Hino Lake Landscape Reserve

Hino Lake Landscape Reserve / Beskrivning

Hino Lake Landscape Reserve is located in Misso parish, about 2 km south of Misso. The main purpose of the reserve is the protection of birds; however the protection of the lake as a beautiful natural object is not less important. Hino Lake (area 200 ha, depth to 10,4 m), which has a broken up shoreline and varied bottom relief, has the most islands and is the biggest lake of the Haanja uplands. Hino Lake is by lake type eutrophed oligo-trophic with small through-flow and without large inflow. It is fed mostly by springs and rainwater.
The lake`s water regime of today is a result of human activity. The outflow was channelled to the Pedest River about 100 years ago. The original water level of the lake has decreased by about 3.5 metres. As a result, the eastern part of the lake has formed a separate lake - Mustjärv. Due to the varied bottom, mixed shores and several springs interesting water chemistry has formed: in the lake which is mostly slightly alkaline, there are also patches with acid water. Hino Lake is rich in birds.
There are 40 bird species registered on the reserve, 15 of which are connected to water- and shore habitats. The rarest is the Black-throated Diver; two of ten pairs known to be nesting in Estonia live at Hino Lake. The Black-throated Diver is a protected species of the II category and is in the Estonian Red Book as a much endangered species. The lake is also rich in fish species. Protected plant species like water lobelia and water milfoil grow in the lake.