Little Sosva Nature Reserve (russian: Малая Сосьва заповедник) (also Malaya Sosva) is a

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 ...

n '

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) covering the basin of the Malaya Sosva River, on the east side of the Northern

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 ...

in the territory 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 ...

. the Malaya Sosva is a right tributary of the North Sosva River, which flows into 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 ...

on its way north to the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

. Are area of forested wetlands, the reserve protects flat lowlands with a broken relief, a significant incision of river valleys, and a developed river system. The reserve also protect cultural and architectural sites, including some related to the indigenous Khanty people. The southern two-thirds of the reserve is in the Sovetsky district in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug; the northern sector is in the Beryozovsky District. The reserve was created in 1976, and covers an area of .

Topography

The Little Sosva Reserve terrain is of one extensive wetlands around a complex system of meandering rivers. The land is flat, cut with valleys and ridges by the rivers. The territory is about 85 km from north to south, and 23 km from west to east, with the Malaya Sosva river running up the middle. About 400 km of the middle and upper reaches of the Malaya Sosva are within the borders (the river is a total of 700 km long). In its upper reaches, the river is about 20 meters wide, and about 50 meters wide in the lower areas. The meandering riverbed is boulder-pebble with many sandbars and cliffs at the turns, and rapids in places where the course narrows. The highest ground in the territory is 154 meters above sea level. About 15% of the reserve is covered by marshes. Along the western and southern borders is a 5-8 km protected buffer zone.

Climate and ecoregion

Little Sosva 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, a region that covers the West Siberian Plain, from the Urals to the Central Siberian Plateau. It is a region of extensive conifer boreal forests, and also extensive wetlands, including bogs and mires. The climate of Little Sosva 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 ...

Subarctic climate (Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1-3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ). In the Little Sosva Reserve, the average precipitation is 500 mm, the average snow cover is 184 days, and the average frost-free period 90 days from late spring to early autumn.

Flora and fauna

Malaya Sosva is central: its floral communities include species from Europe to the west, the classic taiga (forest, meadow, and marshes) of the West Siberian Plain, some species of the southern steppe, and som of the northern taiga / tundra. The most common tree in the reserve is the

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

, a relatively undemanding tree that is resistant to ground fire. 83% of the territory is forest, most of which is pine forest on sandy soil.

Siberian spruce ''Picea obovata'', the Siberian spruce, is a spruce native to Siberia, from the Ural Mountains east to Magadan Oblast, and from the Arctic tree line south to the Altay Mountains in northwestern Mongolia. Description and uses It is a medium-size ...

(Picea obovata) is found above the lowest valleys, and cedars are found mixed in small numbers. Throughout the reserve, waterlogged downed pine trees support communities of sphagnum moss, bog vegetation, small shrubs (rosemary, blueberries, cranberries) and sedge and grasses). Scientists on the reserve have recorded over 400 species of vascular plants, and more are being discovered every year. Scientists on the reserve have recorded 38 species of mammals, 209 of birds, 1 species of reptile (the lizard), 2 species of amphibians (The Siberian salamander and Rana frog), 16 species of fish (common species are pike, carp, perch) and many invertebrates. They are mostly typical of the middle taiga of the Western Siberian Plain: Siberian Chipmunk, brown bear, sable, ermine, elk, and grouse

Ecoeducation and access

As a strict nature reserve, the Little Sosva 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 are a number of 'ecotourist' routes in the reserve, however, that are open to the public, but require permits to be obtained in advance. About 3,000 tourists visit the reserve each year. The main office is in the city of Sovetsky.

References

External links