The number of species that occur on the territory of a country is one indicator of biological diversity. According to calculations made in 1991, there are 46,900 species of living organisms in Poland, among these are 5000 species of fungi, about 2,200 species of vascular plants, about 24,400 species of insects, 116 species of fish, 18 species of amphibians, 9 species of reptiles, 360 species of birds and 98 species of mammals. The number of species that occur in Poland is constantly changing. In the last 200–300 years, about 300 species of plants have been brought to our country either intentionally by people or unintentionally during transportation of different goods. Some came as a result of the expansion of their geographical ranges within Europe.

Biological diversity in Poland is fairly high in comparison with other European countries. This is a result of the geographic location of Poland between the main mountain range in Europe (the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains) and the lowlands lying along the north and Baltic seas. Poland is also influenced by continental and maritime climates.

Unfortunately, many species have recently become or are threatened by extinction. It is hard to judge how many such species there are because it would require conducting searches by experts specializing in the particular systematic groups. Lack of information about the occurrence of a given species sustains hope that there are some places in Poland where the species has survived, but we do not know about it. One can only be sure of information about extinction of certain large species that are easily observed and widely known. For example, in the last 100 years, about 15 species of vertebrates from our fauna became extinct. However, the opinion that there are not fewer than 1000 species on the verge of extinction is probably not exaggerated. Complete information about endangered species is published in so-called "red books" containing lists of endangered plants and animals.

There are various reasons why a given species is not very numerous. Firstly, a very limited range of species occurrence can influence its number. These are so-called endemic species. Secondly some species in Poland occur only in some areas in an island-like fashion. In this case Poland is on the edge of their range, most of which lies outside of our borders (MAP illustrating the occurace of dormice and wolves). Thirdly, some species become extinct because of human activities. This last group of species can be divided into subgroups whose numbers are diminishing because of Polish factors and causes of extinction which lie outside of our borders.

The preservation of biological diversity is sanctioned by legal means. The most important regulations have been enacted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry (or the ministers in whose care environmental protection was in the past) as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Economy (who is in charge of the protection of fish).

Species may be under total protection throughout the whole year or they can be partially protected during certain periods. This is supposed to prevent excessive economic exploitation particularly of plants, for example medicinal plants. Other species include game animals, fish and edible snails.

In 1992 there were 97 species or whole genera (these include several or several dozen species) on the list of totally protected plants and fungi and 28 species or genera that were partially protected.

In the case of partially protected plants, usually species which have a special economic or medicinal significance, the Ministry of Environmental Protection set limits on how much of a certain plant could be harvested each year (depending on the range and numbers in which it occurs) under the guidance of Voivodship Nature Conservation Officers (Table – with data on the harvest of protected plants).

In Poland there are 568 legally protected species of animals. On the list of animals under total protection there are 367 species of vertebrates and 74 species of invertebrates, almost all of which are insects (72 species).

Fish also have closed seasons during which fishing is prohibited. Additionally, minimal sizes are determined, forbiding catching a fish of a particular species if it is smaller than the minimal size (Table – with information on the protected size of fish and crayfish).

Untill now there has been no constant observation (monitoring) of the population size and changes of protected species. Population size of only some species are studied more systematically. In the case of the others, their population size is determined only sporadically, usually as a part of scientific studies. For example, in 1992, there was an exact count of chamois and alpine marmot in the Tatra Mountains. It was determined that there are respectively 150 and 160 of them.

Examinations of game animal populations and intensity of hunting are done in an organized way. Each year the populations of the basic species are estimated and the statistics of hunting intensity for the majority of species are prepared. This data has a certain margin of error: usually the estimated population of large and small animals are lower than in actuality (Table – with information on killing of game animals). Because data concerning the number of animals shot is usually more exact than the information about their populations in the wild, the prior is often used to characterize changes in density, especially for species occurring in large numbers and on wide areas (GRAPH illustrating the changes in the amounts of shot hares and partridges).

Total protection of some species increases their numbers so much that they can disturb the local ecological balance or cause economic damage. In such cases, the Ministry of Environmental Protection may agree to reduce the numbers of a particular species (by culling). In 1992 such permission was granted in the case of 4 species (Table – with information on the reduction of protected animals).

Among species that have shown a disappearing tendency there are occasionally populations that after a period of decrease spontaneously return to their previous number. This is the case with raven and the black stork (GRAPH illustrating the changes in the population of the black stork). Other disappearing species sometimes require complicated measures, such as resettlements into areas they previously occupied or closed breeding. In most of these cases, it is possible to stop the population decrease and restored the species. In Poland, the best example of this is the bison, which is a world-wide known case of saving a species from becoming extinct. Similarly, it was possible to restore the population of beavers in Poland thanks to breeding measures and resettlement into suitable streams and bodies of water. A phenomenon that is hard to control is the disappearance of one species due to actiuites of a non-native species. Such was the case with the European mink that was pushed out by the eastern vison, some of which escaped in the 1920s from a German fur animal farm and multiplied in nature.

An important mission in the field of protection of biological diversity is carried out by the zoological and botanical gardens as well as arboreta. They preserve species that are dying off and even species that are extinct in the wild. In Poland there are 12 zoological gardens that together occupy about 470 ha. In 1990 about 29,573 animals of 1,260 species lived in them (Table – with information on the number of species in Polish zoological gardens). There are 16 botanical gardens and arboreta in our country. In each one of them there are on average 3000 species of plants. From the above data it becomes clear that not only in the wild but in closed breeding do we have significant species resources.

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