Editing Castile and León (section)

===Nature===
====Flora====
[[File:Raices de tejo en el hayedo otoñal. La Cotorra de Escobaño. Oseja de Sajambre (León). Parque Nacional Picos de Europa. ES000003. ROSUROB.JPG|thumb|right| [[Canal de Asotín|Canal de Asotín Beech]], a [[Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe|UNESCO World Heritage Natural Site]].]]
Castile and León has many protected [[natural landscapes|natural sites]]. Actively collaborates with the [[European Union]] program ''[[Natura 2000]]''. There are also some [[Special Protection Area|special protection area for birds]] or SPA.
The solitary [[Quercus ilex|evergreen oak]]s and [[juniper]]s (''Juniperus sect. Sabina'') that now draw the Castilian-Leonese plain are remnants of the [[forest]]s that covered these same lands long ago. The agricultural holdings, due to the need of land for the cultivation of cereal and pastures for the immense herds of the Castilian Plateau, supposed the [[deforestation]] of these lands during the [[Middle Ages]]. The last Castilian and Leonese forests of junipers are found in the provinces of León, Soria and Burgos. They are not very leafy forests that can form mixed communities with evergreen oaks, [[Portuguese oak]]s or [[pine]]s.

[[File:Hoces del Duratón.jpg|thumb|left| [[Hoces del Río Duratón Natural Park]]]]
The Castilian-Leonese slope of the Cantabrian Mountains and the northern foothills of the [[Sistema Ibérico]] have a rich vegetation. The most humid and fresh slopes are populated by large [[beech]]es, whose extension areas can reach 1,500 m altitude. In turn, the [[Fagus sylvatica|European beech]] forms mixed forests with the [[Taxus baccata|yew]], the [[sorbus]], the [[Sorbus aria|whitebeam]], the [[Ilex aquifolium|European holly]] and the [[birch]]. On the sunny slopes the [[Quercus petraea|sessile oak]], the [[Quercus robur|European oak]], the [[Fraxinus|ash]], the [[Tilia|lime tree]], the [[Castanea sativa|sweet chestnut]], the [[birch]] and the [[scots pine]] (a typical species from the north of the province of León).

====Fauna====
[[File:Arribesdeldueropozo.jpg|thumb| [[Arribes del Duero Natural Park]], which is a [[Special Protection Area|special protection area for birds]].]]
Castile and León presents a great diversity of fauna. There are numerous species and some of them are of special interest because of their uniqueness, such as some endemic species, or because of their scarcity, such as the [[brown bear]]. There have been counted 418 species of vertebrates, which make up 63% of all vertebrates that live in Spain. Animals adapted to life in the high mountains, inhabitants of rocky places, inhabitants of fluvial courses, species of plains and forest residents form the mosaic of the Castilian-Leonese fauna.

The isolation to which the high summits are subject leads to the existence of abundant endemisms such as the [[Spanish ibex]], which in Gredos constitutes a unique subspecies in the Peninsula. The [[European snow vole]] is a graceful small [[mammal]] of grayish brown color and long tail that lives in open spaces over the limit of the trees.

Small and large mammals such as [[squirrel]], [[dormouse]], [[Talpidae|talpids]], [[European pine marten]], [[Beech marten]], [[fox]], [[wildcat]], [[wolf]], quite abundant in some areas, [[boar]], [[deer]], [[roe deer]] and, only in the Cantabrian Mountains, some specimens of [[brown bear]] tend to frequent the deciduous forests, although some species also extend to coniferous forests and scrubland. The wildcat is slightly larger than a domestic cat, has a short and stout tail, with dark rings and striped fur. The [[Iberian lynx]], however, lives almost exclusively in areas of Mediterranean scrubland.
[[File:Canis lupus signatus (Kerkrade Zoo) 02.jpg|thumb|left|Castile and León is the main habitat of the [[Iberian wolf]]. The naturalist [[Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente]] promoted the protection of the species.]]

