia serotina.jpg|Snowdon lily

File:Pilot whale spyhop.jpg|Pilot whale

File:Tursiops aduncus, Port River, Adelaide, Australia - 2003.jpg|Bottlenose dolphin

File:Halichoerus grypus He3.jpg|Grey seal

File:Cetorhinus maximus by greg skomal.JPG|Basking shark

File:Capreolus capreolus (Marek Szczepanek).jpg|Roe deer

File:Dama dama5.JPG|Fallow deer

File:Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) -British Wildlife Centre-8.jpg|Red fox

File:European Polecat (Mustela putorius)-8.jpg|European polecat

File:Red Squirrel - Lazienki.JPG|Red squirrel

File:Fratercula arctica -Skomer Island -upper body-8b.jpg|Puffin

File:Wild Pandion.jpg|Osprey

File:Asio flammeus -Fazenda Campo de Ouro, Piraju, Sao Paulo, Brasil-8.jpg|Short-eared owl

File:Circus pygargus juvenile flight.jpg|Montagu's harrier

File:Jaszczurka.jpg|Sand lizard

File:Natrix natrix (Marek Szczepanek).jpg|Grass snake

{{Portal|Ecology|Environment|Animals|Marine life|Biology}}

• Flora of Wales
• Fauna of Wales

• List of local nature reserves in Wales
• National nature reserves in Wales
• Protected areas of Wales
• List of Special Areas of Conservation in Wales
• List of habitats of principal importance in Wales

• Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales
• North Wales Wildlife Trust
• Radnorshire Wildlife Trust

• Wildlife law in England and Wales
• List of invasive non-native species in England and Wales

{{reflist}}

• Wales Biodiversity Group, Future biodiversity action in Wales: advice to the National Assembly for Wales on the UK Millennium Biodiversity Report, Wales Biodiversity Group, 2002. {{ISBN|0750428872}}, {{ISBN|9780750428873}}.
• David Hill, Matthew Fasham, Graham Tucker, Michael Shewry, Philip Shaw, Handbook of Biodiversity Methods: Survey, Evaluation and Monitoring, Cambridge University Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0521823684}}, {{ISBN|9780521823685}}.
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• Great Britain: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy, The Stationery Office, 2005. {{ISBN|0101646720}}, {{ISBN|9780101646727}}.
• Jon Moore, An Atlas of Marine Biodiversity Action Plan Species and Habitats in Wales: A Report for Countryside Council for Wales, Countryside Council for Wales, 2001.
• Mike Alexander, Management Planning for Nature Conservation: A Theoretical Basis & Practical Guide, Springer, 2008. {{ISBN|1402065809}}, {{ISBN|9781402065804}}.
• P. Selman, PLANNING AT THE LANDSCAPE SCALE, Routledge, 2006. {{ISBN|0415351421}}, {{ISBN|9780415351423}}.
• Niles Eldredge, Life on Earth: An Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution, ABC-CLIO, 2002. {{ISBN|157607286X}}, {{ISBN|9781576072868}}.
• George W. Cox, Alien Species and Evolution: The Evolutionary Ecology of Exotic Plants, Animals, Microbes, and Interacting Native Species, Island Press, 2004. {{ISBN|1559630094}}, {{ISBN|9781559630092}}.

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{{Commons category multi|Biodiversity|Nature of Wales|Protected areas of Wales}}

• [http://www.globio.info/ GLOBIO], an ongoing programme to map the past, current and future impacts of human activities on biodiversity
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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121031101452/http://www.amibio-project.eu/ Automatic acoustic Monitoring and Inventorying of BIOdiversity]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120829110550/http://www.gardenofwales.org.uk/science/barcode-wales Barcode Wales]
• [http://thinktanksreport.org/tag/biodiversity/ Biodiversity headlines from thinktanksreport]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} – Latest reports, research and opinion on biodiversity.
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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120914171622/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/default.aspx?lang=en Countryside Council for Wales]
• [http://www.eol.org/ Encyclopedia of Life ] – Documenting all species of life on earth.
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• [http://tolweb.org/ Tree of Life ] – Relationships & characteristics of all life on earth.
• [http://www.biodiversitywales.org.uk/ Wales Biodiversity Partnership]

{{Geography of Wales}}

{{Wales topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Biodiversity Worldwide}}

{{Europe topic|Protected areas of}}

Wales

Category:Coast of Wales

Category:Conservation in Wales

Category:National nature reserves in Wales

Category:Protected areas of Wales

Category:Regional parks of the United Kingdom