"Belogorie", nature reserve. State natural reserve "Belogorye" (Belgorod region)

The Forest-on-Vorskle plot is located in the south-west of the Belgorod region. This is a nature reserve, created to protect the 100-year old oak forest, as well as the most valuable 300-year old oak forests. Its territory is bounded by rivers: from the east and south - by Vorskla, from the west - by Gotney. On the boundaries of the reserve are villages.

History

The reserve "Belogorie" in the Belgorod region is interesting not only in a natural way. He is of no less interest in the historical plan.

For a long time this territory was a place of struggle with nomads - the Tatar-Mongol hordes, Polovtsy and the troops of the Crimean Tatars. Dense forests have always been a reliable defense in the passage of cavalry. Later people began to build forest "zaseki" - peculiar barriers from fallen trees. In the middle of the 17th century, they constituted an 800-kilometer construction along the Vorskla River, which included jails, earthen ramparts and even fortresses.

During the reign of Peter the Great, the oak forests were very strictly guarded, due to the fact that a lot of timber, especially oak, was required for the construction of the marine fleet.

Cutting of elm, oak and ash for other purposes was punishable by death. In this area Count Sheremet'ev arranged a forestry hunting farm, protected from interference by strangers. Thanks to this, the pristine beauty of the forest is preserved here.

Creation of a reserve

After the October Revolution, there was no one to protect the forest, and people simply began to destroy it barbarously, and also to kill the animals living in it. Almost completely were exterminated foxes, roe deer, martens.

Thanks to SI Malyshev's active work on these lands, a forest reserve known to many specialists Les-na-Vorskle was created. The Great Patriotic War inflicted enormous damage on him. Immediately after the war, it was transformed into an educational and experimental forestry. Only in 1979 he again received the status of a reserve.

Nature of the Belgorod Region

This is the territory located in the heart of our country. The Belgorod region is a region of Russia, remote from 500-700 km from Moscow, on the border with Ukraine. The major cities in the region are Belgorod, with a population of 356,000, Stary Oskol (260,000), Gubkin (90,000)

The Belgorod region is part of the Central Black Earth region and the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation. In the south and west it borders on the Kharkov, Lugansk and Sumy regions of Ukraine, in the north-west and north - with the Kursk region, in the east its neighbor - the Voronezh region.

The length of the boundaries of the region is about 1150 km, of which 540 km are on the border with Ukraine. The total area exceeds 27.1 thousand km ², from the north to the south the area stretches for 190 km, from east to west for 270 km.

The Belgorod region is located on the Central Russian Upland, on its southwestern and southern slopes, in the Don and Dnieper river basins, in the forest-steppe zone. Its highest point is at an altitude of 277 m above sea level - located in the Prokhorov district. The lowest point is in the valley of the Seversky Donets and Oskol rivers. The territory is densely cut by beams, ravines in which territory there are oak forests.

Rivers

Over 500 rivers and small streams flow through the territory of the region. Most of them belong to small rivers. Their length does not exceed 100 km. More extensive rivers are Oskol (220), Vorskla (115), Seversky Donets (110) and Tikhaya Pine (105). The river network is more than 5000 km.

Relief of the territory

"Belogorye" is a nature reserve characterized by a varied relief. A network of beams and ravines is widely developed. The climate of this territory is moderately continental. The warm period lasts 155 days. Winter is windy, cold, with frequent snowstorms. Spring is dry, short, frosts do not happen often. Summers are hot and long. In general, the area refers to climatically favorable.

The groundwater is quite deep, the tree roots do not have access to them, therefore, practically the only source of moisture is atmospheric precipitation. The river Vorskla is very calm, the current is quiet, so it overgrew with mud and other aquatic vegetation. The ice cover remains from early December until the second half of March.

The state nature reserve "Belogorye" has more than 20 types of soils. The most common are gray weakly and medium podzolized loams. The fertility of these soils is associated with the arrival of plant residues, which, when decomposed, release many nutrients.

