Red Marsh Nature Reserve ( pl, Rezerwat przyrody Czerwone Bagno) is a
nature 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 ...
with an area of 11 629.75
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
located within the municipalities;
Goniądz
Goniądz (; lt, Goniondas, german: Gonionds, yi, גאניאנדז, Goniondzh) is a town in Poland, located at the Biebrza river, (pop. 1,915) in Mońki county ('' Powiat of Mońki'') in Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland. 80% of the ...
and
Rajgród
Rajgród is a town in Grajewo County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,609 inhabitants (as of June 2016), within the historic region of Podlachia.
History
Rajgród has a long and rich history, with evidence of human habitation dating ba ...
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. The reserve is located within
Biebrza National Park ''
, iucn_category = II
, photo = Poland Biebrza Burzyn.jpg
, photo_caption = Biebrza River at Burzyn, Poland
Park logo with Ruff
, location = Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland
, nearest_city = Osowiec-Twierdza
, map = Poland , relief = 1
, m ...
.
History
This nature reserve encompasses one of the few places in the middle of Europe to have retained vast, sparsely populated and relatively undisturbed area of
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
Biebrza
Biebrza ( lt, Bebras, '' be, Bobra'', ''german: Bober'') is a river in northeastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river (near Wizna), with a length of and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).interwar period designated nature reserves: the Red Marsh (consisting of mosaic of bog woodland, bog, swamp, mire and marsh habitats) and Perches (consisting of mineral islands formed by former shafts dune occupied by calcareous sand grasslands and oak and hornbeam woodlands surrounded by fenland). Current site was extended in 1981. A promoter of these sites and an activist for the preservation of remaining natural
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, professor Simona Kossak, is the author of a daily broadcast (''What's hot'') on "Radio Bialystok". Presence of this nature reserves and surrounding areas of wilderness was the main reason for the designation of Biebrza National Park in 1989.
Fauna
The Red Marsh, being away from the overflow land, wetlands, and riparian morass of the river, Biebrza is different in nature because it creates bogs overgrown with dwarf
trees
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...
, which provide an excellent refuge for animals, especially for the rare and protected
ungulate
Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, ...
–
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...
(''Alces alces''), and
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...
(''Cervus elaphus'') and
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 ...
(''Capreolus capreolus''). Many packs of wolves also reside within the reserve.
In addition, these sites are ideal bedding and nesting sites for birds:
white-tailed eagle
The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors ...
(''Haliaeetus albicilla''),
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...
(''Aquila chrysaetos'') and the
lesser spotted eagle
The lesser spotted eagle (''Clanga pomarina'') is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Acc ...
(''Aquila pomarina'') which is under strict
protection
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
overall.
Flora
A valuable asset of the Red Swamp is not only natural habitat conditions for
animals
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
, but also unique
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characte ...
. Plant species under strict
protection
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
include:
*
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 ...
(Betula humilis Schrank) – shrub reaching a height of 2 m
*
Drosera rotundifolia
''Drosera rotundifolia'', the round-leaved sundew, roundleaf sundew, or common sundew, is a carnivorous species of flowering plant that grows in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribu ...
Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum
''Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum'', commonly known as moor-king or moor-king lousewort, is a plant species in the genus ''Pedicularis
''Pedicularis'' is a genus of perennial green root parasite plants currently placed in the family Orobancha ...