Mosses of the Kalevala National Park (Republic of Karelia, the European North of Russia)

M. A. Boychuk

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31111/nsnr/2025.59.2.B47

Full article

Abstract

The Kalevala National Park, with an area of 744 km², was founded in 2006 mainly for the conservation of European last large old-growth pine forests. In 2015, the park was attached to the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve. The paper summarizes the results of long-term (1997, 2000, 2011, 2021, 2023) studies of the bryoflora of the Kalevala National Park. An annotated list of 170 moss species was prepared. Fifty-five moss species are listed for the first time. Seven of them (Hygroamblystegium varium, Mnium stellare, Philonotis caespitosa, Plagiothecium cavifolium, Sphagnum annulatum, S. medium, and Syntrichia ruralis) are new to the Kuitozero-Leksozero floristic province of Karelia. The species distribution of main habitat types is discussed. Seven indicator species of the biologically valuable forests of North-Western European Russia (Dicranum drummondii, Mnium hornum, M. stellare, Nyholmiella obtusifolia, Philonotis fontana, Sphagnum quinquefarium, and S. wulfianum) were recorded in the forests of the park. Two species (Herzogiella turfacea, Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans), listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Karelia (2020), were found. Six species (Fontinalis dalecarlica, Helodium blandowii, Herzogiella turfacea, Meesia triquetra, Scorpidium scorpioides, and Tomentypnum nitens) from European Red List (2019) were revealed. The bryoflora of the park is typical of the north taiga subzone in Karelia. Most species are widespread. The territory of the park is the only locality in Karelian north taiga for seven species (Brachythecium rutabulum, Dicranella rufescens, Discelium nudum, Hygroamblystegium varium, Plagiothecium caespitosa, Pohlia drummondii, and Sphagnum medium) and the only locality in Karelia for two of them (Dicranella rufescens, Sphagnum medium). The bryofloras of the Kalevala National Park and the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve were compared.

Keywords: bryoflora, mosses, national park, species list, Russia

Section: Bryophytes

How to cite

Boychuk M. A. 2025. Mosses of the Kalevala National Park (Republic of Karelia, the European North of Russia). Novosti sistematiki nizshikh rastenii 59(2): B47–B56. https://doi.org/10.31111/nsnr/2025.59.2.B47

Received: 31 March 2025. Accepted: 17 October 2025. Published: 30 October 2025

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