Sjaunja nature reserve
| Sjaunja nature reserve | |||
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| Location: | Sweden | ||
| Specialty: | IUCN Category = Ia (Strict Nature Reserve) | ||
| Next city: | Gällivare , Jokkmokk | ||
| Surface: | 2850 km² | ||
| Founding: | 1988 | ||
The Sjaunja nature reserve is a 285,000 hectare nature reserve in Swedish Lapland , approx. 60 km north of the Arctic Circle . The area lies between the Lule River in the south and the Kaitum River in the north. It is bounded to the east by the inland railway line and to the west by Stora Sjöfallet National Park . Largest west-east extension 110 km, and 45 km north-south. In the Swedish Environmental Atlas, Sjaunja is identified as the second largest core of still completely untouched, pathless wilderness . East of the Fjällberge which make up only a small part of the reserve, the area consists of a moor - and seen covered plane from which only isolated rounded Fjällkuppen on the timber line protrude. The highest point in the reserve is Kårsatjåkka at 1,730 m above sea level. NN. Sjaunja is the Swedish spelling of the Sami name Sjávnnjá .
nature
The second largest Swedish nature reserve, founded in 1988, comprises large areas of pine and spruce primeval forest (40–50,000 ha), moors , birch forests and fells (mountain tundra) and is home to the largest bog complex in Northern and Western Europe. The vegetation outside the forests and bogs consists mainly of middle-altitude mountain grass Gentiles. Sjaunja, together with the national parks and nature reserves Padjelanta , Sarek , Stora Sjöfallet , Muddus , Stubba and Tjuolda, is part of the Unesco World Heritage " Laponia ".
The nature reserve is located in the sub-polar zone . The climate is therefore continental with large temperature fluctuations between summer and winter. The snow cover in winter is usually thin.
No other sanctuary in Sweden offers such a diverse wildlife. More than 150 different species of birds breed in Sjaunja, around half of which are typical birds of the wetlands . The whooper swan finds its most important nesting area in Europe here . Other types are, for example, the Saatgans , the Smew , the ears diver , the double Woodcock , the jacksnipe , the Eagle , the Golden Eagle and the throated Pipit up to Waldammer in the swamp forests.
There are 25 species of mammals in the area, which is an unusually large number. Among others the brown bear , the northern lynx , the wolverine , the otter and the polar bank vole should be mentioned. From time to time, individual animals of the wolf, which has become very rare in Scandinavia , migrate from the Russian Kola peninsula to the area.
use
The only permitted use in the area is reindeer farming, because Sjaunja is an important grazing area for two Sami reindeer herder associations ( Samebyer ). The Saami settlements are located exclusively on the outer edges of the area. Inside there are neither houses nor streets.
tourism
The famous Swedish mountain trail Kungsleden cuts the western tip of the area. There are the Teusajaure huts, the only buildings in the entire reserve. In the central part, Sjaunja is completely inaccessible as there are no marked paths, bridges or overnight huts. Most of the paths marked on topographic maps no longer exist. Multi-day trekking tours in Sjaunja are very risky due to the aforementioned conditions. Usually, the area is traveled up the Sjaunjaätno river in summer by canoe and in winter via some predetermined snowmobile trails .
Protection status
In addition to the national protection status of a nature reserve, the integrity of the area as a natural heritage of mankind is secured by five further internationally binding protection statuses:
- Internationally significant wetland according to the Ramsar Convention
- “Important Bird Area” according to the leading international bird protection organization BirdLife International
- “Specially Protected Area” according to the EU bird protection directive
- " Natura 2000 " area according to the fauna-flora-habitat directive of the EU
- Part of the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage Area " Laponia "
threat
Although Sjaunja is subject to strict protection regulations, this remote natural area is also threatened. According to information from the SNSF on December 11, 2006 , the mining company “International Gold Exploration” was given permission to search for copper and gold over a period of three years in an area of approx. 600 hectares west of Lake Riteljaure, against the resistance of the environmental movement and the Swedish Greens to search. The critics fear an extension of the permit to other ores such as uranium . There is no right of action by the environmental associations . They see the danger of a precedent that will enable mining in protected areas in the future . The mining of gold and uranium in particular can have a significant impact on the surrounding ecosystems . In addition, they fear a loss of image for the Swedish nature conservation policy, which is internationally regarded as exemplary.
The greatest danger for Sjaunja - and the entire northern calotte - comes from the impending global warming of the earth's atmosphere, which in the far north will probably lead to the thawing of the permafrost soils . The first signs of this thawing can already be observed in other parts of Lapland (for example in the vicinity of the climate research project Arctic Biosphere Atmosphere Coupling at Multiple Scales near Abisko ). When the frozen peat thaws , large amounts of bound methane are released. Methane, on the other hand, has a far greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide and thus further increases warming. The rapid climate change will cause a shift in vegetation zones to higher regions, as well as changes in fauna . For example, the times of bird migration are shifting and species are migrating from the south that have not previously occurred here. These changes bring the particularly sensitive natural balance of the subarctic ecosystem , which has grown over thousands of years, upset, so that the risk of ecological catastrophes ( pest infestation , decreasing vitality , fires , disturbances in the material or food cycle, etc.) will increase considerably.
literature
- Angelika Lang, Sven Halling, Detlef Singer: Northern Scandinavia with Finland . BLV, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 1994, ISBN 3-405-14512-0 .
- Frank Baldus: Sjaunja - The wisdom of the wild. An almost unsuccessful trekking trip . puch-Verlag, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-935694-00-8 , 240 pages, 25 illustrations, hardback .
- Margareta Söderberg (Ed.): Värt att se i Sveriges natur . Bonnier Alba, Stockholm 1994, ISBN 91-34-51297-7 .