Nurgush Nature Reserve (russian: Нургуш заповедник) 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) One of the few

intact forest landscape An intact forest landscape (IFL) is an unbroken natural landscape of a forest ecosystem and its habitat–plant community components, in an extant forest zone. An IFL is a natural environment with no signs of significant human activity or habitat f ...

s of Northern European Russia, virtually untouched by human activities. It is designed to protect the floodplain complexes of the

Vyatka River The Vyatka (; rus, Вя́тка, p=ˈvʲatkə; tt-Cyrl, Нократ, translit=Noqrat; chm, Виче, Viče; udm, Ватка, Vatka) is a river in Kirov Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, a right tributary of the Kama.

, numerous lakes and coniferous-deciduous forests. The reserved is situated in the

Kotelnichsky District Kotelnichsky District (russian: Коте́льничский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #387-ZO and municipalLaw #284-ZO district (raion), one of the thirty-nine in Kirov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the west of the oblast. The area ...

of Kirov Oblast. The reserve was created in 1994, but has been a protected area since at least 1952 when it was organized as a beaver reserve; it covers an area of .

Topography

The terrain of Nurgush is typical floodplain, occupying a broad meandering section of the Vyatka River. The highest elevation is 93 meters above sea level; the typical ground level above the Vyatka is 5–6 meters. Among the lowing rolling ridges are numerous ponds, vernal pools, oxbow lakes, and other forms of wetlands, and in the river sandbars, shoals, and small sandy islands. The area floods almost completely every spring for a few days. In non-flood times, about 20% of the territory is wetland. These areas are mostly

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

-grass or sedge-grass. The reserve is located entirely on the floodplain, so it does not pick cover then entire local ecosystem; the surrounding elevated terraces are mostly forested in pine or spruce, but with widespread patches of alder and birch in disturbed areas.

Ecoregion and climate

Nurgush is located in the ''

Scandinavian and Russian taiga The Scandinavian and Russian taiga is an ecoregion within the taiga and boreal forests biome as defined by the WWF classification (ecoregion PA0608). It is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in ...

'' ecoregion. It is situated in Northern Europe between

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south and stretches across

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, Sweden,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and the northern part of European Russia. The climate of Nurgush is '' Humid continental climate, warm 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 ...

(Dfb)). This climate is characterized by large swings in temperature, both diurnally and seasonally, with mild summers and cold, snowy winters. Average annual temperature in January is -13.9 C, and +18 C in July. Average annual precipitation on the reserve is 583 mm.

Flora and fauna

Forests cover 72% of the territory. The most common birch, aspen, alder forests and willow thickets. A quarter of the territory is covered with conifers. Scientists of the reserve and its buffer zone have observed 30 species of fish, 8 species of amphibians, 6 species of reptiles, 197 bird species (141 nesting, 38 migrating, 9 stray, 9 wandering), and 47 species of mammals. The area has been protected from commercial activity at least since 1952, when the site was organized as a beaver reserve.

Ecotourism

As a strict nature reserve, the 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 several 'ecotourist' routes in the reserve, however, that are open to the public, but require permits to be obtained in advance. The main office is in the city of Kirov.

References

External links