Vascular Flora of the Proposed Prigranichny (Paatio) Regional Sanctuary and Adjacent Islands (Leningrad region)
The area under study, located in the Vyborg District on the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland near the Russian-Finnish frontier, comprises the Zheleznovsky Peninsula, the eastern coast of the Kirovskaya Bay, the Urpalanniemi Peninsula and over 60 adjacent islands, differing considerably in size and elevation. The shoreline of the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland near the Finnish-Russian border is deeply indented with innumerable bays, inlets and peninsulas; the numerous islands and islets lend a skerry-like appearance to the landscape.
 The largest islands are Bolshoy Pogranichny (Paatio, area 9.5 sq. km), Grozny (Laitsalmi), Ivovy (Pajusaari), Kozliny (Pukkionsaari), Dolgiy Kamen (Pitkäpaasi, Kotisaari), Krutoyar (Essaari), Maly Pogranichny (Martinsaari), Uzorny (Herö), and Sokoliny (Ilmarinen). All the remaining islands are sized under 0.5 sq. km. The total area of the projected sanctuary and adjacent islands (excluding water area) is 60 sq. km. Situated on the southern slope of the Baltic Crystalline Shield, the area is scattered with rock outcrops, predominantly rapakivi granites, forming ridges (selgas) up to 28 m high. The majority of small islands are, in fact, granite shoals or domes with depressions filled with glacial deposits. Most of the mainland part of the sanctuary and many of the islands are covered with forest vegetation, mainly coniferous forests (pine, spruce and mixed spruce/pine forests). The Bolshoy Fiskar Archipelago, Dolgy Reef, Maly Fiskar and many smaller islets are almost treeless and a great value as staging and nesting places for birds.
 This area close to the Finnish-Russian border is of great scientific interest, having been out of bounds for researchers for decades after World War II due to security reasons. Between 1917 and 1940, this was Finnish territory, and there were several Finnish villages on the mainland (Ala-Urpala, Kiiskinlahti, Orslahti, Koskela), and some larger islands
(Laitsalmi, Pajusaari, Paatio, Martinsaari, Essaari, Kotisaari, Papinsaaret) were quite densely populated until 1939. With the local paludified and rocky soils being largely unsuitable for planting, the main traditional occupations of the island population were fishing, seal hunting and boat building. What remains of the former Finnish settlements still bears traces of their past residents' peaceful activity. Here one can find many foundations and ruins of buildings, and next to them, there are remnants of fences, cultivators, ploughs, barrow wheels, anchors embedded in shallow waters, occasional heaps of roofing tiles, overgrown decorative plants next to the foundations of former homes, as well as drainage canals, overgrown fields and pasture. After the Finnish-Russian war, the islands and mainland area west of Urpalanjoki (Serga River) became practically uninhabited, and were subsequently included in the so-called 'border security buffer' of the Soviet Union, where access was forbidden. Nowadays, the only inhabitants of this vast area are a few military servicemen and lighthouse keepers, the only exception being the base of the Kirovskaya Bay, where many summer cottages have been recently built.
 On the one hand, due to strict border controls, the area in question has remained a "natural" sanctuary for a long time. Here, the forests have remained virgin, the ecosystems have developed without any noticeable human impact, and many rare plant species and plant communities have been well preserved. But, on the other hand, our knowledge of the local biodiversity remained very poor until very recently, when the political climate changed and it became possible to carry out scientific research this close to the frontier.
The Finnish Environment Institute first joined forces with a group of Russian botanists from the Komarov Botanical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2002 to conduct biological research at the projected Prigranichny (Paatio) sanctuary and adjoining islands off the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland. Their collaboration began within the framework of the Finnish-Russian Programme on Sustainable Forest Management and Conservation of Biological Diversity in Northwest Russia. The main purpose of the 2002-2004 project, which is a part of a bigger research effort targeting the flora of the Russian islands and coastal areas of the Gulf of Finland, was to carry out biological research across the area of the projected regional Prigranichny sanctuary, and the neighbouring islands.
 The first step of the project was to gather as much information as possible on local vegetation from all available sources: publications, herb sample collections and archives included. However, a study of old literature and plant collections from Finnish museums showed how little we really know about the flora of the land west of Urpalanjoki up to the Russian-Finnish frontier. The shortage of botanical information from this area made our research feel more like new exploration.
During the second stage of project work, field trips were undertaken in 2002-2004 by the Russian botanical group (coordinated by Dr. E. Glazkova) to the islands and coastal areas west of Urpalanjoki (Serga River). The group visited mainland areas and more than 60 islands, half of which are included in the projected Prigranichny (Paatio) sanctuary. A wealth of botanical information was gathered. In 2004, we took a series of trips to some of the outer islands in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, including Suursaari, Bolshoy Tuters, Maly Tuters, Bolshoy Fiskar, Virginy, Rodsher, and Sommers. Field records and vegetation descriptions were produced for each island and islet, as well as for the coastal areas, together with profiles of vascular plant species in the studied area. The focal point were rare and endangered plant communities in need of special study and protection.
