Wild France

Within the confines of Paris, in an urban setting so dominated by humans, what space is left for nature? Yet plants and animals, tough and adaptable, manage to survive in The City of Lights.

The garrigues and steppes of the Mediterranean are home to some startlingly exotic wildlife. The Sun reigns supreme here from spring until high summer, subjecting living things to ever hotter temperatures as the day progresses. How do plants and animals withstand the scorching heat? How have they adapted to these almost tropically hot, dry conditions? The typically Mediterranean maquis is one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.

The ancient upland forests of Western Europe are living monuments. They are home to a wealth of plant and animal species: large mammals and microscopic insects live side by side beneath the tall trees.nIn upland forest, life is governed by the daylight cycle. The course of the sun influences plant growth and animal behaviour. Upland forest is one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.

The point where the English Channel meets the North Sea is a huge migratory hub. Numerous bird species come to this section of the west coast of Europe to rest, feed and bring up their young. For them, the flat, windswept landscape is paradise. The dunes and mud-flats of the North Sea coast are one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.

The giant mineral monument of Mont Blanc has soared into the sky for millions of years. It subjects living organisms to extreme conditions − violent winds, sheer rock faces, polar temperatures and raging avalanches. Yet some plants and animals have succeeded in adapting to this harsh environment, developing strategies that enable them to survive from one season to the next. The Alpine peaks are one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.

Corsica is a treasure island. Its beaches are lapped by the Mediterranean; its sea-bed harbours strange and wonderful creatures, some of them found nowhere else in the world.nThe sea is a world in itself, with its own laws: its inhabitants live in an alien dimension. Coasts are oases in its watery near-desert, literally bursting with life.nThe sea-bed off Corsica illustrates one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.

The Loire is one of Europe's last free-flowing rivers ? one of the few whose banks have not been developed and confined by man. As the seasons change, its water level rises and falls and the morphology of the river-bed alters.nHow do plants and animals adjust to these variations? How do they deal with droughts and flooding? The free-flowing Loire river illustrates one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.

Inland lakes and fens harbour a wide variety of birds and mammals. These mysterious, ancient landscapes are home to some highly unusual wildlife. How do animals move around this complex, fragmented landscape? Which species inhabit both land and water? Lakes and fens represent one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.

The rather ordinary-looking bocage landscape has an extraordinary tale to tell. This familiar landscape is man-made, created centuries ago and maintained ever since. Yet it teems with wildlife. How have the plants and animals of the hedges and meadows adapted to the presence of human beings? What invisible ties link the human and natural worlds? Ancient bocage landscapes are one of Europe's distinctive ecosystems.

Breakers have been crashing onto the Atlantic coast for thousands of years. It is a mineral world of earth, rock and water, swept by raging winds.nIt was in water that life first stirred, long before animals crawled out of the primeval soup to conquer the land, and cliffs are a liminal habitat, halfway between the worlds of air and water.nA haven for flora and fauna, these cliffs represent one of Europe's distinctive natural ecosystems.