Forest Research Institute of Karelian Research Centre of RAS, 185910 Pushkinskaia, 11, Petrozavodsk, Russia. kryshen@krc.karelia.ru
The habitat cadastre is needed to compile virtual collections. Standard labels of biological specimens now comprise: the geographical position (easily formalised by stating the coordinates or the nearest geographical object appearing in the map, district, etc.), gathering date (formalised by definition), the person who gathered and identified the specimen (formalised), and the ecological settings (habitat). Thus, it is only the habitat conditions that have not been formalised yet. The digital database “Habitats of East Fennoscandia” will include plant and animal species checklists linked to each other and to habitats thus constituting a detailed account of the Karelian biota.
The key idea of the classification is as follows: habitats are grouped according to ecotope features and vegetation features; in addition, the anthropogenic and zoogenic impacts are taken into account. Habitat types are arranged hierarchically, the top unit being the habitat class. Six habitat classes are distinguished: 1) sea and sea coast; 2) lakes and littoral habitats; 3) rivers, streams and riparian habitats; 4) terrestrial habitats; 5) mires and paludified land and 6) anthropogenic habitats (exposed to constant human impact). In addition to the description of the ecotope and vegetation, the habitat description will include data on the plant and animal species inhabiting it. The database is searchable by hierarchy, by key words (species) and illustrations.
At the next stage, the database is to be published in the Internet (for ”reading only”) and the descriptions are to be translated into English.
Acknowledgments: RFBR (05-07-90077-в), Ministry of Environment of Finland.