IMCG Congress 2006 – Finland, land of mires

Invitation:

You are cordially invited to participate in the 2006 International Mire Conservation Group’s (IMCG) Congress in Finland from 13th to 27th July 2006. The event is organised by the Finnish Environment administration and the Finnish Nature Conservation Association.

Themes: Mire conservation, utilization, and restoration; mire development history, vegetation, flora and ecohydrology; aapamires and land uplift phenomena. IMCG past and future, Ramsar. Assessment of mire conservation situation in Finland.

Finland is located in northern Europe between 60° and 70° northern latitude and between 20° and 31° eastern longitude. The total area of Finland is 338,000 km², 10% of this area is taken by 188,000 lakes. Of the land area forests take 60%, mires 30%, and cultivated areas and settlements 10%.

The climate in Finland is oceanic-continental, clearly influenced by the Gulf Stream. The mean annual temperature varies between +5,5°C in the southwest and –2°C in the northwesternmost tip of the country. The warmest month is July with mean temperature between 14 and 18 degrees in most of the country. Daily maximum temperatures can be up to 30 degrees in July. The coldest months are January and February with mean temperature between –4 degrees in the south and –15 degrees in Lapland. The climate is humid. The mean annual rainfall varies between 450-500 mm in the western coast and northern Lapland, and 750 mm in the southern coast and hill areas in eastern middle Finland. The most rainy months are July and August while January, April and May are the driest. The mean duration of snow cover in open ground is 110 days in southwestern Finland and 220 days in northern Lapland. The soil freezes in October-November and the ground frost melts in May-June. There is only sporadic permafrost in palsa mires and the highest treeless fell tops in northern Lapland.

Phytogeographically Finland belongs to the boreal coniferous zone, which is subdivided into hemiboreal, southern, middle, and northern boreal zones. In northern Lapland there are orohemiarctic areas in the fells above tree limit.

The Earth’s crust in Finland consists mainly of Precambrian granites and metamorphic rocks. Their age is typically about 1.8 bill. years. Only in the north westernmost tip of the country there is a very small area originating from Caledonic fracturing 400 million years ago. Most of the bedrock is acidic. Calcareous and ultramafic rocks take less than 1% of Finland.

The bedrock is mainly covered by loose soils, with a mean thickness of 3-4 metres. Most of the soils originate from the latest glaciation and the Holocene. The most common Quaternary deposits are glacial moraines. Eskers and other glaciofluvial formations cover some 5% of the country, clay plains 10%, and peat covers 30%.

The terrain is relatively flat in Finland. The local altitude differences typically vary from 5 to 50 metres. In southern Finland only in a couple of places they are up to 200 m. In the fell areas in northern Lapland there are up to 500 metres local altitude differences. The maximum absolute height is 1328 m a.s.l. in Halti fell in the north westernmost tip of Finland. An exceptional feature is continuous land uplift up to 8 mm annually in the western coast of Finland. Because the terrain is very flat there, the shoreline continuously moves westwards causing primary paludification.

Due to the great number of different mires in Finland there are mires with different toponymes in the landscape and in maps. In general, in Finnish language, and also in classification, the word suo means mire including also wet paludified forests.

An individual mire or a distinct area of a larger mire area comprising a number of mire site types is called a mire complex. The original term mire complex (Moorkomplex) in the sense of Cajander denoted simply all the mire sites of a mire area. Later mire complex has been determined to be a united part of the whole mire area by Ruuhijärvi.

In Finland there are seven zones of mire complex types from the south to the north. Within each zone there is an additional east-west gradient due to the differences in the oceanity-continentality gradient.

Plateau bogs form the southernmost mire complex zone in southern and south-western coastal Finland. They are typical raised bogs where the centre is elevated and forms an even plateau with an irregular network of hummocks and hollows. Hummock ridges and hollows form an irregular net in the plateau part of the bog.

Domed bogs are bogs of the southern and southwestern inland of Finland. These bogs are domed in shape, and consequently, elongated hummocks and hollows surround the highest point of the bog in concentric circles. The highest point can be in the middle or at the edge of the bog.

North of the concentric bogs there is a zone of eccentric bogs which have developed on a more or less sloping terrain. These bogs are mires of central part of southern Finland. Hummocks and hollows are arranged in rows perpendicular to the slope. In this zone fairly dry pine-covered Sphagnum fuscum bog complexes without any regular structures are common on even terrain.

