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...

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...

The main reason for the loss of heritage communities was the abandonment of handicraft, and intensive agriculture Heritage meadows or semi-natural communities are also called heritage communities. Both names refer to a close connection with man and to the fact that we have inherited these communities from our ancestors. Semi-natural communities have emerged with the help of humans, as a result of...

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 Baltic Sea is the second largest inland sea in the world A sea is a part of the world ocean that is more or less separated from the oceans or other seas by continents, islands, or bottom uplands. The seas are divided into: the inter-island seas (a part of the world ocean surrounded by archipelagos), the inland seas (a sea connected to the ocean or other seas by straits), and the peripheral...

The Estonian sea coast is diverse and the types of shores that occur here often vary after a short distance The coast is considered to be the coastal zone and the adjacent land and sea – coastal lands and coastal sea. The landward border of the coast is the imaginary line connecting the bottoms of the bays, while the seaward border is an imaginary line connecting the peaks of the peninsulas. If...

The species richness of settlements is mainly concentrated to parks and gardens, where there are also more natural species Human activities affect most of today’s communities. In Estonia, humans have only refrained from significantly interfering with the development of bogs, other primitive communities are extremely rare. Even some forests that appear to be primeval forests grow on sites that were...

The Estonian water network is dense, because the amount of precipitation exceeds evaporation here Watercourses There are thousands of watercourses in Estonia – according to the literature, more than 7,300 – with a total length of more than 31,000 km [1]. There are almost 3000 watercourses registered in the Estonian Nature Information System [2]. Most Estonian watercourses are short (94.3%), up to...

Inland waters form very diverse habitats Inland water bodies vary in size, depth, amount and nature of solutes, water flow rate, the characteristics of the bottom, water temperature, and many other aspects. Their combinations form very different habitats inhabited by very different species. The number of species usually increases with the increase in the area or catchment basin of a water body, as...