Wildlife of Tagmatium

Hemiboreal deciduous forest in western Tagmatium. Tagmatium also has extensive coniferous forests.

Most of Tagmatium is dominated by a hemiboreal climate zone, which has then informed its biodiversity. Historically, before significant human impact on the floral and fauna of Tagmatium, it would have been dominated by hemiboreal forests. These are forests that have some of the characteristics of a boreal forest, but also have features shared with temperate-zone forests to the geographic south. This means that coniferous forests tend to dominate but a significant number of deciduous species also occur. Within this climate zone, there are many smaller variations. The lands around the Central Sea are low-lying, mainly consisting of plains and rolling hills, whilst to the north of that, it becomes the High Plains region, which is dominated by open plains, as the name suggests. To the west are the broad, fertile floodplains of the Iaehos river. The other major ecoregions within Tagmatium is the cold semi-arid desert in the north of the country, the Tzankheian Desert, and the mountain range of the Ouranodistrision mountains. There is still a significant amount of forest in Tagmatium, despite a long history of agriculture, which has enabled many species remain, although numbers of many of these declined over the 20th Century.

Male Tagmatine leopard in a forest in the Psilepediades region

This means that Tagmatium is rich in wildlife, including some large species of mammal, both carnivores and herbivores. Carnivores include animals such as lynx, wolves, bears, wildcats, foxes, otters, grey seals and the Tagmatine leopard. The herbivore species include wild boar, roe deer, red deer, badgers, elk, bison, wild goat Many of these, especially the large carnivores, suffered from years of persecution at the hands of humans. For example, the Tagmatine leopard, although long a symbol of the country, was almost hunted to extinction in the mid 20th Century but was able to cling on to very marginal lands. A similar fate befell the bison, especially as it encroached on farmland before and during the Long War due to more of its range being turned over to both arable and livestock farming. This pattern was seen across most of the large mammals in Tagmatium, especially as agriculture became more intensive and Tagmatium started to build its economy on the export of grains. However, over the last several decades, ecological policies have been successful in reversing many of these losses, especially in the case of the leopard and the bison.

A juvenile Occidental imperial eagle photographed from helicopter.

Tagmatium also has a wide range of birdlife, including migratory birds and other species that remain all year around. These range from small bird species, such as sparrows and robins, to large ones, like storks and numerous species of eagle. Like many other animals, many have suffered due to human activity, mainly through hunting and habitat loss. The Occidental imperial eagle, an iconic bird through its association with the ancient Aroman Empire, has seen its numbers significantly reduce. Other birds, such as the common blackbird, have been able to thrive in the changing nature of the landscape and is thought to number in the 100 millions in the Occident. Many other bird species have also adapted to the increasingly urban environment of the Greater Holy Empire. An example of this is the Rock Dove, which has gone from being a species introduced from Azania and southern Europa, has become endemic to most cities in Tagmatium. Another introduced species is the common phesant, which originates in the Byphean Mountains, but has become widespread across Tagmatium and much of the Occident. Despite these successes, however, there have been general declines in the numbers of all birds.

A male common blackbird on a railing in Klimatos

In recent years, the Tagmatine government has pursued a policy of rewilding certain areas of the country, as well as encouraging farmers to use less intensive methods and reduce the amount of pesticides on their crops. This has been somewhat successful in reversing the trends of wildlife decline, although it has yet to be able to truly reverse the downward trend seen across almost all species of wildlife that had taken place over the course of the mid to late 1900s. Similarly, activities such as logging and mining are now closely controlled, which has gone some way to prevent biodiversity loss, especially of ancient woodland. This had become rare in many places in Tagmatium and was often a prime target of loggers due to the age of the trees within it. This has been undertaken through both a tightening of environmental laws and stricter penalties against actions such as illegal logging and hunting. There have also been advertising campaigns and social media programmes that emphasise the need for the protection of biodiversity and preservation of the environment. The Tagmatine government has also promoted these overseas, playing a leading role of the reintroduction of Bison in Dolchland.