Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve is one of the most important protected areas Of the Far East and carries all the wealth and splendor of the Far Eastern nature.
Location
The reserve was founded in 1935 on the territory of the Krasnoarmeisky, Terneisky and Dalnegorsky districts of the Primorsky Territory. The total area of the reserve is 387.2 thousand hectares, of which 2.9 thousand hectares are in the sea area and 4 thousand hectares in the Abrek tract.
The reserve is located on the eastern and western slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountain system and stretches for 1200 km in length, with a width of 250 km.
The relief of the reserve is very varied - it is the rocky shores of the sea coast, and a number of plateaus, ridges and mountain ranges, separated by deep valleys of numerous picturesque rivers.
The initial goal of creating the reserve was to protect and restore the sable population, which was almost completely exterminated at that time. Today the reserve is a place of protection and scientific observation of the pride of the animal world of the Far East - the Amur tiger.
The Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve includes a volcanic field, the last eruption in which was observed 8900 years ago. Today it is a peaceful and quiet place. The pride of the reserve is the Tardoki-Yani mountain (2090 m) - the highest peak of the Sikhote-Alin ridge. Among other significant peaks of the reserve are the mountains: Podnebesnaya, Snezhnaya, Shishkina, Tumannaya, Camel and others. The slopes of the mountains are very steep, and the mountains themselves are composed of quartz porphyries, granites, gabbrodiorites, sandstones, basalts, shale and crystalline limestones.
Numerous mountain rivers and springs flow through the reserve, the most important of which is the Columbus River, the right tributary of the large Ussurka. Three rivers of the reserve flow into the sea: Dzhigitovka, Taezhnaya and Serebryanka. The most significant lakes of the reserve are Golubichnoye, Solontsovoye and Blagodatnoye.
The main objects of protection in the reserve:
- yew groves and cedar-spruce forests;
- rhododendron Fori, Jesse primrose, Chinese magnolia vine;
- ecosystem of the Abrek tract;
- goral habitats;
- lakes Blagodatnoye, Golubichnoye, Solontsovye lakes.
Climate
In winter, the reserve is dominated by continental cold air masses, cool oceanic summer. Foggy rainy summers are observed in the coastal areas of the reserve; lingering cool spring; dry and clear autumn and windy winter with little snow. When intruding cyclones with Sea of Japan short-term thaws are possible in winter. Average winter temperatures: 13-20 degrees below zero, summer temperatures: 18-30 degrees.
Nature
The vegetation of the reserve has a pronounced altitudinal zonation. Far Eastern herbaceous and shrub vegetation is observed from sea level to heights of 110-150 meters; oak forests grow up to heights of 500 meters. Spruce-cedar broadleaf forests prevail at heights of 200-300m (less often at heights of 500-600m), fir-spruce - at heights from 560 to 1200m, stone-birch - from 1150 to 1300m; and at heights of more than 1300 meters, thickets of dwarf cedar and mountain tundra are observed.
The river valleys are covered with poplar, chozenia, willow, alder and ash-elm forests.
Of the tree species, the dominant species are Korean cedar, Mongolian oak, Ayan spruce, white fir, yellow and woolly birch, Amur linden, small-leaved maple, chozenia, Maximovich's poplar, valley elm and Manchurian ash. The species composition of shrub vegetation is very diverse in the reserve, including: mock orange, variegated and Manchurian hazel, Eleutherococcus prickly, spirea, honeysuckle, euonymus. From herbaceous plants here grow: sedges, kochedyzhniki, shitnikov, cocoa, asters, basilists and others. 40 species of plants growing in the reserve are considered rare. There are also plants from the Red Book: pointed yew, short-fruited rhododendron (Fori) and Sikhotinsky rhododendron.
In total, the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve has:
- higher vascular plants - at least 1149 species;
- bryophytes - about 120 species;
- lichens - about 368 species;
- algae - 670 species;
- mushrooms - about 563 species;
- higher mammals - 63 species;
- birds - 342 species;
- reptiles and amphibians - 15 species;
- river fish - 16 species;
- marine life - about 600 species;
- insects - about 3500 species.
The objects of special protection in the reserve are the Amur tiger, the rarest representative of the artiodactyl family - the goral, as well as the Red Book animals and birds: sika deer, mandarin duck, Siberian grouse and scaly merganser.