Small reptiles such as the [[ladder snake]], the [[coronella girondica]] and the [[aesculapian snake]] are also found in this environment. The [[Coronella austriaca|smooth snake]] can be found from sea level to 1,800 m in height and in the community it tends to live on the heights. Further up, in the rocky areas of the subalpine floor at about 2,400 m altitude the [[Iberian rock lizard]] lives, one of the few reptiles adapted at this point.

In the mountain rivers live the [[otter]] and [[desman]] and in its waters the [[trout]], [[anguillidae]], the [[common minnow]]s and some of the increasingly scarce autochthonous river crabs. The otter and the desman are two mammals with aquatic habits and very good swimmers. The [[otter]] feeds mainly on fish, while the desman seeks its food among the aquatic invertebrates that inhabit the riverbed. In lower sections of calmer waters swim [[barbel (fish)|barbel]] s and [[carps]]. Among the amphibians, the [[salamander]]s and as remarkable species: the [[Salamandra salamandra almanzoris|Almanzor salamander]] (''Salamandra salamandra almanzoris'') and the [[Bufo bufo gredosicola|Gredos toad]] (''Bufo bufo gredosicola''), which are two endemic subspecies to the Sistema Central.

Where the rivers are encased forming sickles and canyons, rock-dwelling birds such as [[griffon vulture]], [[cinereous vulture]], [[Egyptian vulture]], [[golden eagle]] or [[peregrine falcon]]. The Egyptian vulture, a small vulture, is black and white with a yellow head. Downstream and on its banks between the lush vegetation form their colonies the [[black-crowned night heron]] and the [[grey heron]] and the [[goldcrest]], the [[eurasian penduline tit]], the [[eurasian hoopoe]] and the [[common kingfisher]].
[[File:Spanish Ibex Portrait.jpg|thumb| [[Western Spanish ibex]], also called Gredos ibex ''(Capra pyrenaica victoriae)'', [[Indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]] to [[Sierra de Gredos]].]]

Among the birds that populate the open Mediterranean forests live two endangered species: the [[black stork]] and the [[Spanish imperial eagle]]. The black stork, much rarer than its congener the [[white stork]], is of solitary habits and lives far from man. The Spanish imperial eagle nests in the trees and feeds mainly on rabbits, but also birds, reptiles and carrion.

[[File:Reserva CIBE.jpg|thumb|left|Part of the Reserve of [[European bison]] in [[San Cebrián de Mudá]], province of Palencia.<ref name="elmundo.es">{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/06/04/castillayleon/1275667194.html |title=Los bisontes regresan a la península mil años después de su desaparición - Castilla y León - elmundo.es |first=Unidad Editorial |last=Internet |website=www.ElMundo.es |access-date=21 January 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621022728/http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/06/04/castillayleon/1275667194.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
In the coniferous forests live among others the [[short-toed treecreeper]], the [[coal tit]] and the [[eurasian nuthatch]], a bird of gray back and flanks reddish-orange that it nests in holes to which it narrows the entrance with mud. The [[western capercaillie]] is a very dark and large rooster that lives in forest environments, so it is very difficult to observe. Among the forest raptors are the [[accipiter]], the [[eurasian sparrowhawk]] or the [[tawny owl]], which frequently attack other smaller birds such as [[eurasian jay]], [[iberian green woodpecker]], [[fringilla]], [[great spotted woodpecker]] and [[typical warbler]].

The [[bustard]] frequents the open plains with rain-fed crops; It is large and has a grayish head and neck and a brown back. In the Castilian-Leonese wetlands during the winter many specimens of [[greylag goose]], which breeds in northern Europe and visits the area in winter, are concentrated.

The naturalist [[Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente]] (1928 – 1980), natural from [[Poza de la Sal]], stands out in the scientific study and its dissemination. He had a great research and made the leap to fame with the television series ''[[El hombre y la Tierra]]'' ([[Televisión Española|TVE]]).

In the [[Montaña Palentina]], in the municipality of [[San Cebrián de Mudá]], a program of reintroduction of the [[European bison]],<ref name="elmundo.es"/> animal that had been a thousand years without presence in the [[Iberian Peninsula]], in order to avoid the extinction of the species.