|Bialowieza primeval forest, Poland The Bialowieza Forest (150
000 ha) is the last remaining fragment of primary deciduous and
mixed forest in the European lowlands. It is the place where
giant trees, not found anywhere else in Europe, exist. Many
species which disappeared from other regions or are endangered
are still present there, including large mammals (European
bison, wolf and lynx) and rare species dependent on dead wood or
large trees: woodpeckers, saproxylic coleopterans and fungi.
Therefore, Bialowieza Forest is also a key refuge for relict,
critically endangered species, because it is the only place
where ecological and evolutionary processes, typical for the
temperate forest biome, can still be observed. Unfortunately,
only 38% of the Polish part of Bialowieza Forest (the rest is
located in Belarus) is currently protected as the national park
and nature reserves. Despite of being a Natura 2000 site, most
of the forest has undergone commercial logging and artificial
reforestation also in the remain