Plant Conservation in Finland

Number of Nationally Threatened Species

Plant Group	RE	EW	CR	EN	VU	NT	DD	Total threatened
Vascular plants	6	1	32	52	96	93	32	180
Bryophytes	25	0	19	36	81	96	72	106
Algae*	0	0	1	1	4	12	9	6
Lichens	24	0	27	27	45	49	416	99
Macrofungi	16	0	60	76	129	175	1301	265
Microfungi	2	0	3	3	4	11	74	10
Total	73	1	142	195	359	436	1904	666

RE=Regionally Extinct, EW=Extinct in the Wild, CR=Critically Endangered, EN=Endangered, VU=Vulnerable, NT=Near Threatened, DD=Data Deficient.

*Only macroalgae (red algae, brown algae and charophytes) assessed.

Source: 2000 Red List of Finnish Species (see below).

Lists of species in each category are available at www.environment.fi.

National Red Data Books

Suomen lajien uhanalaisuus 2000 [The 2000 Red List of Finnish species]. P. Rassi, A. Alanen, T. Kanerva & I. Mannerkoski (Eds). 2001. Pp. 422. Ympäristöministeriö & Suomen ympäristökeskus [The Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE], Helsinki.

Uhanalaiset Kasvimme [Finnish Vascular Plant Red Data Book]. T. Ryttäri & T. Kettunen (Eds). Pp. 335. 1997. Suomen Ympäristökeskus [Finnish Environment Institute] & Kirjayhtymä Oy, Helsinki. Describes the 226 vascular plants listed as threatened in Finland in 1990. Sold out.

Red Data Book of the Baltic Region. Part 1. T. Ingelög, R. Anderson & M. Tjernberg (Eds). 1993. Swedish Threatened Species Unit, Uppsala, Sweden. Includes threatened vascular plants from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark.

Floras

Vascular Plants

Retkeilykasvio [Field Flora of Finland], 4th Ed. L. Hämet-Ahti, J. Suominen, T. Ulvinen & P. Uotila. Pp. 656. 1998. Botanical Museum, Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki.

Flora Nordica, vols 1, 2 and General Volume. Bengt Jonsell (ed.). Pp. 344, 430, 274. 2000, 2001, 2004. Bergius Foundation, Sweden. Flora Nordica, Department of Phanerogamic Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden. Covers Denmark and the Faeroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway and associated Arctic islands, and Sweden. 15 vols projected. Plant Talk review of Vol. 1; Vol. 2 covers Chenopodiaceae to Fumariaceae. Available from Koeltz Scientific Books.

Monitoring of threatened vascular plants in Estonia and Finland – methods and experiences. T. Ryttäri, Ü. Kukk, T. Kull, A. Jäkäläniemi & M. Reitalu (Eds.). 2003. The Finnish Environment 659: 1-122.

Bryophytes

Suomen sammalet [Bryophytes of Finland: distribution, ecology and red list status], T. Ulvinen, K. Syrjänen & S. Anttila (Eds.) 2002. Suomen ympäristö [The Finnish Environment], 560: 1-354. Helsinki. Describes all the 882 bryophyte species in Finland, their distribution and ecology.

Illlustrated Flora of Nordic Liverworts and Hornworts. K. Damsholt. 2002. Nordic Bryological Society, Lund, Sweden. Coverage includes Faeroe Is., Jan Mayen, Svalbard, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland & Denmark.

Fungi

Käävät, puiden sienet [Polypores, lignicolous fungi], T. Niemelä. 2005. Norrlinia 13: 1-320. Includes information about 230 species of poroid Basidiomycota (polypores) in Finland.

