Lapland Nature Reserve (russian: Лапландский заповедник) (also Laplandskiy) 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) in

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, above the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

. Officially established in 1957, the reserve protects an area of to the northwest of

Lake Imandra Imandra ( sms, Âʹvverjäuʹrr, Russian: Имандра, Finnish: ''Imantero'') is a lake in the south-western part of the Kola Peninsula in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, slightly beyond the Arctic circle. It is located 127 m above sea level; its are ...

, including 86 km² of inland water. The terrain is mountainous

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

and northern

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

. Since 1985 the zapovednik has been designated by

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 ...

as a

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 ...

. The name refers to the cultural area of Lapland, now preferably called

Sápmi (, smj, Sábme / Sámeednam, sma, Saepmie, sju, Sábmie, , , sjd, Са̄мь е̄ммьне, Saam' jiemm'n'e) is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi is in Northern and Eastern Europe and includes the ...

. The Lapland Nature Reserve was established in 1930. However, in 1951 along with many other zapovedniks of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

it was abolished. It was reestablished in 1957, but in 1961-1965 was merged to

Kandalaksha Nature Reserve Kandalaksha Nature Reserve (russian: Кандалакшский заповедник) (also Kandalakshsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict ecological reserve) on the south shore of Kandalaksha Bay in the Murmansk and Karelia regions on the open ...

. In 1983 the 1,613 km² area of the Lapland Nature Reserve was significantly expanded to include 1,296 km² of territories to the northwest, farther from the polluting influence of the

Monchegorsk Monchegorsk (russian: Мончего́рск) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 ( 2002 Census); 68,652 ( 1989 Census). Name Th ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

smelter, and the zapovednik gave away 124 km² near the city. The reserve is situated in Murmansk Oblast about 50 km south of the city of

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

. Its administrative center is the

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

of Laplandsky Zapovednik.

Topography

The Lapland Reserve has a terrain that is mostly mountain tundra and lakes, being situated on the western zone of the Khibiny Mountains. Most of the territory is covered by northern

and montane

with the highest point on (1115 m a.s.l.).

Climate and ecoregion

Lapland Reserve is located in the ''

Scandinavian and Russian taiga The Scandinavian and Russian taiga is an ecoregion within the taiga and boreal forests biome as defined by the WWF classification (ecoregion PA0608). It is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in ...

'' ecoregion, which is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south. It is covers parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the northern part of European Russia, being the largest ecoregion in Europe. The ecoregion is characterized by coniferous forests dominated by ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

'' (in drier locations), often with an understory of ''

Juniperus communis ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...

'', ''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, ...

'' and '' Picea obovata'' and a significant admixture of ''

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

'' and ''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found a ...

''. ''

Larix sibirica ''Larix sibirica'', the Siberian larch or Russian larch, is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian larch ''L. gmelinii' ...

'' is characteristic of the eastern part of the ecoregion. The climate of the Lapland Reserve is '' Humid continental climate, cool 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 ...

(Dfc)). This climate is characterised by long cold winters, and short, cool summers.

Ecoeducation and access

As a strict nature reserve, the Lapland Reserve is mostly closed to the general public, although scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits. There are a number of 'ecotourist' routes in the reserve, however, that are open to the public. These change with the seasons and are designed to cover themes of the region - Christmas and New Year's in winter, "Spring Awakening Tour", etc. Excursions are arranged for groups through application for permits to be obtained in advance. The main office is in the city of Monchegorsk. Lapland reservate

References

Towards an inventory of the mycobiota of the Lapland State Nature Biosphere Reserve (Murmansk Region, North-West Russia)

External links

Map of Lapland Reserve, OpenStreetMap

Map of Laplandskiy Reserve, ProtectedPlanet

Official site
(in Russian)
Laplandskiy Biosphere Reserve; UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory
{{Authority control Nature reserves in Russia Biosphere reserves of Russia Geography of Murmansk Oblast 1957 establishments in Russia Protected areas established in 1957 Sápmi Zapovednik

Topography

Climate and ecoregion

Ecoeducation and access

See also

References

External links