Forests

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Forests

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Brittany's salt marshes The salt marshes are sheltered by dunes or banks of pebbles. © Mikel Bilbao - age fotostock

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The Breton forest distinguishes itself from other forests by the presence of beech and oak groves of holly and yew trees in areas where the atmosphere is very humid. It is composed of both indigenous species, beech trees (in the centre of Brittany), sessile oak trees (in deep soil), pedunculated oaks (in damp soil) and strange species like the Scotch pine tree (introduced during the Renaissance) and Maritime pines (introduced during the Enlightenment) or chestnut trees (whose introduction dates back to the Celtic period). The fauna, which is favoured by the biotope, is also just as varied. You can see stags, roe deer and wild boar, numerous bird species (woodpeckers and birds of prey) and protected species such as the golden ?carabe' (only known in the humid forests of Brittany) or the Quimper snail (in the undergrowth of Western Brittany).