Beaver-inhabited Virrat lakeshore photo wins Pirkanmaa decaying-wood contest

Jussi Helimäki's photograph of a beaver-inhabited lakeshore in Virrat won the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation's Pirkanmaa district summer 2026 decaying-wood photo contest. The image shows rotting birch and spruce trunks covered in bracket fungi and was selected from more than 30 entries from national parks, lake shores, running trails, manor grounds and private plots. Ten pictures made the public vote on the district's social channels, and Helimäki's shot emerged as the favourite, Tamperelainen reported.

The Pirkanmaa district says decaying wood is vital for biodiversity. About a quarter of Finland's forest species, roughly 5,000 organisms, depend on it. One in three threatened forest species needs dead wood as habitat. Natural forests can contain over 100 cubic metres of dead wood per hectare, while managed forests in Southern Finland average around five cubic metres.

Antti Virnes, chair of the Pirkanmaa district, said in a press release that decaying trees "deserve our understanding" and should be seen as a necessary part of nature's diversity rather than untidiness. The contest follows a recent Pirkanmaa readers' photo vote that also invited public participation in choosing regional photo winners.