Suomen helttasienten ja tattien ekologia, levinneisyys ja uhanalaisuus [Agarics and boletes of Finland: ecology, distribution and red list status]. P. Salo, T. Niemelä, U. Nummela-Salo & E. Ohenoja (Eds.). 2005. Suomen ympäristö [The Finnish Environenment] 689: 1-526. Describes al-together 1702 agarics and boletes and revised Red List status for 72 species.
The numbers of agarics and boletes in different IUCN categories in 2000 and 2005:

IUCN category	RE	CR	EN	VU	NT	DD	Total threatened
Number of species in 2000	2	27	30	49	73	562	106
Numbers of species in 2005	5	31	33	48	84	455	112

Vegetation

Extensive tracts of natural, coniferous forests cover about 70% of land surface, open mires about 10%, and treeless alpine areas 5%. In the north, a narrow lichen-tundra belt; in central Finland, extensive areas of peat bogs bordered by pine and spruce (Finland, Sweden and Norway contain 80% of Europe’s peatlands); south of the Arctic Circle, pine is more widespread with heathlands; in the south, herb-rich meadows, once abundant, now disappearing, due to decline of traditional agriculture. About 60,000 lakes throughout the country support extensive shore-line vegetation. (Paragraph reproduced with permission from Davis, S.D. et al. (1986). Plants in Danger: What do we know? IUCN, Gland, Switzerland).

Plant Conservation Programmes

Species specific conservation programmes are prepared for the most threatened species that have been listed as species under strict protection in the Finnish Nature Conservation Act and Degree (revised in 2006). Conservation programmes have been prepared for 56 vascular plants, 11 bryophytes, 19 lichens and 33 fungi species (June 2006). A list of programmes is available at www.ymparisto.fi.

For more information about species listed in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directice and their monitorring visit the protected species section of www.environment.fi.

A proposal for the organization of the nationwide biodiversity monitoring in Finland is presented in the reports of the expert group for Biodiversity Research, Monitoring and Data Systems, Part II, Specific monitoring.

Key Institutions

Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), P.O.Box 140, FI-00251 Helsinki. (Joint website of Finnish environmental administration including the Ministry of Environment and regional environment centres.).

Metsähallitus, Natural Heritage Services, P.O. Box 94, FI-01301 Vantaa. (A state enterprise whose main tasks are to supply wood to the forest industry and manage most of Finland’s protected areas).

Finnish Museum of Natural History, Botanical Museum, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 7, FI-00014 Helsinki.

Finnish Museum of Natural History, Botanic Garden, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 44, FI-00014 Helsinki. Exhibitions: P.O. Box 7, FI-00014 Helsinki.

Expert groups for vascular plants (Kasvityöryhmä), bryophytes (Sammaltyöryhmä), lichens (Jäkälätyöryhmä), fungi (Sienityöryhmä) work in close cooperation with Finnish Environment Institute and other nature conservation authorities. Presentation of the groups in the internet only in Finnish at www.ymparisto.fi.

Department of Biology, Herbarium and Botanic Garden of the University of Turku, Luonnontieteiden talo 1, 20014 Turku.

Department of Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu. (The National Botanic Network of Finland is also connected to this university).

Botanic Garden, University of Kuopio, Tutkimuspuutarha, PL 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio.

There is also a regional botanical museums at the University of Jyväskylä, P.O.Box 35, FI-40014 Jyväskylä.

Other useful liks

Suomen Biologian Seura Vanamory [Biological Society of Finland Vanamo], PL 27 (Latokartanonkaari 7), FI-00014 Helsinki.

Suomen Sammalseurary [Finnish Bryological Society], PL 7, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki.

Suomen Sieniseura [Finnish Mycological Society] Membership publication Sienilehti (contact address: sieniseu@welho.com). Internet pages will be opened in 2006.

WWF Finland, Lintulahdenkatu 10, FI-00500 Helsinki.

Suomen Luonnonsuojeluliitto [Finnish Association for Nature Conservation], Kotkankatu 9, FI-00510 Helsinki.

Acknowledgement

Based on material prepared by Hugh Synge for the Council the Council of Europe, 1999-2000, with information and help from Aulikki Alanen, Finland. Last update June 2006 by Eija Kemppainen, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).