North Atlantic moist mixed forests

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.

Location

The North Atlantic moist mixed forests occur along the western and northern coasts of Ireland and Scotland, stretching from southwestern Ireland to the north coast of Scotland, and including the Hebrides, Shetland, Orkney, and Faroe islands.

Flora

Naturally occurring plant communities include:

Hemiboreal pine forests, predominantly of Scots pine ' with deciduous broadleaf trees.
Atlantic dwarf shrub heaths, composed of low shrubs, grasses, herbs, and mosses. Dry heaths are characterized by ling ', bell heather ', cross-leaved heath ', and blaeberry '. Wet heaths are characterized by the shrubs E. tetralix and bog-myrtle ', the sedge Scirpus cespitosus, and purple moor-grass .
Ombrotrophic mires in north-central Scotland.

Fauna

Threats

Western Scotland's and Ireland's forests have undergone significant habitat loss and damage through deforestation and hunting of its once abundant wildlife. Animals such as the grey wolf, wild boar, brown bear, European bison, Eurasian lynx, tarpan and golden eagle used to inhabit the forests; however, due to over-hunting and excessive timber extraction, the animals have lost their habitats. The North Atlantic moist mixed forests ecoregion is classified as critical/endangered by the World Wildlife Fund.

Protected areas

Protected areas in the ecoregion include:

Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands Special Protection Area, Scotland
Glenveagh National Park, Republic of Ireland
Lewis Peatlands, Scotland
Stack's to Mullaghareirk Mountains, West Limerick Hills and Mount Eagle Special Protection Area, Republic of Ireland

Prehistory

The ecoregion is relatively young with regard to human settlement, due to glaciation during the most recent ice age, less than 10,000 years ago. Mesolithic peoples were certainly in evidence circa 9000 to 8000 years ago throughout the present day Irish portion of the ecoregion, as well as somewhat later in the western Scotland areas of the North Atlantic moist mixed forests. Neolithic farming ensued, as grain farming technologies developed, along with advancing forms of livestock tending, along with appearance of some of the early Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological monumental sites in the region including standing stones and stone circles.