Seitseminen National Park
Quick facts
- European Diploma of Protected Areas (code FI940001)
- Since Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 CET 1996
- Country: Finland
- Administrative region: Not available
- Surface area: 42 km2 (4180.00 ha)
- Marine area: Not available
Source and more information: Council of Europe
Description
Site contact authorities
| Manager | Metsähallitus-the Finnish Forest and Park Service, Western Finland P.O. Box 38, FIN-39701 PARKANO, Finland |
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| Information | Metsähallitus - The Finnish Forest and Park Service, Western Finland P.O. Box 38, FIN-39701 PARKANO, Finland |
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Description
| General character of the site | Seitseminen National Park is located on a watershed of western Finland in the central boreal forest zone. Some of the state-owned forests in Seitseminen have been under protection since the beginning of this century. The rural area surrounding the park is sparsely populated. Tampere, the nearest town, lies 80 km to the south of the park. Seitseminen National Park covers an area of 4180 ha. In the near future, the park will be extended by an area of some 350 ha in its north eastern part. The forests cover 51%, the peatlands 45% and the cultural heritage landscapes 0,1% of the park. There are about thirty small lakes and pools in the park. Eskers, oriented north to south, are the geologically significant landforms. The nature is barren and the number of species is limited. Both flora and fauna show characteristics typical to northern nature. Many regionally or nationally threatened species breed in the natural peatlands and the old forests of the park. |
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| Quality | The forests, which are more than 100 years old, cover approximately 700 ha of the park's surface area. Despite the fact there are only about 80 ha of entirely virgin old forests in the park, Seitseminen National Park is onr of the most important protected old forest areas in souther Finland. In the national park it is possible to preserve the mosaic of forests and peatlands and the natural succession, both of which are typical of the forest nature of southern Finland. |
| Vulnerability | The area is not especially sensitive to disturbance and erosion. By establishing service facilities visitors can be channeled to designated areas. |
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| Owner | The National Park is owned by the Finnish State and managed by the Forest and Park Service. |
| Documentation | Master Plan for Seitseminen National Park. |
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| Geomorphology | The bedrock of Seitseminen is barren and it belongs to the intrusive rock area of Central Finland containing, for example, rock types such as granite and granodiorite. The bedrock is covered almost everywhere with moraine. The most visible marks left by the ice ages are eskers. Towards the end of the ice age the edge of the glacier did not move back evenly but rewidened twice. The consequence is soil types that lie one upon another. In Seitsemisharju esker there is sand at the bottom and on top a moraine cover of three metres. The sandy deposits of Seitsemisharju esker were laid down 9800 years ago. The moraine deposits are 9000 years old, dating from the period when the great ice sheet finally melted.Seitsemisharju esker is part of a 30 km long range of eskers. The top of the esker rises to 185-195 metres above sea level, standing 20-25 metres above its surroundings. The greater part of Seitsemisharju esker has never been submerged by water, resulting from the fact that the top of the esker has always been above water level during the sea and lake periods after the ice age. |
| Educational interest | Since the creation of Seitseminen National Park several research projects have been carried out by the Finnish Forest and Park Service, the Finnish Forest Research Institute, environment institutes and universities. The monitoring of restoration works and of the management of forests, peatlands, heritage biotopes and small water bodies is continuing. Follow-up surveys on bird and butterfly species are being carried out and the territories of threatened animal species are being checked at regular intervals. Also the vegetation of the Kovero cultural heritage environment is being followed at different monitoring points.Education to increase awareness of the environment is an important part of the activities in Seitseminen National Park. Special information and instruction are given to preschool children and school pupils visiting the national park. Different programs and educational material has been developed for them. Also plays and days with special themes are being organised for the same audience. throughout its more than thirty-year history. During the last few years, the area has been heavily used for general studies on animal ecology and other biological studies. The greatest research challenge has been a several-year programme concerned with the effect of the fragmentation of the forest and mosaic formation in which the efforts of researchers have been focused on the ecology of different groups of organisms. The value of the area for the research is immense and the preconditions for studies will be improved. Seitseminen is of particular importance to the rehabilitation and ecological research on forest, peatlands, heritage biotopes and small water bodies. In projects associated with the restoration and care of biotopes of this kind, Seitseminen is a so-called experimental and intensive monitoring area.The Seitseminen National Park has become highly popular as a place for school and university instruction. |
| Cultural heritage | The first people came to Seitseminen in the 19th century. They built their houses on state land and were thus tenants of state-owned farms. In the are of Seitseminen, there have been two tenant farms and one independent estate. The state-owned forests in Seitseminen were largely managed for forestry purposes from the late 19th century to the 1970's. Many cabins were built for forest workers, one of them, called Pitkäjärvi cabin, built in the late 1930's, is located in the national park.One of the best preserved state-owned tenant farms is Kovero. Today, it is managed as a historically interesting building and as a cultural heritage landscape. Hikers in the national park may rent Pitkäjärvi cabin. Pitkäjärvi cabin and the majority of the buildings on Kovero farm are protected by law. |
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| URL official | http://ikaalinen.kuntanet.fi/english/the_seitseminen_national_park/ |
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