Terrestrial
Wales is home to a vast range
of species. However, the destruction of habitats and the
invasion of non-native species present major challenges.
Wales is rightly proud of its abundance of wildlife, with important
species such as the iconic Snowdon lily. Yet its biodiversity has
been reduced by human activity.
The Welsh countryside underwent huge changes in the 20th
century:
- Much of our native woodland, of birch, oak and other
broad-leaved trees, was felled or converted to conifer
plantations.
- Most of the flower-rich meadows that once teemed with
butterflies disappeared.
- Small wetlands were drained.
- The formerly extensive purple heathlands colouring stretches of
the coast were reduced to fragments.
- Large areas of moorland and hill grassland were lost due to
agricultural intensification and the planting of conifers – though
this has started to decline.
The impact of these changes on many species
was catastrophic. Agriculturally improved grassland – now
accounting for nearly half the area of Wales – contains so few
plant species that it supports little wildlife.
5 of the butterfly species in Wales died out
in the last century. Other species such as brown hares, water voles
and lapwings declined enormously.
Wales’s biodiversity is further threatened by
invasive non-native species. For example, the rhododendron prevents
sapling trees from growing. Without young trees, broad-leaved
woodland – one of our richest wildlife habitats – cannot
survive.
The break up of remaining habitats into
fragments has taken its toll on wildlife. Sadly, small fragments of
habitat invariably support fewer of their associated plants and
animals than larger areas.