Nigula Nature Reserve ( et, Nigula looduskaitseala) is a nature reserve situated in South-West of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, in Häädemeeste and Saarde parishes of Pärnu County. It has an area of 63.98 km². Nigula nature reserve is one of the oldest bog reserves in Estonia. It is established to protect the Nigula Bog and its surrounding forests in their natural state.

Wildlife in Nigula

The core habitat of Nigula Nature Reserve is the Nigula bog, which is a typical Western-Estonian bog. In a medium-sized bog (~30 km²) can be found all the different bog habitats like hummocky bog, pool-bog, hollow bog, wooden-bog, mineral bog-islands and also transitional mire in the lagg-zone. In the surrounding areas can be found old untouched swamp forests, but also managed forests. The farmlands that generate a buffer-zone around the bog and forests are managed extensively. Here can be found both natural grasslands and cultivated fields. The

heterogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

of different landscapes and habitats gives good possibilities for wildlife. Nigula is an important bird area, it is a stopping area for migratory geese, swans and cranes, it is an important habitat for

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

birds and also favourable area for many different raptor species. The reserve is also an important habitat for large carnivores (

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

, lynx) and big game animals (

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

etc.). Nigula is a part of North-

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

n transboundary wetlands and forests complex.

History

Nigula Nature Reserve was established in 1957. New protection rules, that added the surrounding forests and farmlands to the nature reserve were fixed in 1979. In 1979 Nigula Nature Reserve got its first international designation as Important Bird Area The nature reserve has its independent administrative organisation since 1991 when Nigula Nature Reserve Administration was established. The nature reserve was designated as a

Ramsar convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

area in 1997. In 2005 Nigula Nature Reserve was added to the Natura 2000 network.

Nigula Nature Reserve Administration

''Nigula Nature Reserve Administration'' is an organisation that manages Nigula and Sookuninga Nature Reserves that are situated in South-West of Estonia on the Border of Estonia and Latvia. The main activities of Nigula NRA are: protected area management, research and monitoring, species protection, compilation of management plans and protection rules, introducing the values of the protected areas and transboundary cooperation with Latvian North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve in North Livonia.North-Livonia
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References

{{Nature reserves of Estonia Nature reserves in Estonia Important Bird Areas of Estonia Protected areas established in 1957 1957 establishments in Estonia Häädemeeste Parish Saarde Parish Ramsar sites in Estonia Geography of Pärnu County

Wildlife in Nigula

History

Nigula Nature Reserve Administration

See also

References