Orenburg reserve: plants and animals, historical and archaeological monuments

The Orenburg region is located on the border areas of various zoogeographical regions and geographical areas. Many factors determined the originality and originality of the local animal kingdom.

Reserves under the protection of the state are educational (in the field of ecology), research, scientific, environmental institutions. The purpose of their activity is to preserve and study the natural movement of natural processes or phenomena. Also in the territories of these zones the genetic fund of the animal and plant world is replenished, certain communities and species of flora and fauna, unique or typical ecological systems are to be preserved. The reserve "Orenburg" is no exception.

general description

The nature protection zone is formed by four sections, the total area of which is equal to 21.7 thousand hectares.

The Orenburg Reserve contains:

• "Talovsky steppe" - 3200 hectares;
• "Burtinskaya Steppe" - 4,500 hectares;
• "Aituar steppe" - 6753 hectares;
• "Aschisay steppe" - 7200 hectares.

All zones are located approximately at one latitude. In longitude they are separated from each other by 240, 380 and 75 km. Such territorial disparity allowed to fully present the main landscape types occurring in the steppes of the Orenburg region.

History of creation

The first plans for the organization of the protected area began to be developed in the twenties of the last century. But only in 1975 they began to be realized. The impetus was the research of one of the expeditions, as a result of which a pristine stretch of steppe was discovered in the Orenburg region. Finally, the reserve was established in 1989.

Climatic zone

On the territory there is a continental, dry climate. The average air temperature is 2.5 ° C. The duration of the frost-free period in the reserve is 130 days. The average annual precipitation is 390 mm.

Aituirskaya Steppe

The territory covers an area of 6753 hectares, it is located on the left bank of the river. Ural, on the border of our country with Kazakhstan. Up until the 1960s, two modest Kazakh villages were located on the expanses of this steppe. Steppe and meadow tracts were used as hayfields, but to date all types of economic activities have been suspended. An exception was only the horse farm, specially created in Aytuarka for the production of high-quality koumiss.

The Orenburg reserve in this area is considered the most mountainous area. This is part of the Ural folded side. Fauna is represented by 38 species of animals. In this area common hamsters, bobbies, simple slepushonki, myshovki, pikas. Predators are represented by steppe choruses, foxes. Roe deer, wild boar, elk live in shrub and wood thickets.

Widespread are 106 species of birds, it is noted that 41 of them nest. In a wide variety are represented the Falconiformes, including the steppe kestrel, saker, burial ground, barrow, steppe harrier, eagle. In this zone of the reserve there are strepets, partridges, quail. Insects are represented by a variety of species listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Historical and archaeological sites of the site

On the territory of the reserve there are four solitary burial mounds and two burial grounds. Near the border of the site in total there are 16 mounds.

Ashshisay Steppe

This zone is located in areas equal to 7,200 hectares, which are located in the Svetlinsky district. Previously, the steppe was a pasture with a limited load of livestock, some places were used as haymaking.

The relief of the plot is flat, flat, slightly inclined. The beautiful contrast of the Aschisay steppe is attached to the remnant rocks, ridges, ridges, which are not subject to the activity of watercourses and lakes.

The hydrographic steppe is represented by hollows and a few lakes, the filling of which depends on the volume of thawed spring waters. Most of them have a rounded shape. This is one of the most beautiful places, which the reserve "Orenburg" is proud of.

What is guarded on this site?

More than 20 species of mammals, 53 species of nesting birds are distributed on the territory. Among the representatives of fauna (fauna), the most characteristic species are small gopher, badger, steppe grouse, bobak, fox. Among birds it is customary to distinguish the belladonna, the steppe eagle, the lark. On the lakes of the steppe nests ogari, herons, bitterns.

Monuments of historical and archaeological value

On the territory of this reserve there is a mound, which, according to studies, belongs to the tribes of late medieval nomads. The height of the monument is 1 m, the diameter is 20 m.

Burtyn Steppe

The site is located in the Cis-Ural area of Orenburg, occupying an area of 4,500 hectares. The steppe during the Soviet era was partially exploited as haymaking. The protected zone includes solonchak and meadow tracts, karst lakes Koskol.

The steppe is located in the eastern part of the marginal trough of the Ural Mountains, therefore it is represented by a hilly and steep relief. The modern landscape began its formation in the Pliocene on the ground, which occupied the accumulative plain. The main water-separating form was the Muelda plateau.

The predominant rocks are continental red-colored polymictic conglomerates. Soil-forming rocks are diverse. On steep and sloping slopes there are eluvial deposits of heavy mechanical composition.

Ten soil varieties were found within the site. The basis of the soil cover is composed of chernozems of southern origin. The thickness of the humus horizon reaches about 38 cm, and the content of humus itself reaches 8%.

The hydrographic network is highly developed and characterized by a constant runoff. It is represented by the upper reaches of small rivers, sources, and temporary watercourses. In the protection zone there are two Koskol lakes, which are of karst origin. The water in them is slightly mineralized.

The Orenburg reserve, where the Kainar spring is located (in the Burtinsky steppe), is an amazingly beautiful area. The source itself is listed among the main attractions. The area of its water surface is 15 m². It is a powerful, amazing spring of an inclusive type that does not freeze even in winter.

The Burtinskaya steppe is considered to be the standard of the Ural, steep, hilly landscapes. In the zone there are valley-girder, intersalt-valley, syrot-plakornye types of terrain.

In the flora of the steppe, a number of mountaineous relics and edemics have been identified, for example, the Ural carnation, Astragalus Gelma, the prickly mountainous bower and others.

