Nīcgale forest is

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

protected landscape area in

Augšdaugava Municipality Augšdaugava Municipality ( lv, Augšdaugavas novads, "upper Daugava municipality") is one of the 35 municipalities established in Latvia in 2021. It surrounds the independent city of Daugavpils and its municipal headquarters are located there. It ...

, in Nīcgale Parish, east of

Nīcgale Nīcgale ( lv, Nīcgale; ltg, Neicgaļs) is a settlement in Nīcgale Parish, Augšdaugava Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. See also *Nīcgale forest Nīcgale forest is Latvia protected landscape area in Augšdaugava Municipa ...

. At the eastern point of the territory is Nicgale Great Stone. The site contains EU Habitats Directive habitats - old or natural boreal forests, old mixed broadleaf forests, walking forests. This is the ''

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

'' area.

Flora

A large number of protected plant species are found here, including

ramsons ''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 ...

('' Allium ursinum''),

clustered bur-reed ''Sparganium glomeratum'', the clustered bur-reed, is a species of bur-reed ''Sparganium'' (bur-reed) is a genus of flowering plants, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. It is widespread in wet areas in temperate regions of both the N ...

('' Sparganium glomeratum''), downy buttercup (''

Ranunculus lanuginosus ''Ranunculus lanuginosus'', commonly known as the wooly buttercup and downy buttercup, is a herbaceous perennial plant species in the family Ranunculaceae, that grows in some parts of Europe. Etymology The plant's genus name comes from a Latin ...

''),''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' (Downy Buttercup)
/ref> Lyon's notchwort ('). One of the species of flowering plants - hairy agrimony ('' Agrimonia pilosa'') is protected under EU Nature directives.

Fauna

Nīcgales forest is home to a significant number of butterfly species, including marsh fritillary ('' Euphydryas aurinia''),

Scarce fritillary The scarce fritillary (''Euphydryas maturna'') is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, R ...

('' Euphydryas maturna'', (''

Lycaena dispar The large copper (''Lycaena dispar'') is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. ''L. dispar'' has been commonly arranged into three subspecies: ''L. dispar dispar'', (single-brooded) which was commonly found in England, but is now extinct, ''L. ...

''),

scarce heath ''Coenonympha hero'', the scarce heath, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. Distribution It can be found in Central Europe, Northern Europe and the North Palearctic (Urals East to Mongolia, Korea and Japan). Descript ...

('' Coenonympha hero''),

woodland brown ''Lopinga achine'', the woodland brown, is a Palearctic butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Description in Seitz P. ''achine'' Scop. (= ''dejanira'' L.) (45 g). Dark brown: forewing with 5—6 eye-rings forming a chain, hindwing with 2—4 s ...

(''

Lopinga achine ''Lopinga achine'', the woodland brown, is a Palearctic butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Description in Seitz P. ''achine'' Scop. (= ''dejanira'' L.) (45 g). Dark brown: forewing with 5—6 eye-rings forming a chain, hindwing with 2—4 su ...

''),

blue underwing ''Catocala fraxini'', the blue underwing or Clifden nonpareil, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was Species description, first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae' ...

('' Catocala fraxini''), Pericallia ('' Pericallia matronula''). Protected fauna species include white-backed woodpecker (''

Picoides leucotos The white-backed woodpecker (''Dendrocopos leucotos'') is a Eurasian woodpecker belonging to the genus ''Dendrocopos''. Taxonomy The white-backed woodpecker was described by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802 under the b ...

''),

middle spotted woodpecker The middle spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocoptes medius'') is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus '' Dendrocoptes''. Taxonomy The middle spotted woodpecker was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the ...

('' Leiopicus medius''), Ural owl ('' Strix uralensis''),

Eurasian pygmy owl The Eurasian pygmy owl (''Glaucidium passerinum'') is the smallest owl in Europe. It is a dark reddish to greyish-brown, with spotted sides and half of a white ring around the back of the neck. This species is found in the boreal forests of North ...

(''

Glaucidium passerinum The Eurasian pygmy owl (''Glaucidium passerinum'') is the smallest owl in Europe. It is a dark reddish to greyish-brown, with spotted sides and half of a white ring around the back of the neck. This species is found in the boreal forests of Nort ...

''). Nature Protection Board. Nicgale Forests
In total : *17 species of birds are protected under EU Nature directives. *3 species of invertebrates are protected under EU Nature directives.

References

Natura 2000 in Latvia Nature parks in Latvia Augšdaugava Municipality Latgale {{Europe-protected-area-stub