Information about nature

The Kuopio landscape is dominated by extensive watercourses and forested hills, which in places rise more than 300 metres above the sea level. The highest hills, such as Kinahmi (314 m) and Välimäki (314 m), can be found in the quartzite area of Nilsiä. Maaninka has plenty of edge areas of the ridge, which is why that area is flatter than the rest of Kuopio.

The bedrock is mainly made of various gneisses. There are wear-resistant quartzites in the hill areas. The quartzite spine found to the west of Syväri can be compared to the hills in North Karelia, especially due to its bedrock and its landscapes.  This area also has the highest hills in Kuopio. The so-called alkaline rocks that increase soil fertility are found especially in the southern region the area reaching from Kuopionniemi to Nilsiä. Kuopio’s most valuable herb-rich forests are also located in the same zone.

The most common soil type is moraine. More fine soils, such as silt and clay, can be found especially in the Maaninka area. Kuopio is home to a part of Finland’s longest ridge, which stretches from the Joensuu region to the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. The largest ridges are located in Maaninka and Riistavesi. A ridge also runs through the centre of Nilsiä. The largest mires can be found in the northeast of Nilsiä and in the northern and western parts of Maaninka.

Traces of the Ice Age 

During the most recent glacial period, the so-called Weichselian glaciation, the whole of Finland was covered with a continental ice sheet which was up to two to three kilometres thick.  The Ice Age began about 117,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago after the continental ice sheet melted. It was at its largest 20,000–19,000 years ago, when it stretched as far south as present-day Berlin.

The ice left the Kuopio region about 11,500 years ago, after which the lakes and seas created by the melting waters began to wash the slopes of our hills. The water levels were highest in the so-called Yoldia Sea phase, when the shoreline was 140–150 metres above its current level. The coastline of the Yoldian Sea can still be found in the slopes of high hills.

The moving ice carried the bedrock away and moved a lot of materials with it. One example of these dislocated materials are massive boulders, which the ice transported for long distances, usually in northwest-southeast direction. The ice wore the elevations in the bedrock down to streamlined glaciated rocks. These movements in the bedrock also created major faults where gorges formed, filled now with lakes, clay fields and mires. The direction of the receding ice is clearly visible in the Kuopio region, as many of the area’s lakes have a northwest-southeast orientation.

Kuopio is one of the centers for herb-rich forests in Pohjois-Savo, and the most important herb-rich forest area in all of the Finnish Lakelands. They are the most productive forests in Finland, dominated by deciduous trees and dense ground vegetation. The core areas of these herb-rich forests are Kuopionniemi and the Kinahmi area, which have several nationally and internationally valuable groves. Unlike in Southern Finland, the majority of herb-rich forests in the area of Kuopio are spruce dominated.

Many plants that need a nutrient-rich substrate also thrive in the herb-rich forests of Kuopio. These include the fly honeysuckle, snowball bush, mezereon, baneberry and wonder violet. The region of Kuopio also represents the northernmost habitats for many species with a southern distribution. These include wall lettuce, creeping buttercups, broad-leaved helleborine and hedge woundworts. Species with an originally continental, eastern distribution are represented by the mole ladder fern, northern sweetgrass and drooping woodreed.

The more barren pine forests are mostly found on the tops and slopes of hills and ridges as well as on rocky moraine soils. Traces of the prolonged use of the slash-and-burn technique (an old technique used to clear land for agriculture) are visible in heath green birch forests and grey alder forests. The herb-rich forests are also home to little-leaf linden trees, which are remnants of the warmer period following the last ice age.

Southern raised bogs and northern aapa mires meet in the Kuopio region. The most common types of mires are different carrs and marshes. Spruce-dominated bogs have formed when the more nutrient rich heath forests became boggy. Pine-dominated marshes are found in barren areas. The lush fens in lime areas are the most valuable in terms of their vegetation. The most nutrient-rich mires are unfortunately often drained and used for agriculture.

Fungi are an integral part of the biological communities of our forests. They break down tree leaves and stumps as well as other living matter, therefore returning nutrients to the natural cycle. Many forest trees and plants also depend on nutrients provided by symbiotic fungi living in their root system – the so-called mycelium – through which the mushrooms get water and nutrients.

