Vyzhnytsia National Nature Park
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Vyzhnytsia National Nature Park is a protected area in south-western
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 ...
which administration is located in the town Berehomet. The park has 87 employees with 6 of them working in the scientific section and 29 in the security service. The park was created for the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of natural landscapes of Bukovinian Carpathian with its unique historical and cultural complexes.


Nature conditions

It is one of the smallest National Parks in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Vyzhnytsia park represents a lowland part of the Carpathians with a fairly mild climate. Thermophilic species –
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
and
fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
dominate in the woods. The park is situated on the edge of the Outer Carpathians and the Precarpathian region. In the area of lowland Pokuttya-Bukovinian Carpathian terrain the mountain ranges are low, have smoothed peak crests, and only Smydovatyi ridge in the southern part of the park can be attributed to middle elevations of 1000 m or more above sea level. Overall the relief of the national park characterizes with soft contours, due to low resistance against denudation of flysch sediments, that compose it. Sharp terrain forms and slopes over 45 - 50° occur only in the western part of Cheremosh river in places of sandstones and erosional downcutting of riverbeds. Sometimes there are landslides and small sized screes. The landscape diversity of the park is determined by the affiliation to the basins of
Cheremosh river The Cheremosh River (, , ) is a river in western Ukraine, right-bank tributary of the river Prut. Description It is formed by confluence of two upper streams of the river ''Bilyi Cheremosh'' (White Cheremosh) and ''Chornyi Cheremosh'' (Black Che ...
and Siret river. Eastern part, where the Siret flows has more smoothed contours of mountain ridges, broad valleys of tributaries, fewer geological delaminations. The western part, where Cheremosh River flows is much more intensively dissected. It is the reason why steep slopes with outcrops of geological rocks, scenic cliffs, numerous waterfalls, gorges-gate are common here. The climate in the National Park is temperate continental, with ample and abundant moisture, not hot summers, mild winters and warm autumns. There are significant microclimatic differences between the two parts of the park, Siretska and Cheremoshska (generally, Cheremoska part is noticeably warmer) and within these areas - between the slopes of the southern and northern exposures. Usually in winter on the northern slopes is held a steady thick snow cover, while on its southern part there is no snow. The soil cover varies greatly because of its geomorphological and climatic differences within its territory


Biota


Flora

A variety of vegetation and flora of the national park is caused by its location on the border of two geobotanical districts: Sheshorsko-Krasnoyilske with its mountain spruce-fir-beech and beech-spruce-fir forests and Bolehivsko-Berehomet with the piedmont fir-beech forests. Through the park boundary of two floristic regions Chyvchyno-Hryniava and Carpathian passes. Rich forests are the main wealth of the park. Forests occupy more than 95% of its territory. The largest area of the park is occupied by fir-beech forests, rarely pure beech forests. Overall, beech and fir forests occupy 60% of wooded park area. At some parts of the park forests exist where trees of beech and fir reach a height of 40 m and 70–90 cm in diameter. Grasslands (meadows) take a relatively small area on the slopes and crests of ridges. Total number of vascular plants at the national park equals 960 species (including 40 species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine). There are 236 species of bryophytes. Among the endangered and rare species here is a significant group of orchids species, listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Nadborodnyk bezlystyi has the greatest value because it is one of the rarest orchid in Ukraine. Today only two places in Carpathians are known where rare orchids grow, and both of them are in the Vyzhnytsia NNP.


Fauna

Most vertebrates of the park are the typical representatives of the broadleaf and mixed forests in Europe (
white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...
, lesser spotted eagle,
edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...
,
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and hazel dormice,
wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
). The proportion of species of Mediterranean origin is insignificant, common representatives are: fire salamander, European tree frog, Aesculapian snake, etc. There is also a small amount of typical mountain species (
yellow-bellied toad The yellow-bellied toad (''Bombina variegata'') belongs to the order Anura, the family Bombinatoridae, and the genus of fire-bellied toads. The toad is distributed mainly across western Europe as well as a handful of countries in eastern Europ ...
, rock pipit, grey wagtail, etc.) and boreal species (
western capercaillie The western capercaillie (''Tetrao urogallus''), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse family and the largest of all extant grouse species. ...
, boreal owl, Ural owl,
lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...
,
brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
, etc.). Overall, the vertebrate fauna of the national park is represented of one species of cyclostomata, 20 species of
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
es, 12 species of
amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s, 7 species of
reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s, 141 species of
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s, 52 species of
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s. Of these 62 species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, and 11 species - the European Red List.


Cultural and historical significance

National Nature Park "Vyzhnytsia" is located within the original and attractive historical and ethnographic region -
Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...
, extremely rich in historical and cultural attractions. Within the limits of a park, most of them are concentrated in a town of Vyzhnytsia. This town was first mentioned in Moldova chronicles in 1501, it was famous for its old fairground tradition. The names of prominent figures of Ukrainian culture: Yuriy Fedkovych, Lesya Ukrayinka, Ivan Franko Marko Vovchok, Olga Kobylianska Mykhaylo Kotsyubinskyi and others are closely connected with Vyzhnytsia. Among the many cultural, historical and architectural monuments of national park stand Dmytrivska and Mykolayivska Church, Roman Catholic Church, a former synagogue - one of Hasidic shrines in Ukraine, home of Vyzhnytsia College of Applied Arts (formerly carving school) in Vyzhnytsia, Mykolayivska and Mykhaylivska churches, Yuryivska church and belfry in the town of Berehomet, Mykolayivska and Ivanivska churches with belfries in the village of Vyzhenka.


Recreational value

The area where the NNP is located has long been traditionally the center of North Bukovinian tourism. It had popular tourist routes. Today the active hiking trail routes have been restored, together with newly laid environmental educational trails, starting green tourism and fully working environmental and educational center in Berehomet and Nature Museum in the village of Zeleniv. Among tourists the most popular routes are "Stone Ring Park", "On Thick strands", "God knows". The territories neighbouring to the National Nature Park and some of itself are rich in mineral water. The tradition of using them reaches deep into millenniums. Water from a unique source "Lawns" (there are only three of such a kind in Europe) treated diseases of the digestive system and hemophilia. This water has more than 20 therapeutically active ions of various trace elements. In recent years two more source of medical waters have been discovered and their industrial development has already begun. Recreational resources of the park are rated 83 point out of 100.''А.Лісовська'' До питання про використання природоохоронних територій у контексті розвитку туризму та рекреації Карпатського регіону України
/ Раціональне природокористування і охорона природи. Наукові записки. № 2. 2009 (in Ukrainian)


Notes

{{authority control National parks of Ukraine Protected areas of Ukraine