Polistovsky Nature Reserve, Polistovsky Zapovednik (russian: Полистовский заповедник) is a strict nature reserve (a ''

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 which ...

'') in the northwest of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, located in Bezhanitsky and

Loknyansky District Loknyansky District (russian: Локнянский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #833-oz and municipalLaw #420-oz district (raion), one of the twenty-four in Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the east of the oblast and borders with K ...

s of Pskov Oblast, in the Polist-Lovat Swamp System. The reserve is about 120 km southeast of the city of Pskov. It was formally established on May 25, 1994. Previously, it functioned as a

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

. The nature reserve is created to protect the

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrot ...

ecosystems of the Northwestern Russia.

Location and geography

The area of the reserve is elongated from southeast to northwest and is adjacent to the border between Pskov and

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast (russian: Новгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Novgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, includin ...

s. At the other side of the border, in Novgorod Oblast, the nature reserve continues as Rdeysky Nature Reserve. The nature reserve is divided between the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of the

Lovat River The Lovat ( be, Ловаць ''Łovać'', ; russian: река́ Ло́вать) is a river in Vitebsk Oblast of Belarus, Usvyatsky, Velikoluksky, and Loknyansky Districts, as well as of the city of Velikiye Luki, of Pskov Oblast and Kholmsky ...

and the

Polist River The Polist () is a river in Bezhanitsky District of Pskov Oblast and in Poddorsky and Starorussky District, as well as in the town of Staraya Russa of Novgorod Oblast of Russia. It is technically a tributary of the Lovat though it forms a common ...

. The territory of Polistovsky Nature Reserve is a glacial landscape, which is essentially a flat swampy area with a large amount of lakes. Some areas are forested.

Ecoregion and climate

The reserve is in the ''

Sarmatic mixed forests The Sarmatic mixed forests constitute an ecoregion within the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature classification (ecoregion PA0436). The term comes from the word "Sarmatia". Distribution This e ...

'' ecoregion, a band of mixed oak/spruce/pine forests stretching from southern Sweden to the Ural Mountains. The climate 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 ...

(Dfb)). This climate is characterized by large swings in temperature, both diurnally and seasonally, with mild summers and cold, snowy winters

Flora

The area mostly consists of

s. Forest grows on the islands on the bog. The main types forest are coniferous forests based on spruce and broadleaf forest, based on

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 ...

and linden.

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 ...

and

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 (Chin ...

appeared as derivative forest from oak and linden. Around 370 species of plants grow in the reserve.

Fauna

European mink The European mink (''Mustela lutreola''), also known as the Russian mink and Eurasian mink, is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to Europe. It is similar in colour to the American mink, but is slightly smaller and has a less specialized ...

is a critically endangered mammal species which is resident in the reserve.

References

External links