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Forest
The ocean is a vast expanse of salt water that separates the continents and covers 70% of the Earth's surface. Thanks to the plant elements in the plankton that drift across its surface, the ocean captures 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and emits 50% of the oxygen we breathe - one in two breaths! This has earned it the nickname "the lungs of the Earth".
The ocean is a vast expanse of salt water that separates the continents and covers 70% of the Earth's surface. Thanks to the plant elements in the plankton that drift across its surface, the ocean captures 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and emits 50% of the oxygen we breathe - one in two breaths! This has earned it the nickname "the lungs of the Earth".
A forest is a relatively dense, tightly-packed expanse of woodland dominated by trees of one or more species. However, a forest is not just an enclosed space planted with trees; it's an ecosystem in which trees, other plants, animals, fungi and bacteria are interdependent.
More than half of all terrestrial plant and animal species are found in the forest. The forest is organized into several vertically superimposed strata, each offering very different conditions of access to light, humidity and temperature, providing ecological niches for highly specialized species.
The branches and leaves of the tallest trees form the highest stratum, known as the "arborescent", the upper part of which is also known as the canopy. Undergrowth plants such as mosses, grasses, bushes and shrubs form other strata. This division of space also applies to animals: some live mainly in the upper part of the forest, while others live on the ground.
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La France compte près de 500.000 km de cours d’eau, véritables artères de biodiversité reliant montagnes, plaines et littoraux.
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Environ 20% de la faune française dépend directement des milieux d’eau douce, mais 60% des rivières restent dégradées ou fragmentées. La ripisylve (en latin ripa la rive et sylva la forêt : la végétation des berges) stabilise les sols, filtre les pollutions et sert d’abri à de nombreuses espèces d’oiseaux, insectes et amphibiens.
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Le castor européen est aujourd’hui présent dans plus de 80 départements : en construisant ses barrages, il restaure les zones humides et régule les crues.
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Les rivières françaises abritent environ 100 espèces de poissons, dont la truite fario, l’ombre commun ou le brochet, indicateurs d’eaux saines.
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Plus de 80 espèces d’oiseaux fréquentent les berges : martin-pêcheur, héron, canard colvert, cincle plongeur… véritables sentinelles de la qualité des milieux.
