Belogorye Nature Reserve (russian: Белогорье заповедник) (also Belogor'e) is a Russian '

zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area whi ...

' (strict nature reserve), one of the last intact riverine old-growth oak forests (some oaks being over 300 years old), which was once representative of the East European forest-steppe. The reserve is one of the oldest and smallest nature reserves in Russia, first formed in 1924 but reorganized several times since. It is on the southwestern slope of the Central Hills on the western edge of Russia. The reserve is situated in the

Belgorodsky District Belgorodsky District (russian: Белгоро́дский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Belgorod Oblast, Russia.Law #248 Municipally, it is incorporated as Belgorodsky Municipal District.Law #159 It ...

Belgorod Oblast Belgorod Oblast (russian: Белгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Belgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod. Population: History At the turn of the 17th cent ...

. The reserve was created in 1935, and covers an area of .

Topography

The Belogorye Reserve is actually a collection of five separate sectors that are 10 to 75 km apart. The western two are in the basin of the

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

, the other two in the basin of the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

. * " Worskla Forest" (1,038 ha), a forested section near the village of Borisov, 30 km west of Belgorod. Upland oak forest, surrounded on three sides by the

Vorskla River The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. It has a length of , and a basin area of .Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, with two of the sectors are about 15 km from the border with

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The terrain sits on

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

deposits of limestone; the resulting

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

topography is one of ravines, hills, and caves which appear as "steppe saucers" on the surface. Elevations range between 100 meters to 230 meters above sea level.

Climate and Ecoregion

Belogorye is located in the ''

East European forest steppe The East European forest steppe ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0419) is a patchwork of broadleaf forest stands and grasslands (steppe) that stretches 2,100 km across eastern Europe from the Ural Mountains in Ural, through Povolzhye, Central Russia to the m ...

'' ecoregion, a transition zone between the broadleaf forests of the north and the grasslands to the south.. This ecoregion is characterized by a mosaic of forests, steppe, and riverine wetlands. The average temperature in January +8.1 C, and in July +19.9 C. The climate of Belogorye is '' Humid continental climate, warm summer'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(Dfb)). This climate is characterized by large swings in temperature, both diurnally and seasonally, with mild summers and cold, snowy winters.

Flora and fauna

The Forest on the Vorskla sector is over 20 meters above the water table, lower than the tree roots can reach, so the forest is an upland community depending on precipitation: English oak, European ash, Norway maple, small-leaved lime, and Ulmus glabra. The

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

is particularly important for the 60-70 nesting species of birds, over half which are

Passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

(perching songbirds), with many that dwell in shrubs and hollow trees. File:Ямская степь 10.jpg , Feather Forb Meadow on Yamskaya Steppe File:Krasny kutok 52.jpg , English Oak, new Borisov File:Worskla.jpg , Vorskla River

Ecotourism

There is a nature museum and arboretum run by the reserve in the village of

Borisovka Borisovka (russian: Бори́совка) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Altai Krai As of 2010, two rural localities in Altai Krai bear this name: * Borisovka, Uglovsky District, Altai Krai, a '' selo'' in Laptevsky Selsov ...

. The Belgorye Reserve is mostly closed to the general public, although scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits. For the public, guided tours can be arranged for groups by contacting reserve management in advance. Public access is also available in groups of 5–20 with reserve guides for a fee – the typical hike is 1.5 to 2 hours. Public access for school group tours are free.

References

External links