science

Wildlife of Finland

Wildlife of Finland is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wildlife of Finland rather than just read about it. In short: The wildlife of Finland is affected by prevailing environmental conditions. The phytogeography of Finland is shared between the Arctic, central European, and northern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.

Key takeaways

Wildlife of Finland belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wildlife of Finland to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wildlife of Finland from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The wildlife of Finland is affected by prevailing environmental conditions. The phytogeography of Finland is shared between the Arctic, central European, and northern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The territory of Finland can be subdivided into three ecoregions: the Scandinavian and Russian taiga, Sarmatic mixed forests, and Scandinavian montane birch forest and grasslands. Taiga covers most of Finland from northern regions of southern provinces to the north of Lapland. On the southwestern coast, south of the Helsinki-Rauma line, forests are mixed as is more typical in the Baltic region. In the extreme north of Finland, near the tree line and Arctic Ocean, montane birch forests are common.

Habitat types

The habitat types of Finland have been divided into eight groups by prevailing environmental conditions, and by the plant and animal species typical of such areas. The groups consist of habitat types of the Baltic Sea, its coast, inland waters and shores, mires, forests, rocky habitats, traditional rural biotopes and fell habitats.

Species

The number of species living in Finland has been estimated to be at least 45,000. Known fauna consists of 27,000 species, flora of 4,500 species and fungi 7,500 species. The largest group is insects, over 20,000 identified species and an estimated total 30,000 species total. The following estimates of numbers of species in groups are primarily based on the 2010 Red List of Finnish Species.

Birds In all, 468 species of birds have been observed. Of these, 256 are nesting species. The most common breeding birds are the willow warbler, common chaffinch, and redwing. The whooper swan is Finland's national bird.

Mammals A total of 80 species of mammals have been observed in Finland. The Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) is an endemic subspecies restricted to Lake Saimaa. In 2015 assessment of endangered Finnish bird and mammal species, mammal species classified as threatened included Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri endangered), Nathusius' pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusi vulnerable), Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus critically endangered), gray wolf (Canis lupus endangered), wolverine (Gulo gulo endangered), European polecat (Mustela putorius vulnerable) and Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis endangered).

Insects Over 20,000 species of insects have been identified in Finland. These include

Bristletails (Thysanura): 6 Leapers (Orthoptera): 32 Earwigs (Dermaptera): 3 Cockroaches (Blattodea): 4 True bugs (Hemiptera): 1542 Net-winged insects (Neuroptera): 57 Dobsonflies and fishflies (Megaloptera): 5 Snakeflies (Raphidioptera): 3 Scorpionflies (Mecoptera): 6 Booklice (Psocoptera): 71 Thrips (Thysanoptera): 151 Caddisflies (Trichoptera): 218 Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera): 2559 Flies and mosquitoes (Diptera): 6400 Twisted-winged parasites (Strepsiptera): 5 Fleas (Siphonaptera): 54 Ants, bees and wasps (Hymenoptera): 7100 Beetles (Coleoptera): 3697 Insects unique to Finland include a leafroller moth Exapate bicuspidella, a grass-miner moth Elachista saarelai, a braconid wasp Phaenocarpa ungulosetosa, an ichneumon wasp Fennomacrus koponeni, and a chalcidoid wasp Anaphes crassipennis.

Other animals Reptiles (Reptilia): 5 Fishes (Pisces s.l.): 102 Amphibians (Amphibia): 7 Annelids (Annelida): 179 Molluscs (Mollusca): 165 Arachnids (Arachnida): 2200 Crustaceans (Crustacea): 350 Myriapods (Myriapoda): 63

Plants A total of 3,550 species of vascular plants, 892 bryophytes and 1832 lichens have been identified in Finland. The only endemic vascular plants in Finland are microspecies of dandelions and hawkweeds.

Fungi At the moment, 5584 species of Fungi and Myxomycetes (Protista) have been identified in Finland. Roughly 200 species are edible, and people commonly pick around 10 species which are relatively easy to find and identify. It has been estimated that around 40% of people in Finland pick wild mushrooms multiple times a year. Finland's most important commercial varieties of forest mushrooms are cep (Boletus edulis) and northern milkcap (Lactarius trivialis). Fungi are further classified to

Agaricoid & Boletoid fungi: 1,821 species Aphyllophorales & Heterobasidiomycetes: 950 Gasteromycetoid fungi: 79 Pucciniomycetes, Ustilaginomycotina: 407 Ascomycota: 2,106 Myxomycetes: 204

Threatened habitat types and protected areas According to an evaluation finished in 2008, there are fewer than 400 habitats in Finland and 51% are endangered. The most seriously endangered habitats are 52, of which over half are traditional rural biotopes, such as meadows. The threat assessment was based on changes in the number and quality of the habitat type from the 1950s to the 2000s. According to the study, the main reasons for the threats to the habitat types were forestry, drainage for forestry (ditching), eutrophication of water bodies, clearing of agricultural land, and water engineering. Nature reserves, wilderness areas and hiking areas established on state-owned lands are the central parts of the protected area system in Finland. Almost all of these are included in the European Union's network of Natura 2000 areas. In 2012 Finland had 1,865 Natura 2000 areas, the combined area of which measures 49,000 km2 or 15% of Finland's territory.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wildlife of Finland

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wildlife of Finland claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wildlife of Finland before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wildlife of Finland ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wildlife of Finland

In research: Wildlife of Finland appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wildlife of Finland in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wildlife of Finland is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Environment of Finland, Wildlife by country, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wildlife of Finland outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wildlife of Finland in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wildlife of Finland means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wildlife of Finland out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wildlife of Finland in simple terms?

Why does Wildlife of Finland matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wildlife of Finland?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wildlife of Finland.