Both main mire complex types of Finland occur in Kauhaneva area. Aapamires are lowland mires that gather water and nutrients from surrounding lands. As such they are lush. Raised bogs get all their water and nutrients from rainwater and are very poor habitats.The development of a mire starts as an aapamire, where sedges grow. As sedge remnants form peat the acidity of the mire increases and eventually Sphagnum mosses start growing there, replacing sedges. Mosses grow fast and produce a lot of peat, which leads to development of a raised bog. The margins of raised bogs resemble aapamires and in Kauhaneva there is a large aapamire between the main raised bog massifs.