The total area protected by the swamp campaign shared by the Ostrobothnia conservation district and the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation has grown with 15 hectares, thanks to the parcel of Syrjäjoki swamp land acquired by the foundation. The area, which follows the Syrjäjoki brook more than a kilometre, will be named Syrjäjoki.
The Syrjäjoki area is an undrained, thickly forested swamp with a small river running by the southwestern edge. The eastern and northeastern parts are dominated by two forest-covered islets.
The tree stand varies in the Syrjäjoki conservation area. Right next to the curly pines rising from the swamp, the islets are primarily covered by deciduous trees, most of them birches and aspens along with a few goat willows. Some of the spruces and aspens have grown quite large. There are also grey alders and junipers appearing by the brook. The tree stand has remained intact for several decades.
Conservation areas tend to provide a variety of habitats, and even these smaller ones are homes for a multitude of species, such as the regionally endangered willow grouse along with a number of mammals: the elk, the mountain hare, the fox, and the otter. The brook together with its surroundings is a home for the dragonfly, among others.
Syrjäjoki is the 50th conservation area of the foundation and the fourth one in the Ostrobothnia region.
The swamp campaign shared by the Ostrobothnia conservation district and the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation was launched in the spring of 2012. We have already managed to protect approximately a hundred hectares of swamp and forest in Alajärvi and Halsua during the course of the campaign.
Photo: Juhani Saarikoski.