In the reserve, the following are common: brown and Himalayan bears, sable, harza, Siberian weasel, American mink, wild boar, roe deer, musk deer, red deer, jay, Ussuri cormorant, white-belted swift, hazel grouse, nuthatch, black-headed tit, nutcracker, raccoon forest dog, Far East spotted deer, osprey, fish owl, crested eagle, Steller's shoulder and white-tailed eagles, black stork.
Cultural criteria: x
Year of inclusion in the List world heritage: 2001
This most valuable mountain-forest area is located in the south of the Russian Far East, in the Primorsky Territory, and has access to the shores of the Sea of Japan (between Plastun and Terney). The heritage site includes, firstly, the Sikhote-Alin biosphere reserve(401, 4 thousand hectares, created in 1935) and, secondly, a small zoological reserve Goralovy (4.7 thousand hectares), which is located on the coast of the sea a little northeast of the reserve.
The site of the heritage site located at the eastern end temperate zone Eurasia, covers both the eastern (steeper) and western (more gentle) slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountain system, approximately in its central part. In this place, the mountains appear in the form of a complex labyrinth of monotonous, with numerous spurs, medium-altitude ridges, almost completely covered with forests. Here you can see narrow (sometimes canyon-like) intermontane valleys and openings, along which small but fast rapids flow; uplifting outlier mountains (magmatic intrusions); kurums - stone deposits; coastal rocky cliffs (with characteristic kekura teeth), sometimes steeply going into the blue waters of the Sea of Japan. The maximum elevation is 1598 m, on the top of Mount Glukhomanki.
Due to the humid monsoon climate, dense coniferous-broad-leaved forests have formed here, where such species as Korean cedar, Ayan spruce, white fir, Mongolian oak, Japanese elm, small-leaved maple, Maximovich poplar, birch (Daurian, yellow, stone) prevail. This type of forest is recognized as one of the richest and most original species composition throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and its largest undisturbed massifs have survived in the Far East of Russia. The floristic richness of this forest is impressive: more than 1000 species of higher vascular plants have been recorded.
Feature mixed forests Sikhote-Alin, which cover almost 99% of the reserve's area, are multi-tiered and mosaic. Wood species are found in a variety of combinations: these are pure cedar, and cedar-oak or cedar-spruce forests, or cedar with the participation of oak, linden and yellow birch. Elm and poplar are found along the floodplains; there is a coastal belt of oak forests, interspersed with wet meadows. Fir-spruce taiga grows high in the mountains, thickets of stone birch and dwarf cedar, which, in turn, are replaced by mountain tundra, grow even higher. And the forest owes its impassability to lianas - grapes, actinidia and lemongrass, as well as tall ferns and dense broad grass.
The most amazing property of the local flora and fauna is their "synthetic" character: a mixture of subtropical (typical of Southeast Asia) and taiga (Siberian) species, which occurs due to the location of the region on an ancient path of dispersal of species, passing from north to south along the entire Pacific coast ... Among the plants, the first category includes, for example, Amur velvet, Manchurian walnut, aralia and eleutherococcus, and the second category includes such representatives of the Okhotsk flora as white fir and ayan spruce. Among the animals, you can also cite examples of typical "southerners" (tiger, Himalayan bear, kharza marten, Indian cuckoo) and "northerners" ( Brown bear, lynx, wolverine, sable, elk, red deer, musk deer, chipmunk, ermine).
A number of rare and endangered species, as well as many endemics and relics, are noted in these parts. Among the plants, we note the pointed yew, the Sikhotinsky and Fori rhododedrons, which are listed in the Red Book of Russia. It also includes many local animals and birds: tiger, goral, Japanese and black cranes, fish eagle owl, white-tailed eagle, white-breasted or Himalayan, bear, black stork, scaly merganser, grouse grouse, mandarin duck and a number of others. Let us also mention the inhabitants of the coastal zone - these are a variety of seabirds, the seal-seal, etc. The general statistics on the animal world is as follows: mammals - more than 60 species, birds - more than 370, reptiles and amphibians - ten species each, fish - more than 20 ...
