Janar Raet

A framework for habitat monitoring and climate change modelling: construction and validation of the Environmental Stratification of Estonia

Environmental stratifications provide the framework for efficient surveillance and monitoring of biodiversity and ecological resources, as well as modelling exercises. An obstacle for agricultural landscape monitoring in Estonia has been the lack of a framework for the objective selection of monitoring sites. This paper describes the construction and testing of the Environmental Stratification of Estonia (ESE). Principal components analysis was used to select the variables that capture the most amount of variation. Seven climate variables and topography were selected and subsequently subjected to the ISODATA clustering routine in order to produce relatively homogeneous environmental strata. The ESE contains eight strata, which have been described in terms of soil, land cover and climatic parameters. In order to assess the reliability of the stratification procedure for the selection of monitoring sites, the ESE was compared with the previous map of Landscape Regions of Estonia and correlated with five environmental data sets. All correlations were significant. The stratification has therefore already been used to extend the current series of samples in agricultural landscapes into a more statistically robust series of monitoring sites. The potential for applying climate change scenarios to assess the shifts in the strata and associated ecological impacts is also examined.

Soviet military heritage: brown and green - recovery and enhancement

Estonia has been for centuries a strategically important area in Eastern Europe, in particular due to its relatively long coastline (including islands about 3800 km). Therefore it has been subject to military invasions by various foreign powers. Each of them has built numerous military facilities, most of which originate from the Second World War or subsequent Soviet occupation period. Almost the whole coastal area of Estonia and large inland areas were in use by the military and closed to the public. The Soviet military had left behind both, green and brown heritage. After the withdrawal of Russian troops, Estonia regained control of approximately 87,000 hectares of land formerly under the military control, suffering from a high pollution load. Conversely, the military presence and strict limitations left large areas in a natural state largely untouched by human activities. After regaining independence 40 new protected areas were established in Estonian Green Belt zone, which was heavily guarded Soviet military territory in Estonia. In Estonia the regional differences are considerable. The pristine natural environment and valuable objects of cultural heritage are considered to be strongest advantages for the development of rural areas, thus it is extremely important that former military sites are remediated and made safe. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the extent and character of pollution caused by the Soviet military was studied. This article provides an overview of the extent of the pollution, the recovery of brownfield sites as well as green heritage.

Land Use Changes On HiiumaaIsland (north-western Estonia) In TheLast Fifty Years

Significant social, economic and political changes of the last 50 years have altered Estonian rural landscapes. The paper analyses changes in land use intensity and landscape patterns in the two main agricultural regions (altogether 267 km) of Hiiumaa, the second largest island of Estonia. The spatial analysis of land use patterns, which was based on decoded aerial photos (ortophoto maps) from 1956 and 1984, the digital Basic Map of Estonia from 1998, fieldworks in 2004/5 and performed in GIS software MapInfo, showed an overall decrease in agricultural land (esp. in account of natural and wooded grasslands) and gradual increase in forested land. The greatest change in land use pattern took place between 1956 and 1984. By 1984, the traditional and extremely diverse patchy mosaic landscape pattern of 1956 had become much more simplified and polarised as a result of collectivisation, land reclamation and wider use of industrial methods in agriculture. Since the beginning of the 1990s remarkable changes in agricultural land use intensity, a sharp decline by the end of the 1990s and a slight revival by 2004/5, have not yet caused any significant changes in landscape patterns.