The Voronezh, Caucasian and Danube biosphere reserves are the largest nature protection regions located in the post-Soviet space. What is a biosphere reserve? First of all, it is a protected area with a unique natural ecological system. In addition, monitoring and study of natural environments is constantly carried out on it and the land adjacent to it.
History of the Voronezh Nature Reserve
The creation of the state reserve is primarily due to beavers. Because before the start of the study, there was a hunting menagerie in the territory of this national park, into which deer and beavers were first brought. The latter formed a fairly large colony.
The history of the reserve dates back to 1919. Then for the study of natureAn expedition was sent here from the Voronezh province. It took a group of scientists four long years to fully explore the territory where the Voronezh Biosphere Reserve is now located. After that, the expedition leader asked to organize a permanent guard of the beavers in order to prevent their destruction.
Already in 1923, a protected area was created, which ran along the Usman River, where less than a hundred beavers lived then. Thanks to human care, the number of beavers has increased significantly, and they are no longer on the verge of extinction. In 1927, the protected area officially became a nature reserve. And in 1985 it became biospheric.
Main Tasks
The Voronezh Biosphere Reserve is located on the territory of the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions. Its area is more than 30 thousand hectares. The symbols of the reserve are the figures of a beaver and a deer framed by branches.
In our time, this place is a unique natural area, which presents a variety of flora and fauna.
The main tasks of the workers are the conservation of island forests, the richness of animal species, and the study of the ecological situation. In addition, the Voronezh State Biosphere Reserve is a place where scientists are actively engaged in environmental education of the population.
Plant world
On the territory of the modern reserve there is a huge number of rare plants. Here is an amazing combination of oak, pine, birch and aspen trees.
BiosphericThe Voronezh Reserve is a unique place where a rare taiga plant, blueberry, has survived to this day. In addition, there are a large number of reservoirs on its territory. Therefore, here you can find many rare plants that grow in swamps and rivers. Among them are floodplain alders that begin to bloom in spring, as well as bright flowers of iris and marsh marigold.
In hot weather, flowers of egg-pods, water lilies and water-lilies appear on lakes and forest rivers. In addition, in this area, especially along the Ivnitsa River, a huge number of common ostrich grows. And on the shore of Lake Chistoye you can see the rarest species of plants - the common false reed.
Animal world
The creation of the reserve is associated with the appearance of beavers, so the protection and enhancement of these and other species of animals is the main focus of work. The Voronezh Biosphere Reserve is inhabited by a large number of large mammals. These are wild boars, roe deer, elk and red deer.
The most numerous predator of the reserve is the common fox. However, larger predators, such as wolves, are also found in the territory. Of course, the most important place in the life of the reserve is occupied by beavers, which from several dozen have multiplied to several hundred.
The Voronezh Biosphere Reserve is inhabited by nine marten species. You can often see badgers as well. However, the most common are animals of the hamster family. Among this species, most oftenmeet a variety of voles, such as common, bank, water and dark.
There are also many birds in the reserve. Geese, sparrows and falcons are the most common.
History of the Danube Biosphere Reserve
The history of this protected area dates back to 1981, when the Danube floodplains were created on the basis of a branch of the Black Sea Reserve. Then it occupied an area of almost 15 thousand hectares. Thanks to a World Bank grant, in 1995 it was possible to organize a huge Danube Biosphere Reserve on the basis of a small protected area.
It received its current size in 1998, after the Decree of the head of state increased its territory to almost 50 thousand hectares. The territory of the modern reserve includes the Stentsivsko-Zhebriyansky plavni, the Zhebriyansky ridge, the Ermakov Ruslovy Island. It also includes a fish farm, which is located nearby.
The program for the development of protected areas provides for the expansion of the Danube Reserve by 2015 at the expense of the most valuable wetlands in terms of their ecosystem, which are located from the city of Reni. Consequently, soon the reserve will occupy all the territories of the most valuable wetlands of the Danube region.
Activities of scientists
The Danube Biosphere Reserve was created in order to protect the unique nature of the Danube region. Scientists carefully study the nature of the Danube Delta, conduct background monitoring of the ecological state, and also educate the population.
In addition,research in the field of conservation, as well as environmental protection. Of particular importance is the study of anthropogenic factors that affect the state of the ecosystem as a whole. Events are also being held here to help reduce the man-made impact on nature to a minimum.
The reserve cooperates with international organizations, including work on UNESCO programs. Thanks to this, public attention is actively drawn to the environmental problems of this region.
We study not only changes in the flora and fauna of the reserve, but also hydrological and climatic changes. The state of the Danube waters, swamps and small rivers is also constantly monitored.
