An array of
important wildlife habitats are recognised within UK terrestrial
and freshwater environments. These span coastal, freshwater,
lowland grassland, lowland heathland, lowland wetland, upland and
woodland environments.
Some habitats in more agricultural and urban
settings are also of importance for nature conservation, including
arable field margins, hedgerows, orchards, and open mosaic habitats
on previously-developed land.
Some UK habitat types and
individual locations are particularly significant. In some cases
the UK includes a major proportion of the European, World or
biogeographical habitat range; some habitats are largely or
exclusively contained within the UK. Amongst these are:
Many other habitats support
a unique combination of species and structural characteristics.