Among rare animals, the Amur, or Ussuri, tiger comes out on top in importance - one of the 5 subspecies of this beautiful, graceful and powerful predator that have survived to date. The Amur subspecies is the northernmost, largest and most "furry". Its modern range is very small - the south of the Russian Far East, plus the adjacent regions of China and North Korea... In total, there are about 450 animals left here, and almost all of them "live" on Russian territory, in Primorye, and there are about 35-40 tigers in the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve, which is considered the largest population of this predator. In the International Red Data Book, the Amur tiger appears as a critically endangered animal.
Another rare animal is the Amur goral, whose favorite habitat is the inaccessible rocky shores of the Sea of Japan. Although it can be found on the territory of the reserve, a special reserve is also intended for its protection. Total amount goral in these places - 170 heads (according to the counts as of January 1, 2003). This hoofed animal is included in the International Red Data Book under the category of “vulnerable species”. This site is on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website whc.unesco.org/en/list/766
Area: 406 thousand hectares
Criteria: (x)
Status: Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001
Component objects:
Sikhote-Alin State Natural Biosphere Reserve with a buffer zone and the regional reserve "Goraliy"
The first description of the nature of the Central Sikhote-Alin was made by Vladimir Arseniev at the beginning of the 20th century. Then he noted the uniqueness, diversity, mosaic nature of the natural systems of the mountain forests of Sikhote-Alin, which he defined as the "Great Forest".
The property includes flat and mountain tundra, one of the largest remaining primary boreal forests in Europe, an extensive wetland system. Observing this protected area for more than 50 years provides invaluable information about the natural processes that determine the biodiversity of taiga ecosystems.
The Russian south of the Far East is one of the largest and least affected by mankind regions, where natural ancient coniferous-deciduous and deciduous forests have been preserved. The region is located on the great path of settlement of plants and animals along the Pacific coast of Asia from the tropics to temperate latitudes... In this regard, warm and cold-loving representatives of flora and fauna live here, including many endemic Manchurian species, Okhotsk species and even subtropical ones.
There are many rare and endangered species in the reserve, a significant part of which is preserved only within its limits. The flora of higher plants here numbers about 1,200 species, more than 370 species of birds are known within the Central Sikhote-Alin, and 71 of mammals.
The mountainous country of Sikhote-Alin is the last large integral territory in the world inhabited by the Amur tiger. Many other rare and endangered species endemic for the region need protection - Amur goral, white-breasted bear, Japanese and black crane, black stork, scaled merganser, fish owl, ginseng, rhododendron Fori, etc. Today Sikhote-Alin nature reserve- the largest well-protected natural reserve in the belt of coniferous-deciduous forests of Eurasia and America.
Picturesque relief, deep rivers, combined with an exceptional variety of flora and fauna - exotic plants and animals reminiscent of the tropics, give the nature of Sikhote-Alin unique features. There are many objects of aesthetic and recreational value: rock massifs among the taiga, waterfalls, lakes and rapids, bizarre stone outcrops, reefs, sandy bays on the coast of the Sea of Japan. On the territory of the reserve and adjacent territory there are numerous monuments of different archaeological cultures.
Category: nature
The southern part of the Far East within the borders Russian Federation is a place of preservation of the most virgin and one of the largest zones, where amazing coniferous-deciduous forests grow. Due to the location of these protected areas on the path of settlement of flora and fauna, passing along the Asian coast The Pacific from tropical to temperate latitudes, there is a plexus of heterogeneous representatives of the southern and northern flora with fauna. The reserve is rightfully considered the last habitat of many rare species of plants and animals. There are over a thousand species of all kinds of plants, bird colonies number more than 350 species, while the number of mammals exceeds 70 species.
Separately, it should be said that Central Sikhote-Alin is the last refuge for the disappearing Amur tiger... Others also live here rare species animals: white-breasted bear, black stork, black and Japanese crane, Amur goral, scaled merganser and many others.
Picturesque landscapes dotted with deep rivers, combined with an outstanding variety of flora and fauna, the presence of exotic species of animals and plants, make the nature of Sikhote-Alin unique and inimitable. There are also many recreational facilities here, such as: rock massifs surrounded by taiga, calm lakes, noisy waterfalls and river rapids, outlandish stone outliers, sandy bays on the coast of the Sea of Japan, reefs and other aesthetic elements of the local nature.
In 2001, the territory of Central Sikhote-Alin was included in the list of the World natural heritage UNESCO.
