In 1999-2002, over two million hectares of commercial and protection forests regardless of their ownership were inventorized within the framework of an Estonian-Swedish cooperation project. As a result, 7007 key biotopes were identified with a total area of 19,059 hectares (0.95% of the forest area). On May 9-10, a final seminar of the key biotopes inventory project will be held in Sagadi. The seminar will mark the completion of a four-years-effort. The results of the inventory will be introduced as well as the final report of the key biotopes inventory, illustrated with numerous colour photos. On May 10, an excursion will be made to key biotopes of the Lääne-Viru County. According to Ms. Riina Martverk, Chief Specialist of the Forestry Department of the Ministry of the Environment, the concentration of key biotopes registered was the highest in the Lääne-Viru and Saare Counties, being relatively the lowest in the Jõgeva and Põlva Counties. The average area of a key biotope is 2.5 hectares, the largest in size being a complex of mineral humps within a wetland in the Ida-Viru County with a total area of 265 hectares. The relatively most common are pine forests and pine dominated forests, key biotopes in which cover a total of 3680 hectares. Of key biotopes related to landscape elements, the most frequently registered type was overgrown wooded grassland - key biotopes identified there cover 550 hectares altogether. "While coniferous forests dominate among protected forests, a number of broad-leaved forests and wooded grasslands with fragmented distribution were registered which have not been protected as yet. Now those have been mapped," said Ms. Martverk. 56% of the key biotopes are located within state-owned land, 21% on private land and 23% on municipal land or land with undetermined ownership. In state-owned forests, the Forestry Act lays the obligation to preserve the key biotopes; this obligation is also a precondition for the SFC-certificate held by the State Forest Management Centre. For key biotopes located within private land, 116 voluntary agreements of preservation have been concluded to date reflecting the protection of forest on 307.7 hectares. A key biotope is a site where species originally common to the forest but sensitive to changes in their living conditions - animals, fungi, lichens, plants - can live and reproduce. These are habitats where threatened or rare insect, moss or lichen species can be found. For additional information please contact: |
