Carpathian Biosphere Reserve ( uk, Карпатський біосферний заповідник) is a biosphere reserve that was established as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in 1968 and became part of the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable dev ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1992.UNESCO
Carpathian
July 2011 Since 2007 bigger portion of the reserve along with some territories of the Uzh River National Park was listed with the

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

as part of the

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational serial nature UNESCO World Heritage Site, encompassing 94 component parts (forests of European beech, ''Fagus sylvatica'') in 18 European countr ...

. Located in the eastern parts of the

Zakarpattia Oblast The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...

, it consists of six separate preservation

massifs In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

and two botanic

zakaznik Zakaznik (russian: зака́зник, зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznik, zakazniki''; uk, singular: заказни́к or зака́зник; plural: заказники́ or зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznyk'', ''zak ...

s (Chorna Hora and Yulivska Hora) with a total area of . The greatest part of the reserve is covered by virgin forests. Administratively, the biosphere reserve is located in four districts of

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 ...

. It is adjacent to the

Carpathian National Nature Park The Carpathian National Nature Park ( uk, Карпатський національний природний парк) is a National Park located in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine. The park was established on 3 June 1980 to protect landscapes ...

Territory division

The territory of Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is divided into several functional zones: core (A) and buffer zones (B), zone of the regulated protected regime (D) and anthropogenic landscapes (C). They differ one from another by the nature use regimes. Such division helps to achieve the most appropriate balance between nature protection needs and the requirements of local people.

Composition

The biosphere reserve consists of six separate preservation massifs as well as two botanical reserves (

s). * Chornohora preservation massif * Svydovets preservation massif * Marmorosh preservation massif * Kuziy preservation massif * Uholka and Shyroka Luzhanka preservation massif * Preservation massif "Dolyna Nartsysiv" (Narcissus Valley) * Botanical zakaznik "Chorna Hora" (Black Mountain) * Botanical zakaznik "Yulivska Hora" (Julius Mountain) Chornohora preservation

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

is located on the southern macroslope of the

Chornohora Chornohora (literally: "Black Mountain"; uk, Чорногора, romanized: ''Chornohora'') is the highest mountain range in Western Ukraine. It is within the Polonynian Beskids, a subgroup of the mountain group of Eastern Beskids, which in turn ...

, the highest mountain belt in the Eastern

Beskids The Beskids or Beskid Mountains ( pl, Beskidy, cs, Beskydy, sk, Beskydy, rue, Бескиды (''Beskydŷ''), ua, Бескиди (''Beskydy'')) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west a ...

and the Ukrainian

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

. Its total area is . Svydovets preservation massif has an area of and is located at an elevation of 600–1883 m.a.s.l in the highest region of the

Svydovets The Svydovets (Ukrainian Свидовець; Polish ''Świdowiec''; Czech and Slovak ''Svidovec''; German ''Swydiwez'') is a mountain range in western Ukraine, one of the ranges of Eastern Beskids, itself belonging to the Outer Eastern Carpathia ...

mountains. Marmorosh preservation massif is located on the northern macroslope of the

Rakhiv Rakhiv ( uk, Рахів, ; yi, ראַכעוו, hu, Rahó, ro, Rahău, rue, Рахово; see below) is a city located in Zakarpattia Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Rakhiv Raion (district). Population: ...

Mountains and covers a territory of at an elevation of 750–1940 m.a.s.l. Kuziy preservation massif is located on the southern branches of the

mountain range at an elevation of 350–1409 m.a.s.l. with total area of 4925 ha. Its territory is completely located in the forest area. Uholka and Shyroka Luzhanka preservation

is located on the southern slopes of the Krasna and the Menchil mountains grasslands at an elevation of 400 – 1280 m.a.s.l. The total area of the protected territory is 15580 ha. Preservation massif "Narcissus Valley" is located at an elevation of 180–200 m.a.s.l. in the western part of Khustsko-Solotvynska Valley and lies in a flatland of the Khustets river

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

. The “Chorna hora" botanical zakaznik occupies a territory of 823 ha in the Volcanic

, on the Chornahora mountain, which is a part of the Hutynskiy range. It was established to preserve oak, hornbeam-oak, oak-beech and beech-oak forests in 1974 and became a part of the Carpathians biosphere reserve in 1997. The "Yulivska Hora" botanical zakaznik covers an area of 176 ha on the slopes of the Yulivski mountains island

in the Vyhorlat-Hutynskiy volcanic ridge. It was established in 1974 and became a part of the

Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be ...

reserve in 1997. It aimed to preserve the oak-groves formed by many heat-loving

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

species. It is characterized by the warmest climate in the whole Ukrainian Carpathians.

Flora and fauna

The

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

of CBR consists of 262

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

species, 392 species of

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and horn ...

and 1062 species of

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

. The algal flora includes 465 species. 64 of plants species represented in this reserve are listed in the Ukrainian Red Data Book as well as in

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

and the European Red Lists. The

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

of the Carpathian biosphere reserve is represented by 64

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

species, 173

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, 9

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s, 13

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s, 23

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and more than 10,000

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

species. 72 of these species are listed in the Ukrainian Red Data Book and in IUCN and the European Red Lists.

References

External links

Carpathian Biosphere Reserve
official website

{{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Ukraine Geography of Zakarpattia Oblast Carpathians Zakarpattia Oblast outdoor recreation Old-growth forests Protected areas established in 1968 Protected areas of Zakarpattia Oblast World Heritage Sites in Ukraine Protected areas of the Eastern Carpathians 1968 establishments in the Soviet Union