Lutukka – Volume 21, Issue 4/2005

Kulmala, P. 2005: Tikankontin ja lettorikon tila Suomessa. – Lutukka 21(4):131–135.

Status of the Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium calceolus) and the Marsh Saxifrage (Saxifraga hirculus) in Finland

With financing from the EU LIFE fund, the Life Nature project ”Conservation of Cypripedium calceolus and Saxifraga hirculus in Northern Finland” managed, restored and monitored habitats of these endangered species. Work was carried out at Natura 2000 sites in Kainuu, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa and Southern and Central Lapland. A total of 1070 known localities were inventoried, and ca. 250 new localities of Lady’s Slipper and 200 of Marsh Saxifrage were found. Ten rich fen localities with Marsh Saxifrage, which had been mowed regularly earlier, were scythed and cleared, and shading spruces were cut from ten localities with Lady’s Slipper. A total of 181 hectares of ditched rich fen was restored by filling in the ditches. The conservation prognosis for both species in Finland is unfavourable. They have viable populations in protected areas, but the total amount of suitable habitats has declined to a fraction of the original. Restoration and management measures will need to be extended also outside protected areas.

Jantunen, J. & Saarinen, K. 2005: Tienpientareet kelpaavat perinneympäristöjen niittykasveille, mutta eivät korvaa niittyjä. – Lutukka 21(4):136–142.

Road verges provide habitats for several species of semi-natural grasslands

A continuous decrease in the area of semi-natural grasslands has increased the importance of alternative habitats for the species of these grasslands. Unlike the regularly mown road verges most of the other possible habitats are poorly suitable for these grassland species because they are either unmanaged or the management amounts solely to bush removal. Vegetation of the road verges was studied along the road network in the Imatra – Lappeenranta region, SE Finland. The altogether 68 sites represented equally the intersection areas and the verges of highways, urban roads and rural roads. In addition, nine semi-natural grassland and eight field habitats were selected for comparison.

The vegetation was rather similar in all habitat groups. The species richness was highest in the verges of small rural roads (mean: 47 species per site), while the lowest values were obtained along the highways (38) and in the intersections (39). Many grassland species, also the rare ones, were present along the road verges, but the species composition in general was not comparable to the semi-natural grasslands. The largest number of grassland species was found in old verges on nutrient poor and sandy soil. The timing of mowing did not appear to be of any great importance to the diversity of roadside vegetation. Most of the verges studied so far did not form very good habitats for the grassland species concerned. Nevertheless, in practice the roadsides are probably important for this grassland flora owing to the large amounts of open areas. The total length of the Finnish road network is approximately 384 000 km and the estimated total area of road habitats is 140 000 hectares, which is 50-fold compared to the area of the remaining semi-natural grasslands on mineral soils.

Suominen, J.: Vammalan seudun kasvien vaiheita. – Lutukka 21(4):143–150.

Plant stories from Vammala with surroundings, W Finland

Miscellaneous fates of plants are presented as well as histories of plant inventory, including some rumours and riddles. Cases of extinction and increase often have an exact basis thanks to observations by Hjalmar Hjelt, who was born (1851) and died (1925) in Karkku (recently annexed to Vammala). He was the author of Conspectus Florae Fennicae, a magnificent opus including all floristic knowledge gathered in Finland up to its publication in 1888 to 1926. He also wrote a small paper, in 1900, which is among the very first publications in Finland to describe plant extinction.

Many extinct or diminished species are aquatic and wetland plants affected by drainage. The recent regulation and eutrophication of the watercourse flowing through Vammala has been deleterious to many plants but advantageous to several other ones. The declined old weeds, village and grassland species were still present and even common at Hjelt’s time. He also described the first phases in Vammala of many immigrant and spreading plants, many of which are now common all around. Furthermore, in his Conspectus Hjelt estimated the frequency of many common plants on a local or provincial scale. Many estimates are valid still today. However, several woodland and especially mire plants remained clearly under-estimated or even neglected. This is very understandable since in his time there were poor maps and no rubber boots!

FLORISTIC NOTES – Lutukka 21(4):155–158.