Europe was once covered by forest, from the Arctic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Wiped out in a mini ice age around 15000 years ago, they, and the wildlife that inhabit them are making a spectacular recovery. Today, Europe's forests cover around 1 000 million hectares (about 30 times the size of Poland). From Mediterranean cork forests; Central Europe's great oak and beech woodlands to the evergreen taiga just below the Arctic Circle, these wild woodlands form some of the most secret, complex and beautiful habitats on the planet.