Bashkirsky Nature Reserve (
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 ...
) (russian: Башкирский) ( ba, Башҡортостан дәүләт ҡурсаулығы) is located in the central part of the Bashkir (Southern) Urals. It features forested mountain slopes from the western slopes of the southern
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...
to the
Kaga River, and a displays the transition from mountain forest to steppe-forest. The reserved is situated in the
Burzyansky District
Burzyansky District (russian: Бурзя́нский райо́н; ba, Бөрйән районы) is an administrativeConstitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Article 64 and municipalLaw #126-z district (raion), one of the fifty-four ...
of
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
.
Topography
The reserve is bounded to the north by the
Kaga River, to the east by the southern spur of the southern Urals, the Uzyan River to the south, and the Kraków mountains to the west. The tops of many ridges are smoothed and covered with forest. The forest stands on the slopes of the mountains in the east of the reserve transition to steppes and meadows in the lower ground.
Climate and Ecoregion
Bashkirski is located at the southern end of the ''
Ural montane forests and tundra'' ecoregion, which is a meeting zone between European and Asian vegetation zones (across the Urals) (WWF ID #610).
The climate of Bashkirski 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 ...
Subartic climate(Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1-3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ).
Flora and fauna
Because of its location at the meeting point of several ecoregions, the reserve has high levels of biodiversity. Vegetation include Siberian and European, Central Asian and arctic types. Forests cover 80% of the reserve, mostly with boreal forest forms of pine, and larch, with some sections of the reserve having large stands of birch. Along the lower rivers are strips of alder/willow forest. The reserve records 812 species of vascular plants, 95 species algae, 42 of fungi (macromycetes), 322 of lichens, and 124 of mosses.
The animals of the reserve are those typical of the southern Ural forests - brown bear, squirrel, lynx, red squirrel, and grouse. the park has recorded 275 species of vertebrates, including 17 species of fish, 3 of amphibians, 6 of reptiles, and the 196 species of birds and 53 species of mammals. The fast, cold streams support trout.
Management
There is a nature museum at the reserve, but visits to the territory itself requires permission from reserve management, and only a limited number of ecological tour routes are allowed to be used with guides.
References
External links
Bashkirsky entry at ProtectedPlanet.net
Bashkirsky entry at OpenStreetMap.org
{{Russian Zapovedniks
Nature reserves in Russia
1930 establishments in Russia
Protected areas established in 1930
Geography of Bashkortostan
Zapovednik