Yugansky Nature Reserve (russian: Юганский) (also ) 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 which ...

' (strict ecological reserve) in the basin of the Bolshoy Yugan River, a left tributary of the

Ob River } The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins ...

. The reserve is in the central part of the

West Siberian Plain The West Siberian Plain (russian: За́падно-Сиби́рская равни́на ''Zapadno-Sibirskaya ravnina'') is a large plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia, between the Ural Mountains in the west and the Yenisei River ...

, in the southern part of the Middle Ob lowlands. It is situated in the Surgutsky District of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, about 500 km due north of the city of Omsk. The reserve was created in 1982, and covers an area of .

Topography

The Yugansky Reserve is located in the south Sredneobskaya lowlands. The terrain is mostly narrow river valleys and vast wetlands. Woodlands covered 64% of the protected zones. Forest cover is only 36%; the remainder is swamp.

Climate and Ecoregion

The Yugansky Reserve is located in the

West Siberian taiga West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

ecoregion, which covers most of the

. The climate of Yugansky is '' Subarctic climate, without dry season'' (

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 ...

Subartic climate (Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1–3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ). The area is frost-free for 92 days on average, and the growing season is 137 days. Prevailing winds are south-western and southern.

Flora and fauna

The terrain of Yugansky is primarily floodplains, covered by spruce forests with cedar and fir. The reserve is home to 40 species of mammals, more than half of which species are rodents. The large mammals are represented by bear, lynx, and wolverine. Herbivores include elk and forest reindeer. Peatbog (Yugansky Nature Reserve - aerial)

Peatbog (Yugansky Nature Reserve - aerial)

Ecotourism

As a strict nature reserve, the Yugansky 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 is a small nature museum operated by the reserve in the village for public education. Management has opened an 'ecotourist' route to one of the marsh zones that is open to the public by arrangement in advance. The reserve is remote and far from convenient transportation, however, and expects to conduct most of its eco-education activities through online and virtual media. The main office is in the village of Ugut. The closest city is Surgut, 300 km to the north.

References

External links