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Forests |
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 THE FINNISH EcoRegion area is entirely located in the boreal coniferous forest
zone. Its heath forests consist of relatively few tree species.
The coniferous trees spruce (Picea abies) and pine (Pinus sylvestris) are the most common tree species. Birches (Betula pendula, B. pubescens) and aspen (Populus tremula) form mixed forests with the coniferous trees, and in young forests whole stands of deciduous trees. The forests mainly grow on relatively barren forest soil. Actual grass-herb forests are rare and mostly small in area.
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Bogs |
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FINLAND has the most bogs in the world in proportion to its area. About a half of its area has originally been covered with different kinds of bogs. In the EcoRegion area there is also a large number of bogs. The whole EcoRegion area is part of a bog zone in which large bog complexes form raised bogs which are higher in the centre than at the edges. These bogs are extremely barren habitats, because due to the thick peat layer the roots of the bog plants cannot the nutritious mineral soil and groundwater. At the edges of the raised bog there often are more nutritious types of bogs. In addition to the large bog complexes, there are various smaller bogs in the area. Many slowly overgrowing small lakes have marshy shores and in forest and rock depressions a variety of bogs can be found.
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Waterways |
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 FINLAND
is said to be "the land of a thousand lakes". Although the EcoRegion area
is not located in the actual Finnish lake district, even there it is obvious
that the saying is true.
In average the Finnish lakes are shallow and small. Especially there are lots of small, dark lakes in the middle of forests and sometimes bogs. However, there are also various types of lakes in Finland from the rocky shored gorge lake in the Helvetinjärvi National Park to the lush bird lake in the Torronsuo National Park. The rivers and brooks flowing through the
woodlands are mainly fairly small.
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