Aapa mires – Aapa mire complexes are mainly minerotrophic, and they have developed under conditions of short summers and long winters with abundant snow causing high and rather longlasting spring time flood from the drainage basin of the mire. This prevents the development to raised bog. This kind of conditions is typical for northern Finland in regions where the terrain is rather flat. Some aapa mires can be found in southern Finland, too. Aapa mires have a string and flark pattern, where the strings are perpendicular to the slope.

The southern aapa mire zone or sedge aapas are aapa mires of Ostrobothnia and Kainuu regions. They are relatively moist mires, where the intermediate level (lawn) predominates and sedge fens are covering the mire.

The main aapa mires or flark aapas are aapa mires of Peräpohjola region around the Polar Circle, where aapa mires have the most characteristic patterns: wet flark fens are common and strings are high. Trees are often growing as narrow lines on strings. Some of flark aapas are rather poor with Molinia. In Eastern Finland, where the climate is more oceanic, flark aapas have developed on hill slopes forming sloping mires.

Northern aapa mires or pounikko aapas are mires in Forest Lapland near the northern timberline. The term pounikko means hummocks, which are treeless because of the long lasting ground frost. The ground frost also forms the shape of strings, which do not form continous lines. The high hummocks of pounikko have ombrotrophic characters. The strings form an irregular network in the centre of the mire complexes.

Palsa mires are the northernmost complex type within the aapa mire zone. Palsas are large peat mounds, up to 7 metres high, containing sporadic permafrost. However, most of the area of mires are not palsas, but pounikko strings and aapa fens.

Orohemiarctic mires are found in low alpine mountain regions. These mires have only a shallow peat layer. The vegetation consists typically of seepage flora. These mires belong to the arctic mire complex / unit, which have developed outside the arctic zone because of the elevation of the Northern Fennoscandia fells, (in Finnish tunturi, cf. tundra). In the highest fell areas above 1000 m a.s.l. there are also some polygon mires.

Ecologically and botanically about 80 mire site types have been described in Finnish mires. For the practical purposes of using mires, mainly for the draining for forestry, a simplified classification system is used. The current Finnish mire-site type system, which has been developed further from the ideas of Cajander, has been basically constructed on the basis of different ecological gradients.

Mire sites have been divided according to their nutrient source into two groups: ombrotrophic and minerotrophic. Secondly, mire types are arranged in the classification system from the driest to the wettest.

Finland’s original mire area covered a total of about 10,4 million hectares, representing about one third of the country’s entire land area. The term mire covers here also all wooded, but paludified habitats. Thus some of the mires have been also forest with fairly good timber production and a greater deal of mires have been sparsely wooded with poor timber production and the rest of the mires were open. In geological sense (> 20 ha > 0.3 m) the area of mires was about 5 million ha.

The utilization of mires has been much more intensive in Finland than in other northern regions in the world. Forestry, agriculture, and peat harvesting have in general destroyed original mire habitats, and hence also the fauna and flora. Forestry is an important industrial sector in Finland and pristine mires have been regarded as a valuable resource for forestry. Therefore, large areas of mires have been drained for forestry purposes, covering a total of 5.9 million hectares of former mires. Thus Finland has carried out the world’s most extensive programme of mire draining, being most active in 1970s, when almost 3,000 km² of mires were drained annually. At present, draining of pristine mires has almost ceased, and most activities are concentrated on maintaining ditches in drained peatland forests.

The agricultural use of mires has during past centuries reduced the mire area by about 1,2 million ha. Especially rich fens and fertile spruce mires, and their specialized fauna and flora have disappeared.

Peat mining is now increasing rapidly in central parts of the country. About 662,000 ha have been reserved for future peat mining, and at the moment some 100,000 ha have already been taken by peat mining. Some large mire areas have been drowned in water reservoirs (60,000 ha).

Formerly many mires – particularly in northern Finland – have been used for collecting winter fodder for livestock. In many areas most of the open mires, growing sedges and grasses have been used as mire meadows. This kind of activity has now ceased.

In 1956, the strict nature reserves of Vaskijärvi, Häädetkeidas and Runkaus were established to protect good examples of raised bogs and aapamires for scientific purposes.

The first mire conservation plans were made in the 1960s when forestry drainage of mires expanded enormously. The plans covered 180,000 hectares of state-owned mires, mainly large mire complexes in northern Finland. Special attention was paid to mire complexes and bird fauna. During the work it became clear that especially in southern Finland also mires in private land must be protected to preserve the diversity of mire ecosystems.

