Location: West of Jūrmala Map
Area: 381.65 km²
Ķemeri National Park is a small nature reserve located just West of Jūrmala in Latvia. It covers an area of 381.65 km². It protects an area of flood-land meadows, wetlands, bogs and swamps. It is famous as a home for nesting and migrating birds that settle here in late spring and most of the summer. Several watch towers are constructed for bird watching. Additionally a web of trails are established for hiking and bicycling. Additionally Kemeri National Park is famous for its healthy mud that carries medicinal qualities.
History and administration
In 1957, the Ķemeri
Reserve was founded, which ceased to exist after eight years of
formal existence. Later, various reserves existed in this area (Lake
Kaņieris Ornithological Reserve (1977), Slocene River Valley with
surrounding landscape (1977), Great Ķemeri Moor (1987)), until 1997
a national park was established and a park administration was
established. In 2002, the nature protection plan of Ķemeri National
Park for the period until 2010 was developed. The administration of
Ķemeri National Park is located in the renovated historical building
of Ķemeri - in the former restaurant "Jautrais ods" - now "Meža
māja". The administration protects the natural values of Ķemeri
National Park, organizes scientific research and property management
of the Ministry of Environment. The largest nature restoration
measures implemented by the Ķemeri National Park Administration:
Slampe River Renaturalization Project (2005), in which the
previously straightened section of the river was meandered;
Restoration of the hydrological regime of the Great Ķemeri Moor
(2006), in which the negative impact of the previously established
bog drainage ditch system was eliminated with the dam system.
Natural features
Protection regime
The territory of Ķemeri
National Park is subdivided into the following zones of different
nature protection regimes:
Nature Reserve Zone - established
to preserve areas untouched by human activities and little modified,
where undisturbed development of natural processes is ensured, rare
or typical ecosystems are protected and which are essential for
ensuring the ecological requirements of rare and migratory species.
Practically any economic activity is prohibited in the area of the
nature reserve. There are two nature reserves in Ķemeri National
Park: in Ķemeri moor and in the area where the Slocene river flows
into Kaņieris.
Nature Reserve - established to protect ecosystems
that have been little modified by human activities, deposits of rare
and endangered species and rare habitat types, as well as developed
peat quarries and mineral water formation processes. Economic
activities that interfere with the natural development of ecosystems
are prohibited in the nature reserve.
The Landscape Protection
Zone was established to protect tourism, recreation and education
resources, mineral water formation processes, preserve the natural
landscape and cultural landscape and reduce the anthropogenic impact
on nature reserve and nature reserve zones.
The neutral zone
has been established to promote the development of the resort
economy, to preserve the landscape and architecture characteristic
of the region and to promote the sustainable development of the
national park area.
Forests
Most of the ĶNP territory is
covered by forests. The coast of the Gulf of Riga is characterized
by dry pine forests that grow in barren sandy soil. Wet forests,
such as the Kalnciems marsh massif, the Sloka lake marshes, are a
valuable find of rare plants.
Rivers
In Ķemeri National
Park, most rivers are small and slow flowing. The natural runoff of
several rivers (Vērsupīte, Slocene, Džūkste) in the national park
has been significantly affected by the construction of canals and
drainage ditches (the modified bed of the Slampe river has been
excavated). The Slocene River is of landscape interest, which is
located in the nature reserve almost along its entire length.
Several species of protected animals can be found in the river and
its banks (river snail, thick mother-of-pearl, woodpecker, black
stork, water and pond bat, otter). Sulfur springs flow on the banks
of the Vērsupīte, biologically valuable wet deciduous forests are
located in its floodplain.
Lakes
Kemeri National Park is
rich in lakes. They are of various sizes, both deep and shallow,
with a very large diversity of fauna and flora. Kaņieris is the
largest lake in the national park in terms of area, Dūņieris stands
out with its bay shores and many peninsulas, Blind Lake - with
shallows (average depth is 0.5 m), while Valgums Lake is the deepest
ĶNP lake with beautiful landscapes on the shores. Hundreds of small
llama lakes are located in the Great Ķemeri Moor. Only a few of them
have been given their name, such as Lake Zosu, Lake Gārgaļi. Lake
Sloka is the second largest lake in ĶNP. Its shores are flat, mostly
overgrown with pine and black alder forests. There are large stocks
of sapropel in the lake. Medicinal sludge is obtained in the
quarries of the bog adjacent to Lake Sloka.
Sulfur water is formed in gypsum-rich layers,
where water rich in organic substances and low pH is filtered out of
large bogs. Due to both the water-soluble effect on gypsum and the
action of anaerobic sulphate-reduced bacteria, sulphate waters are
formed. Hydrogen acid (H2S), a gas that dissolves easily in water
and forms a weak acid, is formed when exposed to carbon dioxide.
Sulfur waters containing H2S and its dissociation products enter the
surface as sources through gaps in the earth's layer. Sulfur water
is obtained both from springs and from special wells. Sulfur waters
with a total sulfur content of not less than 10 mg / l are
considered useful for healing. Sulfur waters are used externally for
bathing and orally as drinking mineral water, as well as for
inhalations. Sulfur baths increase the body's tone, improve blood
circulation and metabolism. Sulfur waters are used orally mainly for
the treatment of digestive and metabolic diseases, but for
inhalation - to reduce the symptoms of respiratory diseases.
Sources, whose waters are rich in various salts and organic
substances, are called the eyes of the devil in Latvian folk tales.
They have been used in healing for a long time.
Bogs
Almost a quarter of ĶNP is occupied by bogs - a valuable deposit of
many rare plants and animals, as well as an important stage in the
water cycle. All three types of bogs can be found in the national
park. Low or herbaceous bogs with a great diversity of moss species,
various sedge species, beautiful members of the orchid family, rusty
blackbird, common swallowtail, common crayfish and other plants can
be found in Raganu bog near sulfur springs, as well as near Lake
Kaņieris and Dūņieris. Transition bogs can be found in small areas
near Melnezers, Putnu lake and Sloka lake. A typical high or moss
bog is the Great Ķemeri Moor. There are also such high bogs in the
territory of the National Park, the restoration of which is
impossible in the next hundred years due to land reclamation and
peat extraction. Such bogs are Sloka bog, Labais bog and Small bog.
On the other hand, under several bogs, such as the Great Ķemeri
Moor, Raganu bog and Sloka bog, when hydrogen comes into contact
with gypsum layers, hydrogen sulphide and its rich springs are
formed.