Flora

Reserves of the Belgorod region are distinguished by a variety of vegetation. "Belogorie" is no exception.

The most cold-resistant plants are birch, pine and spruce. Over time, the oak pushed aside the birch and pine.

550 species of flowering plants and ferns, about 25 species of mosses, 61 species of lichens, and about 900 species of mushrooms were recorded on the territory of the reserve. In most of this area, the oak tree grows, there is a small admixture of other species.

Forest systems are distinguished by a tiered structure. On the first tier there are 200-300-year-old huge oaks. The second tier is occupied by a small-leaved linden, mapan-platy, ash-tree, ilm. The third layer is assigned to small trees - wild apple trees, pears.

The next tier consists of shrubs - European and warty leaves, wild rose, maple field, etc. The grass cover represents forest vegetation. In addition, here you can see mosses, algae, lichens.

In different seasons, the grass cover is different. In the early spring, the Holler's crustaceae prevail here, the Siberian spruce, the anthrax, the goose bows small and yellow, the bastard. By the beginning of summer they disappear and in their place appear summer shade-tolerant plants. They are distinguished by white flowers and dark leaves.

Among them, one can distinguish a larva sedge, pine, a lanceolate stellate, a scrofulous ash-tree, a bluebell bell, an unknown medlar, a violet pleasant and surprising, a cupena. "Belogorie" is a nature reserve on the territory of which more than 200 associations have been allocated. There are areas of exotic (rare for a given locality) plants. This is Amur velvet, manchurian and walnuts, Siberian larch, acacia yellow, etc.

The interest of experts is caused by the vegetation of forest glades with separately standing centuries-old oak trees. Next to them live a hedgehog, a common field, a clover of mountain and field, a narrow-leaved bluegrass, a veronica of a hairy, tonkonog.

On the southern slopes are areas of dry steppes. Forest-steppe represents small areas with a predominance of hawthorn, thorn, buckthorn.

The floodplain of Voroskva is distinguished by magnificent meadows with sedge bubbly and spicy, manniki swelling and large, two-cyst reed-like, beckmania.

Fauna

Reserves of the Belgorod region are inhabited by many rather rare animals. This area is fairly densely populated. To the great regret, it should be noted that "Belogorie" is a reserve in the territory of which, due to the thoughtless activity of man, the deer, the beaver and the otter are completely exterminated. True, in recent years there have appeared a common vole, a gray hamster, a quail, a mole rat, a meadow mint.

"Belogorye" is a nature reserve on the territory of which such rare insects as makhaon, reindeer, hermit beetle, mnemosyne, subalirium, overflower, blue ribbon are inhabited. They are listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Birds

This is a separate world in the fauna of the reserve. It is no less diverse. The reserve is filled in the early spring with the singing of large tits, field sparrows, blue eyes, pisces, nuthatches. In the woods you can hear the knock of a woodpecker. In March, in the protected areas, you can observe ordinary migratory birds - starlings, rooks, gray herons, finches, white wagtails, black and singing thrushes, various birds of prey.

In the high hollows in the woods live bats, stone martens, squirrels. Old stumps and basal hollows were habituated to yellow-throated mice, shrubby voles, redheads. The shrews hide in the forest litter. Badgers and foxes find their fodder in high-stakes areas. For elk and roe deer, the best treat is a spindle.

On the edge of the forest at night you can see grazing ungulates and hares-whites. On sunny days, flowers are surrounded by clouds of bees, butterflies, bumblebees, many animals have chosen "Belozerye". The reserve in the southern part is inhabited by badgers, foxes, raccoon dogs. In the dense thickets of reeds and willow yield offspring of the corncrake, marshrelated dwarf warbler. In the marshy places there is a large number of toads and frogs.

I must say that work to protect the environment is bearing fruit. The map of the reserves, which we published in our article, shows how this direction is developing in our country. Throughout the country there are areas where animals feel comfortable under the protection of a person.