 Our research yielded a roster of 580 vascular plant species for the Prigranichny mainland and adjacent islands (excluding outer islands), drawn up in 2002 through 2004. The number of species on the islands varies depending on island size, location, human impact and bird populations. The greatest number of vascular species (357 plants) was found on the largest island explored: Paatio (9.5 sq. km in area). On Maly Pogranichny, Krutoyar, Dolgiy Kamen, Kozliny, Ivovy and Grozny islands with areas ranging from 0.66 to 2.5 sq. km, the number of species ranges from 256 to 295. The number of species on the other islands with areas below 0.5 sq. km is far lower, ranging from 54 to 202. The flora of the smallest rocky islets, where the effect of seabirds, nesting and resting there, is very significant can be characterized as very poor-of-species (usually less than 100 species) and very specific, ornithocoprophilous with the luxuriant growth of nitrophilous species.
Of particular interest is the flora of the cliffs, rock outcrops, coastal meadows and beaches. Rock cracks and outcrops are the habitat of many species rarely encountered in the region, as well as typical cliff plants, e.g. Asplenium septentrionale, A. trichomanes, Woodsia ilvensis, Spergula morisonii, Steris alpina, Silene rupestris, Cystopteris fragilis, Polypodium vulgare, etc.
 Coastal vegetation in the sanctuary's mainland and on adjacent islands is very diverse and represented by various plant communities, which play an important role in the local flora. Littoral meadows along the coast are particularly rich in plant variety. Apart from many common meadow species, the following rare plants worth mentioning were found growing on the coast: Carex mackenziei, Scutellaria hastifolia, Euphorbia palustris, Blysmus rufus, Centaurium littorale,
C. pulchellum, Allium schoenoprasum, Spergularia salina, Tripolium vulgare, Eleocharis parvula, etc. The long sandy and sandy/rocky spits on the Urpalanniemi Peninsula and Uzorny (Herö) Island, stretching far out into the sea, interspersed with tiny sandy bays, are very scenic. The most common plant communities on sandy beaches are those of Leymus arenarius, Honckenya peploides, Isatis tinctoria, Cakile baltica, Calamagrostis meinshausenii, Senecio viscosus,
Lathyrus maritimus, etc. Many littoral plant communities thrive on algae (mainly wracks) washed out on the shore. The most typical plants here are Atriplex (A. littoralis, A. prostrata, A. calotheca), Polygonum, Rumex (R. maritimus, R. crispus, R. longifolius), Spergula sativa, Galeopsis bifida. On the sandy and rocky coasts, and in coastal cliff cracks, the Tripleurospermum maritimum is widespread. Among rare halophilous species occurring in shallow waters, the following were noted in particular: Batrachium marinum, Najas marina, Zannichellia repens.
 What particularly stands out about the flora in the area surveyed is the prominent role of coastal species, the incidence of some Baltic subendemics among these species, and the presence of many plant species boundaries of their main distribution areas. A total of 23 borderline species were recorded across the Prigranichny sanctuary and on adjacent islands, with the prevalence of plants at their northernmost (11 species) and easternmost (6 species) limits, and a smaller number being at the most southern, south-eastern and north-eastern limits of their distribution areas (3, 2 and 1 species, respectively).
 Due to the specific nature conditions and high degree of safety of the ecosystems in the Prigranichny sanctuary (especially its western part, and insular ecosystems), the flora of the area boasts a plethora of endangered vascular plants. As the result of our investigations 580 vascular plant species were recorded on the "Prigranichny" territory and the adjacent islands (the outer islands are excluded) in 2002–2004. Sixty of the plant species found in the Prigranichny sanctuary are listed as threatened in the Red Data Book of Eastern Fennoscandia (1998). Twenty three floral species are included in the Red Data Book of Nature of the Leningrad Region (2000 edition), namely: Melica picta, Centaurium pulchellum, Crepis czerepanovii, Centaurium littorale, Asplenium septentrionale, A. trichomanes, Silene rupestris, Scutellaria hastifolia, Tripleurospermum maritimum, Senecio aquaticus, Myrica gale, Carex mackenziei, Blysmus rufus, Woodsia ilvensis, Tripolium vulgare, Allium schoenoprasum, Najas marina, Botrychium matricariifolium, Isatis tinctoria, Steris alpina, Chamaepericlymenum suecicum, Allium angulosum, Isoëtes setacea.
Summing up the three-year floristic inventory of the area we can characterize the flora studied as very specific due to the presence of phytogeographically interesting species and a considerable proportion of coastal species in general.Being highly vulnerable and sensitive to human interference, these island and coastal ecosystems deserve special attention as a unique and valuable oasis of virgin nature.
Text and photos:
Elena A. Glazkova
Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
e-mail: eglazkova@hotmail.com
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