In the 1970s a plan for the development of the network of national parks and strict nature reserves, including many of the most valuable mires was prepared in the environment administration. Simultaneously, a nationwide mire conservation programme was compiled. In these programmes, the goals were to preserve the diversity of mire complexes, mire site types, vascular plants, and birds, as well as to form a comprehensive network of reserves. The main idea was to protect typical and large examples of mire complexes, but attention was also paid to small mires, especially rich fens. The first lists of threatened mire site types and vascular plants in mires were also compiled.

The estimated amount of existing pristine mires is about 3,5 million ha, most of it is located in northern Finland. The total area of protected mires is about 1,2 million ha. In southern Finland pristine mires can be found practically only in areas which are protected or planned to be protected.

The present Forestry Act and Nature Conservation Act contains specially protected site types, which typically are small in area: springs, seepage areas, rich fens, fertile spruce mires, and black alder swamps. In addition, if a site does not meet the demands of the above mentioned acts, but is still locally or regionally a valuable habitat, the forest owner should preserve its characters according to the guidelines of good forestry practices.

As the National Mire Protection Programme cannot be implemented with sufficient speed, drainage of privately owned mires has been quite common. The restoration of the water table in the drained areas through damming and blocking ditches creates a great deal of work and increased expenditure. National guidelines for restoration have been prepared in a working group in 2002. So far, 11,000 ha of mires have been restored in nature reserves, largely with support from EU LIFE funds .

Some mires reserves are provided with information stands, nature paths, and observation towers for the general public to enjoy the mire nature. All mires in reserves are normally open to the public, except during the nesting periods of mire birds and in the case of strict nature reserves.

13th July Meet at Rovaniemi Airport and railway station, bus transport to Kittilä (about 3 hours).

14th July Kolari, Teuravuoma: large aapamire of the main aapamire zone. Mire ecotourism. Tornionjoki river valley, cultural objects

15th July Tornio, Kalkkimaa and Tervola, Karhuaapa: calcareous rich fens, rich flora, conservation problems, restoration

16th July Kuivaniemi, Ihanalampi: Land uplift area, succession of young mires, rich fens, ecohydrology.

17th Pudasjärvi, Olvassuo: Ramsar site, Proposed World Heritage site, aapamire, restoration, ground water pumping, reindeer herding

18th July Liminka, Liminganlahti: Ramsar site, land uplift, paludification, shoreline vegetation, bird fauna, flora

Siikajoki, Hummastinvaara: Land uplift on poor sand soil, young mires, vegetation, flora, carbon balance

20th July Perho, Salamajärvi: Ramsar site, southern aapamires, locus classicus for aapamire definition, mire site type and complex classification, mosaic of forest and mire, wild forest reindeer, outdoor recreation. Long walk along wooden boardwalk.

21st July Lapua, Alajoki: Mire cultivation, agricultural history, scenery, flood control.

Laihia, Levaneva: Ramsar site, large bogs and aapamires, reservoir, cultural history, hunting and poaching, vegetation, bird fauna. Long walk along wooden boardwalk.

22nd July Isojoki, Lauhavuori: geomorphology, ecohydrology, eccentric bogs, springs, vegetation, flora, highest point in Western Finland.

Kauhajoki, Kauhaneva: Ramsar site, Bogs and aapamires, vegetation, flora, bird fauna.

23rd July Turku, Kurjenrahka: southern bogs, outdoor recreation area in a densely populated region

Hanko, Stormossen: hemiboreal vegetation, flora, military area, hydrology and succession

Normal wetland field conditions and normal footwear (rubber boots) for mire/wetlands. Some mosquitoes and other insects, especially in the northern localities. Repellent and/or mosquito hat is useful, but the insects are not poisonous and they do not spread diseases apart from ticks in the south. In the north it may be relatively cool (about 15 degrees), and in July between warm periods (up to 30 degrees) it rains rather often.

Costs of the Total Package: Euro 1000 (includes bus transport from Rovaniemi, during the excursion, and from symposium site to Helsinki, meals and accommodation, programme and excursion and symposium materials)

IMCG General Assembly: No cost, but you must arrange own accommodation, meals, and transport

A special rate applies for participants from countries with currency problems. Please contact the organisers for more details.