The state nature reserve "Orenburg" in the Burtinsky steppe preserves numerous representatives of flora and fauna. Fauna is distinguished by a special variety and richness. There are about 120 species of birds on the terrain, 51 of which are nesting. The most characteristic representatives are streptus, steppe eagle, crane-belladonna, kestrel, belladonna, kobchik, harrier, black grouse.

Among the mammals identified 24 species: ground squirrels, marmots-baibaks, hamsters, voles, pikas. From reptiles it is possible to note a steppe adder and a marsh tortoise.

Historical and archaeological sites of the site

On the territory there is a burial cemetery, which belongs to the Sarmatian culture of the 7th-3rd centuries. Dn. E. The monument is located on the Mueldy Plateau near the geodesic sign "420.9 m". It is formed by 13 burial mounds, two of which are particularly large and reach a height of 2.5 m and a diameter of 40 m. The other mounds are almost the same: with a height of up to 0.8 m and a diameter of 10 to 20 m.

Talovsky steppe

The site is located in Pervomaisky district of the region and covers an area of 3200 hectares. Up until 1988, there was a moderate grazing of horses, sheep, cattle. Also there were summer sites of sheep near which pasture degradation of vegetation and soils was revealed.

The relief is distinguished by a flat appearance, which was formed mainly in the Mesozoic. The modern type of terrain acquired during the Quaternary time under the influence of denudation processes that caused the rise of the territory.

Soil-forming rocks are represented by typical tertiary saline marine clays. The reserve zone is located on the section of the transition from chernozems to dark chestnut soils. On the gentle slopes and watersheds, medium-thick carbonate soils were formed.

The Orenburg nature reserve in the Talovskaya steppe is characterized by a poorly developed hydrography. River networks are represented exclusively by temporary watercourses. These are the headwaters of the rivers Talovaya and Malaya Sadomna, within the territory they do not have a constant current. There are also no manifestations of groundwater.

The Talovskaya steppe is the benchmark of the Trans-Volga-Ural steppes. The landscape structure of the terrain is formed by a syrt-plakorny, slightly wavy interfluve and valley-beam type.

Historical and archaeological monuments of the site

On the territory there is a burial cemetery, presumably Sarmatian culture. It can be found on the north-western border of the site at 198.9 m. This is a unique archaeological value, which contains the reserve "Orenburg".

Director of the nature protection zone

Order of the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment of the country on August 19, 2013, the director of the reserve was appointed Rafil Talgatovna Bakirov. He is a major specialist, PhD in Law, coordinator of the UN Steppe Project at the regional level, associate professor, head of the legal department of the local agrarian university, with whom the Orenburg reserve cooperates. Bakirova has a sincere interest in the success of the tasks set. It has the professionalism and inexhaustible energy of activity, therefore the nature protection zone will only prosper.

The Orenburg State Reserve is in good hands. In the purposefulness and professionalism of the new director, there is no doubt. The work being done in the reserve is available in the mass media. They cover the natural processes taking place in the steppe, environmental actions, competitions, publishing and advertising activities. Due to this the reserve attracts a large number of tourists.

Excursion programs

When visiting unique nature protection facilities, people not only get acquainted with the unique ecological situation of protected areas. During the trip, visitors can realize the fragility of its links, easily destroyed by human influence.

For today in the reserve it is possible to pass along four educational and cognitive excursion routes. This is the "Protected World" of the Trans-Urals, the Trans-Volga, the Southern Urals, the Urals.

Animals

The reserve "Orenburg" has a fauna that is considered typical for the local territory. It is represented by the following species of steppe animals:

• Lun.
• Kestrel.
• Belladonna.
• Strepet.
• Pistushushka.
• Slepushonka and others.

The Orenburg reserve, whose animals and plants are under special protection, also contains numerous species characteristic of the broad-leaved forest zone. It is a mouse, an ordinary hedgehog, a badger, a lynx, a kestrel, a clinker, a black grouse, a spittle, a wiggler. Also in the protected area there are representatives of semi-deserts, in particular, hedgehog eared, small lark. Sometimes there is a bright representative of tundra species - a white owl.

The modern fauna of the territory is relatively diverse and rich. There are mammals - about 48 species, birds - 190 species, reptiles - 7 species, amphibians - 5 species, fish - 6 species, about 1000 species of insects. Orenburg Reserve, photo of which is presented below, takes care of the entire ecosystem as a whole.

Seven species of insectivorous are classified as mammals, 23 are rodents, 3 are bats, 9 are predatory, 4 are artiodactyls, and 2 are rabbit-like. About 15 species of these animals are common in all areas of the protected area. Among them are groundhogs, ground squirrels, voles, mice, pies, mice, jerboas, fox, wolf, hare, badger, ferret, weasel, corsac.

Flora

The reserve "Orenburg" contains more than 600 species belonging to the plant world. This figure is about 40% of the total number of representatives of the flora, growing throughout the region. Among them, the role of specimens that belong to the vanishing ones is great. The Red Data Book of the country includes 23 plant species. Many representatives of the flora living in the protected zone belong to the mountain-steppe petrophytes, for example, silver lentil, carnation of the Urals, Astragalus Gelma, Smolevka Bashkir.

The reserve "Orenburg" has a special significance for our country. On its territory, unique ecological systems of the steppe, zonal plakoral landscapes could be preserved. This is a world in which there is no anxiety and tension, a kingdom of nature and complete harmony, which is important to preserve.