Preserving heritage communities is one of the most important responsibilities of our nature conservation As heritage meadows have been created with the help of man, they also have great cultural-historical and aesthetic value. When humans no longer care for these communities, they will overgrow. Junipers, reeds, trees, or shrubs will take over the grasslands and all the great biodiversity is lost...

Most of the species on the Estonian Red List are associated with semi-natural communities Heritage meadows have an exceptionally high species diversity. They are an important habitat for nearly 700 plant species. 76 plant species have been found growing on 1 m 2 of the Laelatu wooded meadow [1] – it is one of the densest plant communities in the world in terms of species richness. Alvars with dry...

Heritage meadows have been created as a result of nature-friendly management Coastal meadow is a grassland on the sea shore that is more or less affected by saline seawater. Coastal meadows are located in flat, turfed coastal areas. As animals have historically been grazed there, they are therefore also called coastal pastures or coastal grasslands. Coastal meadows are mainly located in Western...

The natural values of meadows, or heritage communities, can only be preserved by human intervention Heritage meadows, also called semi-natural communities or heritage communities, are grasslands that have traditionally been used as pastures or hayfields. The biota of the heritage meadows is natural – the heritage meadows have not been ploughed, fertilised, and no seeds of cultivated plants have...

Preservation of forest biodiversity, i.e. the ability to function and provide benefits even in the face of unexpected changes, requires historical continuity and ensuring spatial coherence Approximately 20,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi live in Estonian forests [1]. Our most abundant species group is insects (estimated at about 10,000), and we have 2,000 to 2,500 species of fungi and up...

Mires have been a refuge from wars, diseases, or other people Fens and bogs have been a part of the daily life of ancient Estonians, thus becoming an integral part of culture. The mire has been a refuge from wars, diseases, or other people – a role played by the mires during World War II, when the so-called forest brothers hid there. Mires have always been a source of berries, peat, and hay...

Peat is currently mined in Estonia on approximately 184 square kilometres The area of Estonian peatlands ranks third in Europe after Finland and Sweden. In Estonia, almost 22% of the country is covered with peatlands, and in most of these areas, the thickness of the peat layers is more than 30 cm. In the Earth’s Crust Act, mineral resources (including peat) are divided into economic and...

By closing the drainage ditches of the mires, we can restore their natural water regime and the mire community will gradually recover Where peat is deposited in natural mires, this process has been significantly slowed down or even stopped in drained mires. This leads to a change in the mire functioning as a carbon sink to functioning as a carbon emitter (atmospheric emitter) and negative effects...

The difficult journey of the control of alien species: the giant hogweed and Sosnowsky’s hogweed in Estonia? Systematic control of alien species in Estonia began with two species of hogweed: the giant hogweed and Sosnowsky’s hogweed. They were brought to us mainly as silage during the Soviet era, but have proved to be troublesome nuisances that have now been controlled for more than a decade. The...

Alien species: the picture of success? Alien species invading new habitats with human help is a global problem. These alien species can seriously upset the local natural balance, reduce biodiversity, affect the economy, and endanger human health. Alien species are species that have spread beyond their natural range with the intentional or unintentional assistance of humans. However, species that...