Chornye Zemli Nature Reserve (russian: заповедник Чёрные земли) (also) 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). The name in Russian means "Black Lands". The main part of the reserve is located in the

Caspian Depression The Caspian Depression ( kk, Каспий маңы ойпаты, ''Kaspıı mańy oıpaty''; rus, Прикаспи́йская ни́зменность, p=prʲɪkɐˈspʲijskəjə ˈnʲizmʲɪnnəsʲtʲ, Caspian Lowland) or Pricaspian/Peri-Casp ...

, northwest of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

. It was originally created in 1990 to protect the

saiga The saiga antelope (, ''Saiga tatarica''), or saiga, is a critically endangered antelope which during antiquity inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe spanning the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the northwest and Caucasus in ...

antelope (''Saiga tatarica''). In the meantime the economy of Kalmykia collapsed and the numbers of saiga have crashed due to

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

for meat and horns (Chinese medicine) and

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

caused by

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

by domestic animals. The reserve also has colonies of egrets, cormorants, and rare pelicans. The reserve is situated in the Chernozemelsky District of

Republic of Kalmykia he official languages of the Republic of Kalmykia are the Kalmyk and Russian languages./ref> , official_lang_list= Kalmyk , official_lang_ref=Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article 17: he official languages of the ...

. It was created in 1990, and covers 1,219 km² in two locations, with a 900 km² buffer zone. Since 1993 to 2021, Cherny Zemli Nature Reserve was designated as one of UNESCO

biosphere 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 o ...

Ecoregion and climate

Chornye Zemli is located in the middle of the

Caspian lowland desert The Caspian lowland desert ecoregion (WWF ID: PA1308) covers the north and southeast coasts of the Caspian Sea, including the deltas of the Volga River and Ural River in the northern region. While the region gets relatively low amounts of precipit ...

ecoregion, a region that covers the north and southeast coasts of the Caspian Sea, including the deltas of the Volga River and Ural River in the northern region. Although precipitation is relatively low (less than 200 mm/year), wildlife is supported by the river systems and sea itself. The climate of Chornye Zemli is '' cool semi-arid'' (

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 ...

BSk). This climate is characterized by high variation in temperature, both daily and seasonally; with low precipitation.

References

Center for Russian Nature Conservation, Cherny Zemly Zapovednik

External links

Map of Chyornye Zemli Reserve, OpenStreetMap
{{Authority control Nature reserves in Russia Geography of Kalmykia Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Russia Zapovednik

Ecoregion and climate

See also

References

External links