5,772 views
Soomaa National Park protects the marshes, floodplain meadows, forests, habitats of protected species and cultural heritage of southwestern Central Estonia. The flat, only slightly undulating topography of the national park in the southern part has been formed as the bottom of a glacial lake that spread out between the glacier edge and the Sakala Upland during the retreat of the continental ice. The appearance of the national park is shaped by bog plateaus separated by rivers flowing in their natural beds. A special feature here are floods, which are locally called the fifth season and can reach an extent of 17,500 hectares. The total area of the national park is 39,884 ha, of which 51% is covered by bogs, 5% by floodplain meadows, 0.5% by agricultural land and the rest by various forest communities. The predecessors of Soomaa National Park were the Halliste Puisniidu Botanical Reserve established in 1957 and the Kikepera, Öördi, Kuresoo and Valgeraba bog reserves established in 1981. When these areas were merged, Soomaa National Park was established in 1993. The fifth area of Soomaa, Riisa Bog, was merged into the protected area in 2005. Soomaa, a model area for bog massifs, has also been an International Bird Area (IBA) since 1989. In addition, the national park has been a Ramsar site since 1997, and has been a member of the European network of protected areas Natura 2000 as a nature and bird area since 2004. For more information about Estonian protected areas, see: https://www.kaitsealad.ee/. The video was produced by OÜ Tammik Film. Funded by: Environmental Investment Centre.