Meremäe birch grove, also known as Kärner

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

grove, is a forest stand under protection in Meremäe rural municipality, in

Meremäe Meremäe (also known as Mihailova, Mihailovo) is a village in Setomaa Parish, Võru County, southeastern Estonia. The biggest settlements nearby include Vastseliina ( west), town of Võru ( northwest) and Russian town Pechory ( northeast). As of ...

village in

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

. The surface area of the grove is and it is under state protection. The grove was taken under protection for the first time by decision no 33 of the executive committee of the Council of People's Deputies on 30 March 1962 “Arranging of Preservation of Nature and the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Võru District”.keskkonnainfo.ee
/ref> The birch grove has also been called Kärner's grove, because the forest stand was situated on the land of the former Kärner farm. People of Meremäe consider the birch grove as their recreation area and a delightful sight, as well as a symbol of the region. It is mostly a grove consisting of birches, with

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

being the dominant tree in the undergrowth.

References

Forests of Estonia Setomaa Parish {{Estonia-geo-stub