Editing Saltholm (section)

==Flora and fauna==

[[File:SaltholmSheep.jpg|thumb|Saltholm Sheep]]
Saltholm's vegetation is dominated primarily by grasses, with its landscape consisting mainly of flat chalk meadowlands and coastal meadow. There are few trees on Saltholm, clustered mainly in two places in the north and south-west of the island.<ref name="dof">{{cite web|url=http://www.dof.dk/sider/index.php?Itemid=411&id=344&option=com_content&task=view | title=København / Copenhagen | publisher=[[Dansk Ornitologisk Forening]] | access-date=2009-01-14}}</ref> The island has a rich variety of flora, notably [[motherwort]] (''Leonurus cardiaca''), [[henbane]] (''Hyoscyamus niger''), [[blue iris]] (''Iris spuria'') and [[Cerastium|chickweed]].<ref name="Aschehoug">"Saltholm". ''Aschehoug's Leksikon''. [[Aschehoug (Egmont)]], 2008</ref>

Saltholm is a protected nature reserve for wild birds which nest in large numbers on the island. The southern part of the island, an extensive [[salt marsh]], is protected under the [[Ramsar Convention]].<ref>D. Eisma, ''Dredging in Coastal Waters'', p. 42. Taylor & Francis, 2005. {{ISBN|0-415-39111-3}}</ref> The island as a whole, along with the surrounding area of sea, has been designated a nature reserve by the [[European Union]], as well as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]].<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url= https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/3019 |title=Saltholm|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 2024-09-04}}</ref> [[Mussel]] beds, [[Zostera|eel grass]], snails, crustaceans and fish in the shallow waters around the island provide an important food source for water birds. Because of its importance as a wildlife sanctuary, access to Saltholm and its surrounding waters is strictly controlled. Access to the island is via a small harbour at Barakkebro, at the north end of Saltholm.<ref name="Oresundsvand" />

The island is Denmark's largest grazing area for geese, some 7,000 of which visit during the summer. Around 3,500 juvenile swans also live on the island in the summer, with some 2,000 wintering there. 10,000–12,000 ducks breed and graze on Saltholm during autumn and late winter/spring. Saltholm is also home to Europe's largest breeding colony of [[eider]]s; 15,000 live on the island during the spring and some 7,000–8,000 are hatched on the island each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skovognatur.dk/Udgivelser/Reservatfoldere/salt.htm |title=Saltholm |publisher=Skov- og Naturstyrelsen |access-date=2009-01-14 |date=2008-05-29 |language=da |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070624151442/http://www.skovognatur.dk/Udgivelser/Reservatfoldere/salt.htm |archive-date=24 June 2007 }}</ref>

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