Wildlife of Sweden

Sweden topography

The wildlife of Sweden includes the diverse flora and fauna of Sweden. The native plants and animals are adapted to the geography and climate of this country in northwestern Europe. The country has a long coastline and the habitats include mountains, hills, tundras, forests, rivers, lakes and cultivated land. The climate is in general very mild for a country at this latitude, because of the significant maritime influence.

Geography

Sweden is an elongated country to the east of Norway and the Scandinavian Mountains and to the west of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. It extends from a latitude of 55°N to more than 70°N, which is north of the Arctic Circle. The coastline is much indented with many small islands and two larger ones in the Baltic Sea, Gotland and Öland. To the southwest lie the sea areas of the Skagerrak the Kattegat while to the northeast lies the land border with Finland.

Much of Sweden is heavily forested, with 69% of the country being forest and woodland, while agricultural land constitutes only 8% of land use. Most of northern and central Sweden constitutes the Norrland terrain which consist of large areas of hilly and mountainous land covered with boreal forests. South and east of this is the Central Swedish lowland region which used to be covered by broad-leaved forests but has now largely been cleared. Some very large lakes occur in this region. The fertile soil supports agriculture but some soils in the hilly parts are thinner and in these parts, Scots pine and Norway spruce grow. To the south of this region, the land rises to the South Swedish highlands, a terrain of elongated hills and plains largely covered by broadleaf forests and the region of Sweden with the greatest biodiversity.

Climate

Despite its northerly latitude, most parts of Sweden have a temperate climate with few temperature extremes. Climatically, the country can be divided into three regions; the northernmost part has a subarctic climate, the central part a humid continental climate and the southernmost part an oceanic climate. The country is much warmer and drier than other places at a similar latitude, mainly because of the combination of the Gulf Stream and the general westerly direction of the wind. The northern half of the country gets less rainfall than Norway because of the rain shadow effect caused by the Scandinavian Mountains.

Biodiversity

There are an estimated 50,000 species of animals and plants in terrestrial habitats in Sweden; this represents 32% of the total species found in Europe. These include 73 species of mammal, 6 species of reptile, 12 species of amphibian, 56 species of freshwater fish and 372 species of vascular plant.

Flora

Mountain birch near the treeline

Peat bog in Dalarna, the Scots pine is common in the boreal forest

The highest part of the country is part of the Scandinavian montane birch forest and grasslands ecoregion. At the highest altitude is high alpine tundra with very modest vegetation and bare rock, skree, snowfields and glaciers. At lower altitude is low alpine tundra with continuous plant cover; dwarf birch and willows up to 1 m (3 ft) tall and grasslands, as well as numerous lakes and bogs. At still lower altitude is the adjacent montane birch zone with small (2 to 5 m (7 to 16 ft)) mountain downy birch (Betula pubescens) above the conifer tree line; some stunted spruce and pine also occur here.

At lower altitudes in the northern and central parts of the country, coniferous forests in the Scandinavian and Russian taiga ecoregion occur. These are dominated by Scots pine (in drier locations), often with an understory of common juniper, Norway spruce and Siberian spruce and a significant admixture of downy birch and silver birch. Aspen and birch occur throughout this region, and Siberian larch is characteristic of the eastern part of the ecoregion. In the south east, there are scattered broad-leafed trees such as elm, ash and lime, but no oak.

In the south of the country there is a southern coniferous forest region, demarcated by the northerly limit of the oak and the southern limit of the natural regeneration of spruce. Mixed with the spruce and pine in these forests are deciduous trees including the pioneering species such as birch, alder and aspen, and the long-lived oak, elm and lime.

In the extreme south is the southern deciduous forest region, a vegetation cover shared by Denmark and central Europe. The dominant tree here is the beech, but oak can also form smaller forests. Elm at one time formed forests, but has been much reduced by Dutch elm disease. Other important trees and shrubs in this zone include hornbeam, elder, hazel, fly honeysuckle, linden (lime), spindle, yew, alder buckthorn, blackthorn, aspen, European rowan, Swedish whitebeam, juniper, European holly, ivy, dogwood, goat willow, larch, bird cherry, wild cherry, maple, ash, alder along creeks, and in sandy soil birch compete with pine.

Fauna

Main articles: List of mammals of Sweden, List of birds of Sweden, List of fish in Sweden, and List of amphibians and reptiles of Sweden

Reindeer

Female willow ptarmigan in summer plumage

According to the IUCN Red List, terrestrial mammals occurring in Sweden include the European hedgehog, the European mole, six species of shrews and eighteen of bats. The European rabbit, the European hare and the mountain hare all live here as do the Eurasian beaver, the red squirrel and the brown rat as well as about fourteen species of smaller rodent. Of the ungulates, the wild boar, the fallow deer, the red deer, the elk, the roe deer and the reindeer are found in the country. Terrestrial carnivores include the brown bear, the Eurasian wolf, the red fox and the Arctic fox, as well as the Eurasian lynx, the European badger, the Eurasian otter, the stoat, the least weasel, the European polecat, the European pine marten and the wolverine. The coast is visited by three species of seal, and around thirteen species of whale, dolphin and porpoise. Sweden's Red List of critically endangered mammals include the Bechstein's bat, the common pipistrelle and the Arctic fox, while endangered mammals include the barbastelle, the serotine bat, the pond bat, the lesser noctule and the wolf. Listed as vulnerable are the Eurasian otter, the wolverine, the harbour seal, the harbour porpoise and the Natterer's bat.

According to Avibase: Bird Checklists of the World, 535 species of bird have been recorded in Sweden. Many of these are migratory birds, making their way between Arctic breeding grounds and overwintering quarters further south in Europe and Africa. The lakes, wetlands and coasts provide nesting opportunities for water birds and seabirds and the upland regions are home to willow ptarmigan, black grouse, western capercaillie, owls and birds of prey.

The only endemic fish in Sweden is the critically endangered freshwater Coregonus trybomi, still surviving in a single lake. Amphibians found in Sweden include eleven species of frogs and toads and two species of newt, while reptiles include four species of snake and three of lizard. They are all protected under the law.

Sweden has an estimated 108 species of butterfly, 60 species of dragonfly and 40 species of wood boring beetle.

Conservation

Forests have been conserved in Sweden for over thirty years with a view to encouraging biodiversity. This is done at various scales, from the small scale leaving of individual dead and living trees in otherwise cleared areas and the medium scale retention of forest remnants, with 5% of the forested land being retained for conservation purposes, to the large scale preservation and protection of large areas with high conservation value through the creation of nature reserves.

Global warming is likely to have an effect on the country's biodiversity, with the treeline moving further north and to higher altitudes, and forests replacing tundra. The melting of ice will increase runoff, affecting wetlands. With a rise in sea level, the Baltic Sea will receive greater inflow of saline water.