Flora of the reserve
The flora of the reserve is rich in unique plants. Its flora includes almost 600 different species. This diversity of flora is preserved due to very fertile soil, as well as a large amount of moisture. In addition, the soil contains a huge amount of silt carried by the river.
The most popular plant species are cattail and bulrush. On the banks of the Danube, you can see willow thickets, which are about 100 meters wide. In this area there are white, three-stamen, loshka and other species of this plant. In the seaside part of the reserve, you can find amorphous bush, sea buckthorn, as well as galuzy tamorizk.
You can see small areas of aquatic vegetation in the tall grass. White water lilies, shield floaters, floating walnut and floating salvinia arerare plant species that abound in the biosphere reserve. Until recently, photos of unique species could only be seen in the Red Book of Ukraine. But thanks to the efforts of scientists, rare plants now feel comfortable in natural conditions.
Fauna
The fauna of the Danube Reserve is also unique. The largest number of species falls on birds. This feature of the protected area is due to the large amount of food resources. Here you can see a seagull, a heron, a gray goose, a coot, a swan, ducks and a tern. In addition, there are rare species of birds. Among them, it is impossible not to mention the pink pelican, spoonbill, curly pelican and red-throated goose. On the territory of the reserve, not only birds rest during the flight, but also some waterfowl winter.
Here you can also find about 100 species of fish. Some of their species are very rare, for example, umber, small and large chop, sturgeon, and Danube salmon. Of the mammals on the territory of the reserve, you can meet wild pigs, a forest cat and a raccoon dog, as well as several dozen reptiles and amphibians. Among the inhabitants of the reserve there are more than 20 species of insects that are listed in the Red Book.
History of the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve
His history began in 1924. Since that time, this protected area began to be protected at the legislative level. Previously, the organization "Kubanskaya Okhota" was located here. The area of the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve is more than 250 thousand hectares. This reserve is unique in its beauty and diversity of animal species andflora.
The Caucasian Biosphere Reserve in 1999 was included in the UNESCO list of natural sites of world importance. Since 1997, the territory has been part of the international network of biosphere reserves. This is the only reserve of the Greater Caucasus, which is located at an altitude of almost 3.5 km above sea level.
Security activities
The Biosphere Reserve of the Caucasus is an object on the territory of which nature protection and educational activities are carried out. But what is a biosphere reserve and what are its main purposes?
The Caucasus Nature Reserve is a strictly protected area where you can find rare natural objects of important natural or scientific value. Its employees are engaged in research of rare species found on its territory, monitoring the mechanisms of the biosphere, as well as monitoring the impact of technogenic factors on living organisms, as well as protecting them from these factors.
An important role in the work of scientists of the reserve is played by the protection of its territory from economic activity, because it must remain without any changes made to nature by man. Researchers consider the media as their assistants, which help to conduct educational work among the population.
Reserve Landscape
The Caucasian national reserve has a unique geographical location. Here you can see alpine plateaus, rocks, basins, cuesta ridges, many small lakes and mountainrivers, coniferous and mixed forests.
What is a biosphere reserve in a place like this? It has a mountainous relief, which is characterized by vertical zonality. Here there are nival, subalpine, mixed forests, coniferous and beech forests and others. In the gorges you can see forests and meadows, as well as lakes and mountain streams. The tops of the mountains are covered with eternal glaciers, from which many streams of the reserve originate.
Vegetation
The flora of the reserve is diverse. On the same territory there are both tundra plants and heat-loving ones. In total, the flora of the region has almost 3 thousand species, of which more than 200 species are occupied by trees and shrubs.
Unique firs grow on the territory of the reserve. In addition, here you can find plants that have been preserved since the pre-glacial period. These are holly, yew, laurel cherry and ginseng. There is also a large number of different berry, fruit and medicinal plants.
Animal world of the Caucasian Reserve
Natural reserves are primarily created to preserve the unique animals living in a certain region. More than 70 species of mammals live in the Caucasian Reserve. Among them are wild boar, bear, red deer, lynx, Kuban wolf, foxes, badger, martens and other rare animals. Mighty bison are of particular importance for the reserve.
In addition, more than 240 species of birds can be found on the territory of the reserve. These are such rare species as the bearded vulture, griffon vulture, golden eagle, Caucasian black grouse. Many of thesebirds nest on the territory of the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve.
The pride of the reserve is a huge variety of fish, of which there are about 20 species. Most often in the rivers you can see brook trout. In addition, there are ten species of amphibians, such as newt, tree frog and Caucasian krestovka, as well as almost 20 species of reptiles. The most common of them are the Caucasian lizard and the viper. Many mushrooms grow on the territory of the reserve - almost a thousand species. Among them are 20 of those listed in the Red Book.
