Province of Western Finland, Southwest Finland (Varsinais-Suomi)
Region
The municipality of Pöytyä
(www.poytya.fi, in Finnish)
Area: 15 sq.km. Established in 1956.
The area
is managed by Metsähallitus
Vaskijärvi Strict Nature Reserve with its
surroundings is one of the largest areas in Southwestern Finlands which still
are wilderness-like. The Strict Nature Reserve lies in almost unbreakable peace,
you can just hear Cranes (Grus grus) shouting and Dragonflies
(Odonata) buzzing. If you stop on the duckboards, you may notice that
you are being observed. The Moose (Alces alces) on the edge of
the forest wonders what is this strange creature walking in the landscape.
In the Strict Nature Reserve, visitors can hike along two marked trails going
through the area. The trails are part of Kuhankuono Hiking Trail Network. It is
not allowed to walk outside the marked
trails.
The Natural Features of Vaskijärvi
Vaskijärvi Strict Nature Reserve is located on the flat watershed region of
Southern Finland. There are a couple of lakes with pine bog shores, but most of
the nature reserve’s area is made up of mires. Vaskijärvi Strict Nature Reserve
is the most important area in conserving raised bogs in Southwestern Finland. In
addition to raised bogs, there are also northern features, such as aapa mires.
In the middle and on the edges of the mires, there are forested islands, which
have never been logged. In addition to coniferous trees and the Birch
(Betula) there are Littleleaf Lindens (Tilia cordata) and
Aspens (Populus tremula ) growing on the islands.
The bird species of the area include the Common Crane (Grus grus),
the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), the Black Grouse (Tetrao
tetrix) and the Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus). In Vaskijärvi
area also live mammals, such as the Common Otter (Lutra lutra) and the
Siberian Flying Squirrel (Pteromys volans). Also the Moose (Alces
alces) population is strong. The abundance of insect species in the area is
due to the old-growth forests.
