The Josvainiai Forest ( lt, Josvainių miškai) is a

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Kėdainiai District Municipality Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population is 23,667. Its old town dates to th ...

, central

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, located to the west from

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population is 23, ...

and 4 km to the north from

Josvainiai Josvainiai (formerly pl, Jaswojnie, russian: link=no, Ясвойни, Ясвойне) is a small town in Kėdainiai district, central Lithuania. It is located on the Šušvė River 10 km southwest from Kėdainiai. In the town there is a C ...

. It covers an area of . It consists of smaller forests: Josvainiai Forest (proper), Medininkai Forest, Giraitė. The rivers

Smilga Smilga may refer to: *Smilga (river), Lithuania Surname * Ivan Smilga (Jānis Smilga) (1898-1918), Soviet Latvian soldier buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis * Ivar Smilga (1892–1938), Soviet Bolshevik leader * Kārlis Smilga (born 1975), L ...

Smilgaitis The Smilgaitis is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for and has a basin area of . It is a right tributary of the river Smilga. Its source is nearby Krakės town. It flows through the Josvai ...

and

Tranys The Tranys is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for . The river is a left tributary of the Smilga, which flows into the Neman via the Nevėžis. Its basin is mostly covered by forests (the Kr ...

drain the forest (the

Nevėžis The Nevėžis () is the sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Nemunas. Its length is , and it flows only within the geographical confines of Lithuania.birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

, 24 % by

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

, 5 % by

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

, 8 % by

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

, 3 % by

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, 3 % by

black alder Black alder is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Alnus glutinosa'', native to Europe and widely naturalized *''Ilex verticillata ''Ilex verticillata'', the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in ...

, 3 % by white alder, 2 % by

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

tree groups. The fauna of the forest consists of

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

raccoon dog The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common ...

pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...

, also there are

hazel grouse The hazel grouse (''Tetrastes bonasia''), sometimes called the hazel hen, is one of the smaller members of the grouse family of birds. It is a sedentary species, breeding across the Palearctic as far east as Hokkaido, and as far west as eastern a ...

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes ...

common buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...

s, sparrowhawks,

northern goshawk The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s. The forest is included into Dotnuva-Josvainiai Biosphere Polygon, also there is the Smilga Landscape Sanctuary in the forest. During the Soviet era, there was a rocket base (now in ruins) in the forest nearby

Keleriškiai Keleriškiai is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, central Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. There are Barsukynė,

Palainiškiai Palainiškiai (formerly russian: Палайнишки, pl, Pałajniszki) is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, in central Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the village was uninhabited. It is located from Ąž ...

, Čiukiškiai, Stasiūnai, Grašva villages inside the forest or on its edges.

Images

Josvainių miškai (Šiukštuliškių apylinkės).JPG, Forest nearby

Šiukštuliškiai Šiukštuliškiai (historically pl, Szuksztuliszki, russian: Шукштолишки) is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, in central Lithuania. It is located by the Smilga Smilga may refer to: *Smilga (river), Lith ...

village Smilga008.JPG, The Smilga River inside the forest Josvainių miškas010.JPG, A spruce forest with ''

oxalis acetosella ''Oxalis acetosella'', the wood sorrel or common wood sorrel, is a rhizomatous flowering plant in the family ''Oxalidaceae'', common in most of Europe and parts of Asia. The specific epithet ''acetosella'' refers to its sour taste. The common na ...

'' floor Žiema. Josvainių miškas.JPG, Forest in winter Meškinis česnakas 1.JPG, ''

Allium ursinum ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amary ...

'' in the forest

References

Forests of Lithuania Kėdainiai District Municipality {{KaunasCounty-geo-stub