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 extend 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 ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...
.
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 ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
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 gree ...
retreated.
The forests have mostly been cleared to make way for farming and the rivers have been canalized, greatly reducing wetland habitats.
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
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