The unique habitats that exist in the UK

When you think of rare habitats, rich in wildlife and under threat, do you think of South American rainforests and Australian coral reefs? These are indeed spectacular, precious and irreplaceable habitats, but did you know that the UK has some incredible habitats as well?They may not be as famous, or as photogenic in some cases, but they’re incredibly important and are home to rare and threatened species. Learn more about these habitats and why they’re special, then add your voice to those ensuring that they are conserved and protected!

Flow Country Peatbog, Scotland

 Peatbog, or blanket bog, is a very special type of environment where waterlogged ground and the ponds and pools within it host a range of incredible and rare plants, animals and insects. The waterlogged soil mean that the grasses and mosses that make it up don’t decompose fully, creating a very acid environment.They’re home to plants like bog cotton, with tufty white fluffy seed-heads that look like little clouds or cotton wool balls thing strands. Because of the acidic conditions, nutrients are scarce so a lot of plants get them elsewhere; bog are home to a lot of carnivorous plants such as sundews and butterworts. Animals like water voles and otters call it home, and plenty of bird species too.It’s taken thousands and thousands of years to form, and it’s also an important carbon reservoir, since it holds the captured carbon in thousands of years of plant matter preserved within in.Flow Country covers a huge area of Northern Scotland, and is important enough that a group led by The Flow County PartnershipThe Flow County Partnership is leading a bid for the area to get UNESCO World Heritage Site designation, which would give it more protection.

Read more:

• The Flow Country Partnership 
• BBC new story: The Scottish bog aiming for World Heritage status
• Plantlife: Scottish carnivorous plants

Celtic or Temperate Rainforests, various sites in the UK

Most people think South America when they hear the word ‘rainforest’ but actually there are also rainforests that don’t like in tropical zones of the planet. These ‘temperate’ rainforests can be found in parts of the West Coast of the USA, the North coast of France, the East Coast of Russia, parts of China and the UK - and it’s exceptionally rare!In the UK, there are Celtic Rainforests in Devon, Cornwall, Cumbria, parts of Wales and Scotland, and parts of Northern Ireland, and even between these different locations there are vast differences in the plants and animals that call this habitat home.A very specific set of conditions are required to form a Celtic Rainforest; there needs to be high rainfall and high humidity, but a fairly stable, warmish temperature that doesn’t fluctuate too much.The result if forest damp forest that are some of the most biodiverse habitats in the UK. In particular, hundred of species of moss, lichen and bryophytes can thrive here. These in turn provide habitat for insects, and these attract birds.

Read more:

• The Woodland Trust: Temperate Rainforest
• BBC: Uncovering Britain’s ancient rainforests
• Lost Rainforests of Britain