Biomes of France
A biome is a region of the earth as defined by its climate and natural environment.
France has a temperate climate, changing to Mediterranean climate in the south-east of France.
The country contains a wide diversity of landscapes - predominantly forested, mountainous, open countryside, and coastal regions.
It is defined to have four biomes according to official designations:
- Much of France (also the UK, Germany, and a broad band heading east across northern Europe) is 'temperate broadleaf forest'
- The coastal biome of south-east France is 'Mediterranean'
- There are regions of 'Alpine Tundra' eg in the Pyrenees.
- In the mountains we also find 'Mountain Forests'
Of course, each region contains numerous subdivisions, and non-representative environments - such as the marshes of the Marais Poitevin (Pays-de-la-Loire) or the large 'man-planted' forests of the Landes region of south-west France.
