The Tarutyns'kyj steppe is a protected landscape located in Bolhrad Raion, Odesa Oblast,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It is one of the largest preserved

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

fragments in Ukraine, and of significant local importance.

Location

The Tarutyns'kyj steppe is located in the Odesa Oblast in the territory of Veselodolyns'ka village council. It is administered by the Veselodolyns'ka village council. The total land area of the protected land is 5200 hectares. There are 4800 hectares of natural pasture and 400 hectares of wooded areas.

Creation

The original proposal by the State Department, put forward in 2008, was for the creation of a park that could be used for public recreation. This was considered by the Tarutyne District Council on no fewer than three occasions, and finally rejected in 2010. The reasons given were twofold. The Ministry of Defence objected due to the fact that the proposed area occupies part of the former Tarutyns'kyj military range, created in 1946, a total area of 24,521 hectares. Residents of several villages of the district were evicted from these lands. Military exercises were conducted here, and grazing and mowing was stopped. In the late 1990s the intensity of use of the range by the military gradually decreased, and in 2005 the range was abandoned. However, the dispute remained between the district administration and The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine for the right to dispose of the lands. And secondly, part of the area was also reclaimed landfill, and deemed too dangerous for public use. The proposal was then modified from a landscape park to a preserve. After that, in 2011, the Tarutyne District Council and district administration agreed to create such a preserve. The landscape preserve "Tarutyns'kyj steppe" was announced by decree № 445-VI during the 12th session of the Odesa Regional Council of People's Deputies of the Sixth Convocation (26 of April, 2012). It was signed by the village council, the district administration of Odesa Oblast, and the State Department of Environmental Protection in the Odesa Oblast.Розпорядження Тарутинської РДА № 29/А-2012 від 19.01.2012 року "Про погнодження створення місцевого ландшафтного заказника «Тарутинський степ»

Value

Ironically, it was the former military range, with the large protected zone used for grazing, which created conditions similar to the natural steppe ecosystem requirements - over 100 years of moderate grazing pressure and lack of plowing. The main values of the preserve are ecosystems of forb-fescue-feather grass and fescue-feather grass, typical of virgin and secondary steppe. Here, ''

Stipa capillata ''Stipa capillata'' is a perennial bunchgrass species in the family Poaceae, native to Europe and Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcon ...

'', ''

Stipa lessingiana ''Stipa lessingiana'', called Lessing feather grass, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Stipa'', found in steppes from Greece east to Mongolia, including the countries bordering the Black and Caspian Seas, Central Asia, western Siberi ...

'' and rarely other feather grass species dominate. Among animals which occur here, over 40 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. The steppe plays an important role for the preservation of many rare species of steppe birds. Also, the territory is important for the southern birch mouse. Its population in "Tarutyns'kyj steppe" landscape preserve is one of the last population which has been preserved in Ukraine. The preserve is nominated as the object of the

Emerald Network The Emerald network is a network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats of Europe, which was launched in 1989 by the Council of Europe as part of its work under the Convention on the ...

and is included in the Emerald Network database by a Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats Secretariat.

Flora and fauna

A significant floristic and faunal diversity is a characteristic of the preserve. Below is a list of wildlife and flora which exist in the area. Plants'' * ''

'' * ''

'' * '' Stipa pennata'' * ''

Pulsatilla pratensis ''Pulsatilla pratensis'' (syn. ''Anemone pratensis''), the small pasque flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to central and eastern Europe, from southeast Norway and western Denmark south and east to Bulgari ...

'' * '' Astragalus dasyanthus'' * '' Ornithogalum oreoides'' * ''

Crocus reticulatus ''Crocus reticulatus'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Crocus'' of the family Iridaceae. It is a cormous perennial native to central and southern European Russia, the northern Caucasus, the Transcaucasus, and Ukraine Ukrain ...

'' * '' Bulbocodium versicolor'' Animals * '' Dolichophis caspius'' * ''

Elaphe quatuorlineata ''Elaphe quatuorlineata'' (common names: four-lined snake, Bulgarian ratsnake) is a member of the family Colubridae. The four-lined snake is a non-venomous species and one of the largest of the European snakes. Description The species' common ...

'' * ''

Sicista subtilis The southern birch mouse (''Sicista subtilis'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It is native to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and potentially northern Mongolia and China. Taxonomy The Hungarian birch mouse (''S. trizona'' ...

'' * ''

Mustela eversmanii The steppe polecat (''Mustela eversmanii''), also known as the white or masked polecat, is a species of mustelid native to Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distrib ...

'' * ''

Spalax arenarius The sandy blind mole-rat (''Spalax arenarius'') is an endangered species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to Ukraine. It was first identified by Evdokia Reshetnik in 1939. Distribution and habitat It is restricted to a very s ...

'' * '' Lanius excubitor'' (winter) * ''

Pastor roseus The rosy starling (''Pastor roseus'') is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae, also known as the rose-coloured starling or rose-coloured pastor. The species was recently placed in its own monotypic genus, ''Pastor'', and split f ...

'' (migrates) * '' Ciconia nigra'' (migrates) * '' Circus cyaneus'' (winters) * ''

Buteo rufinus The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The lon ...

'' (nesting) * '' Aquila chrysaetos'' (winters) * ''

Falco cherrug The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly bird migration, migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, winter ...

'' (nesting) * '' Falco peregrinus'' (winters) * '' Grus grus'' (migrates) * ''

Anthropoides virgo The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Bir ...

'' (migrates) * '' Otis tarda'' (winters) * ''

Burhinus oedicnemus The Eurasian stone-curlew, Eurasian thick-knee, or simply stone-curlew (''Burhinus oedicnemus'') is a northern species of the Burhinidae ( stone-curlew) bird family. Taxonomy The Eurasian stone-curlew was formally described by the Swedish nat ...

'' (nesting)

References

{{Reflist Grasslands of Ukraine Protected areas of Ukraine Tarutyne settlement hromada