Editing Devon (section)

===Ecology===
[[File:Pnies5.jpg|thumb|Ponies grazing on Exmoor near [[Brendon]], [[North Devon]]]]

The variety of habitats means that there is a wide range of wildlife (see [[Dartmoor wildlife]], for example). A popular challenge among [[bird-watching|birders]] is to find over 100 species in the county in a day.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} The county's wildlife is protected by several wildlife charities such as the [[Devon Wildlife Trust]], which looks after 40 nature reserves. The Devon Bird Watching and Preservation Society (founded in 1928 and known since 2005 as "Devon Birds") is a county bird society dedicated to the study and conservation of wild birds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.devonbirds.org/about/the_society/introduction |title=The Society – Introduction |work=Devon Birds |access-date=15 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221213314/http://www.devonbirds.org/about/the_society/introduction |archive-date=21 December 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[RSPB]] has reserves in the county, and [[Natural England]] is responsible for over 200 Devon [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] and [[National nature reserves in England|National Nature Reserves]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteList.aspx?countyCode=11 |title=Designated sites view (Devon) |publisher=Natural England |access-date=15 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220135603/https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteList.aspx?countyCode=11 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> such as [[Slapton Ley]]. The [[Devon Bat Group]] was founded in 1984 to help conserve bats. Wildlife found in this area extend to a plethora of different kinds of insects, butterflies and moths; an interesting butterfly to take look at is the [[Carterocephalus palaemon|chequered skipper]].

Devon is a national hotspot for several species that are uncommon in Britain, including the [[cirl bunting]]; [[greater horseshoe bat]]; [[Bechstein's bat]] and [[Jersey tiger moth]]. It is also the only place in mainland Britain where the sand crocus (''[[Romulea columnae]]'') can be found – at Dawlish Warren, and is home to all six British native land reptile species, partly as a result of some reintroductions. Another recent reintroduction is the [[Eurasian beaver]], primarily on the river Otter. Other rare species recorded in Devon include seahorses and the sea daffodil.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021053453 |title=Hippocampus Rafinesque, 1810 |work=NBN Atlas |access-date=25 September 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408003228/https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021053453 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0100002286 |title=Pancratium maritimum L. |work=NBN Atlas |access-date=25 September 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408003229/https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0100002286 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The botany of the county is very diverse and includes some rare species not found elsewhere in the British Isles other than Cornwall. Devon is divided into two [[Watsonian vice-counties]]: north and south, the boundary being an irregular line approximately across the higher part of Dartmoor and then along the canal eastwards. Botanical reports begin in the 17th century and there is a ''Flora Devoniensis'' by Jones and Kingston in 1829.<ref>Jones, John Pike & Kingston, J. F. (1829) ''Flora Devoniensis''. 2 pts, in 1 vol. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green</ref> A general account appeared in ''[[Victoria County History#Dormant counties|The Victoria History of the County of Devon]]'' (1906), and a ''Flora of Devon'' was published in 1939 by [[William Keble Martin|Keble Martin]] and Fraser.<ref>[[Martin, W. Keble]] & Fraser, G. T. (eds.) (1939) Flora of Devon. Arbroath</ref> An ''Atlas of the Devon Flora'' by Ivimey-Cook appeared in 1984, and ''A New Flora of Devon'', based on field work undertaken between 2005 and 2014, was published in 2016.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=R. |last2=Hodgson |first2=B. |last3=Ison |first3=J. |title=A New Flora of Devon |year=2016 |publisher=The Devonshire Association |location=Exeter |page=1 |isbn=978-1-5272-0525-3}}</ref> Rising temperatures have led to Devon becoming the first place in modern Britain to cultivate olives commercially.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/article1785059.ece |title=Britain warms to the taste for home-grown olives |author=Paul Simons |work=The Times |location=UK |access-date=20 September 2007 |date=14 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706181106/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/article1785059.ece |archive-date=6 July 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2024, plans were announced to plant over 100,000 trees in northern Devon to support [[Celtic rainforest|Celtic rainforests]], which are cherished yet at risk ecosystems in the UK. The project aims to create 50 hectares of new rainforest across three sites, planting trees near existing rainforest areas along the coast and inland. Among the tree species to be planted is the rare [[Karpatiosorbus devoniensis|Devon whitebeam]], known for its unique reproduction method and once-popular fruit. Led by the [[National Trust]] and with the assistance of volunteers and community groups, the initiative will focus on locations in [[Exmoor]], [[Woolacombe]], [[Hartland, Devon|Hartland]], and [[Arlington Court]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Steven |date=29 January 2024 |title=More than 100,000 trees to be planted in Devon to boost Celtic rainforest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/29/more-than-100000-trees-to-be-planted-in-devon-to-boost-celtic-rainforest |access-date=29 January 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129061306/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/29/more-than-100000-trees-to-be-planted-in-devon-to-boost-celtic-rainforest |url-status=live }}</ref>