From a human perspective, edible mushrooms are the most interesting fungi in the forests. Many mushroom species form symbiotic partnerships with certain trees, which can therefore be used as foraging markers. For example, woolly milk-cap and chanterelles can be found among birch trees, while ceps, slippery Jacks and rufous milk-caps thrive best in the company of the pine. Among the spruce trees, you could look for pickle milk-caps and trumpet chanterelles.

There are also many rare and demanding mushroom species growing in Kuopio. The best places in this respect are old lime quarries and their surroundings as well as other calcareous herb-rich forests. The fungal rarities of the area include the witches cauldron, the white stalkball, the collared earth star, the freckled dapperling, the ochre brittlegill and the scurfy fibrecap.

The diverse vegetation in the area of Kuopio provides the perfect conditions for a wide range of animal species. While lush herb-rich forests attract southern species that favour deciduous tree-dominated environments, large and fairly uniform forest areas offer peaceful habitats for northern wilderness species. As urban areas expand, animals in need of undisturbed habitats have been forced to move away and been replaced by species that thrive close to humans.

About half of Finland’s 60 mammal species can be found in Kuopio. The elk (or moose) is the most common big mammal in the area and may sometimes wander into residential areas. The graceful roe deer has become more abundant, largely thanks to winter feeding. The bear population in the region has also grown, and even lone wolves are wandering in the area from time to time. Furthermore, there are plenty of silent and inconspicuous lynxes living in the forests around Kuopio. The easiest mammals to see are hedgehogs, squirrels, brown hares and blue hares that thrive in yards and parks.

The strictly protected flying squirrel was once very common in the lush deciduous forests of Kuopio. As a result of efficient forestry and urbanization, the living conditions of flying squirrels have deteriorated and their numbers therefore greatly decreased. Despite the declining population, flying squirrels still live in the Kuopio region. They thrive in old mixed spruce forests with deciduous trees that provide both food and tree hollows suitable for nesting. There have been signs recently that flying squirrels are also doing well in the vicinity of settlements, where they use small green lanes and wooded yards as their habitat. Since flying squirrels are active in the twilight hours of the day and are therefore rarely seen, the best sign of them is their bright yellow excrement piles which can be spotted in spring at the base of trees.

Kuopio’s fauna is rich in bird species. Bird enthusiasts can spot about 300 species in North Savo, some of which are migrating through the area or rare occasional visitors. Approximately 190 bird species are regularly nesting in the area. The abundance of herb-rich forests have enabled a lot of demanding southern bird species to breed in the Kuopio region, including tawny owls, blackcaps, icterine warblers, hawfinches and goldfinches.

Other demanding lake birds from the south include garganeys, common pochards, northern shovelers and horned grebes. The most important representatives of the northern bird population include greenshanks, wood sandpipers, Siberian jays, three-toed woodpeckers, bramblings, redpolls and great grey shrikes, whereas scarlet rosefinches, thrush nightingales, wood warblers, Eurasian tree sparrows and golden orioles have spread from eastern and southeastern regions to Kuopio.

Breeding birds in Kuopio, as in other areas, are constantly changing. Species in need of calm, uniform nesting areas have decreased or disappeared as settlements spread and forest areas become more fragmented. For example, neither peregrine falcons nor golden eagles have found suitable nesting places throughout North Savo in the last decades. Other bird species have benefited from urbanization by taking advantage of food sources near settlements or by nesting on buildings. Among these are herring gulls, which have spread from coastal habitats to inland areas like fields, landfills and town squares.

Kuopio offers several good excursion destinations for birders.  Valuable bird wetlands are particularly found in Maaninka: Patajärvi, Patalahti and Lapinjärvi are part of the Natura 2000 network due to their rich birdlife. Lake Keskimmäinen in Riistavesi is also part of the Natura network. Several rare and endangered birds nest on the lakes in North Savo. These lakes also play an important role as resting and feeding places during the migration.  Rare old-growth forest birds can be found in areas such as Puijo, Kolmisoppi-Neulamäki and Pisa.