Ekenäs Archipelago National Park
Quick facts
- European Diploma of Protected Areas (code FI940002)
- Since Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 CET 1996
- Country: Finland
- Administrative region: Not available
- Surface area: 50 km2 (5000.00 ha)
- Marine area: Not available
Source and more information: Council of Europe
Description
Site contact authorities
| Manager | Finnish Forest and Park Service South Coast Park Area P.O. Box 94 SF-01301 Vantaa Finland |
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| Information | Finnish Forest and Park Service South Coast Park Area P.O. Box 94 SF-01301 Vantaa Finland |
| Official contact international | |
| Official contact national | |
| Official contact regional | |
| Official contact local |
Description
| General character of the site | The Ekenäs Archipelago National Park protects a unique sample of the islands and coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. It is especially important, that it covers an entire cross-section of the archipelago from the inner zone to the edge of the open sea. The region belongs to the Project Aqua and has been intensively studied and monitored since the beginning of this century. The park is also included in the Baltic Coastal Area Reserves Program under the provisions of the Helsinki Convention. |
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| Quality | The salinity of the Baltic in western Finland is only about 0.5-0.7%, whereas that of the oceans is 3.5%. This kind of water is called brackish. In the Baltic, the world's largest brackish water basin, oceanic water mixes with fresh water brought in by the rivers. The low salinity places great demands on organisms living in it. As a rule it can be said that individuals in the Baltic are smaller than their counterparts in "proper water". |
| Vulnerability | The brackish water and thus the whole National Park is very sensitive to changes in the environment. Unfortunately, "dead" bottoms where the lack of oxygen has killed most of the organisms have already be found in the vicinity of the Park. The eutrophication of the water and oil accidents are the greatest threats to the area. |
| Designation | |
| Owner | The Tammisaari Archipelago National Park is owned by the Finnish State and managed by the Forest and Park Service. |
| Documentation | Leaflets in Finnish, Swedish and English; booklet in Finnish and Swedish and English on the nature trail at Rödjan; reports and manuscripts mainly in Finnish about the flora and fauna in the Park. |
| Habitat types | |
| Flora | |
| Fauna | |
| Potential vegetation | |
| Geomorphology | The islands in the park have raised from the sea after the last Ice Age some 10 000 years ago. The layer of mineral soils is very thin and barren bedrock is common. The bedrock consists of granit, gabbro, diorit etc. The topography both of the islands and under the surface is varied. |
| Educational interest | The National Park's marine areas form part of the Project Aqua area in the bay Pohjanpitäjänlahti and the associated sea area. Research has been carried out in this area since the beginning of this century. A research base is formed by the Tvärminne Zoological Station of the University of Helsinki located some 5 km west of the National Park. The establishment of the National Park has improved the conditions for carrying out studies in coastal waters and the archipelago.At the old fishermen settlement Rödjan on Älgö there are certain facilities for school classes, so that they can come out here and have field studies of the flora and fauna in the archipelago. Also students based at the Tvärminne Zoological Station visit the National Park during their field studies. |
| Cultural heritage | At the northern shore of Jussarö there are small meadows and a restored, little cottage built in the 1850's.On the south side of Älgö is the old fishermen settlement Rödjan, which has been restored and now functions as the main information point within the park. |
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| Management plan | |
| URL official | http://www.metsa.fi/natural/nationalparks/ekenasarchipelago/first.htm |
| URL interesting | http://www.fma.fi/virtualboat/suomenlahti/02/tammisaari.html |
