Belgium

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Belgium packs three distinct environments into a small and densely populated territory: the coastal plain and the Flemish polders of the north, the central farming plateau and the wooded massif of the Ardennes to the southeast. The Ardennes concentrate the country's forest fauna, with wild boar, red deer, roe deer and wildcats, and since the 1980s the European beaver and the lynx have reappeared sporadically. At its highest point lie the High Fens, a plateau of peat bogs and heath that works as a subarctic island in the middle of western Europe, with relict plant species from the glaciation. On the coast, the Zwin reserve, a former sea inlet now silted up, is a stopover for birds migrating between northern Europe and Africa. The country's beech woods also offer one of the most photographed botanical spectacles on the continent.

The nature of Belgium

National animal: The Belgian lion, the state's heraldic symbol

Did you know?

Belgium's woods produce what is known as the blue carpet every spring: for two or three weeks in April and May, millions of bluebells flower at once beneath the beeches of the Hallerbos and turn the forest floor violet. The species needs old, little-disturbed woodland, so the extent of those carpets is used as an indicator of how long the trees have stood there.

Biodiversity profile

Europa OccidentalAprox. 14,7% del territorio protegido, una de las coberturas mas bajas de la Union Europea

Climate

•Oceanico templado (Cfb), lluvias distribuidas todo el año

Main biomes

•Bosque caducifolio templado (Ardenas, sureste, mayor remanente forestal del pais)
•Pastizal y bocage en el centro y sur
•Dunas y marismas costeras (litoral norte)
•Bosque de hayas
•Turbera de altitud
•Brezal
•Pólder
•Marisma costera
•Valle fluvial encajado
•Bosque ribereño

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Corta costa del Mar del Norte, con dunas y marismas de relevancia para aves costeras

Flagship wildlife

•Ciervo rojo (Ardenas)
•Lobo gris (retorno reciente y aun escaso a las Ardenas)
•Halcon peregrino
•Tejon europeo
•Jabalí
•Gato montés europeo
•Castor europeo
•Cigüeña blanca
•Espátula común
•Marsopa común
•Nutria paleártica
•Grulla común

Notable endemic species

•Endemismo estricto muy limitado; valor de conservacion concentrado en los bosques de las Ardenas como remanente de bosque templado en un pais densamente poblado y urbanizado

Notable threatened species

•Belgica tiene una de las coberturas de areas protegidas mas bajas de la UE (14,7%)
•Especies de bosque y pastizal bajo presion por fragmentacion de habitat en un territorio muy densamente poblado

Notable protected areas

•Bosques de las Ardenas (principal remanente forestal continuo del pais)
•Alta Fagnes-Eifel
•Reserva Natural del Zwin
•Hallerbos
•Parque Nacional Hoge Kempen
•Valle del Semois
•Reserva Natural del Kalmthoutse Heide

Main conservation threats

•Fragmentacion severa de habitat por la altisima densidad poblacional y de infraestructura del pais
•Baja cobertura relativa de areas protegidas frente a la media europea
•Conflicto incipiente entre el retorno del lobo y la ganaderia en las Ardenas

Conservation

Fragmentation by infrastructure is the main problem in one of the most densely populated countries in Europe; wildlife overpasses have been built across motorways to reconnect the forest blocks of the Ardennes and the Campine.

Where and when to watch wildlife

The Hallerbos in the second half of April for the bluebell flowering. The Ardennes in September and October for the deer rut. The Zwin in spring and autumn for the migration.

Sources: visualcapitalist.com - Europe's Protected Land Share by Country | theanimalmap.com - Wildlife Dangerous Animals Belgium

Temperate forest Grassland