Belarusian forests are remarkably diverse. Pine and fir merge into oak and birch forests and groves populated by ash and cherry trees. These forests represent a unique ecosystem, uniting coniferous forests, typical of Eastern Europe, with deciduous woods of the Western European type. The forests are treasure houses of natural diversity. Blackberries, wild strawberries, blueberries and other berry bushes cover the wooded territories like a thick carpet.
Marshlands are rich in cranberries.
Mushrooms are also plentiful. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the most mature forest area in Belarus, and among the oldest in Europe. Forest areas intermingle with large river valleys and numerous lakes varying greatly in size. Belarus has 20,800 rivers and streams, only 3,000 of which are more than 5 kilometers in length. They flow between the Baltic and Black Sea basins.