The Continental Biogeographic Region is a
biogeographic
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...
region of Europe that extends in a broad band from east to west through the center of the continent.
Extent
The Continental Region extends from central France to the
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan. .
The southern part of this region is almost completely separated from the larger northern part by the Alps and Carpathians of the Alpine region and the plains of the Pannonian region.
More than 25% of the European Union is in the Continental region.
Luxembourg is completely within the region.
Large parts of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Bulgaria are in the region, as are significant parts of Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Slovenia and Romania.
Just 3% of Sweden is in the region.
Environment
The climate is generally hot in summer and cold in winter, with less variation of temperature in the west, where the Atlantic has a moderating influence.
The lands is generally flat in the north and hillier further south, apart from the wide floodplains of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and
Po rivers.
The region was covered by wetlands and deciduous beech forests after the glaciers of the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
retreated.
The forests have mostly been cleared to make way for farming and the rivers have been canalized, greatly reducing wetland habitats.
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
in Poland and eastern Germany is still thinly populated and holds many lakes, fens and mires.
The southern part of the Continental Region has much vegetation in common with the lower levels of the Alpine region, and with the Mediterranean region.
Notes
Sources
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Environment of Europe
Biogeography