Nature in Northern Europe gives a fascinating and detailed insight into nature, examining both widespread trends and local specialities across an area stretching from lceland to North-western Russia, and from Denmark to Svalbard. The central theme of the book is biodiversity the region’s wide range of plants, animals and habitats and the factors that have shaped it over the years, especially recent trends and the role of man.

The story begins way back during and even before the last ice age, when Northern Europe’s landscapes were largely formed. The species found here today have only arrived since the ice finally receded - and this recolonisation is still going on. But an opposite trend has also been discernible lately, with many species of plants and animals evidently in decline. The landscapes, too, have been loosing some of their rich diversity.

– How is nature faring in various parts of northern Europe today?

– What are the worst threats facing biodiversity?

– Where do bears and wolves still roam?

– Are there any butterflies in the Faroe Islands?

– How did Scotland’s moorlands form?

– Can coral thrive in the North Atlantic?

– Which is Northern Europe’s most common tree?

– How have the landscapes of the Baltic Countries been changing recently?

Nature in Northern Europe answers all these questions, and many more, by presenting the latest information on biodiversity and related environmental issues, compiled in a Nordic co-operation project also involving experts from Scotland, the Baltic Countries and North-western Russia.