The Central Black Earth Reserve is located in the forest-steppe on the Central Russian Upland within the Kursk region. An amazing variety of plants and reference virgin chernozems served as the basis for the creation here in 1935 of the Central Black Earth State Reserve named after Professor V.V. Alekhine (CCHZ).

Central Black Earth Reserve

The main goal of the reserve is the preservation of virgin steppe areas in combination with forests of various types as complexes of natural conditions of the northern steppes for the study of steppe biogeocenoses, the formation of black soil, the relationship between forest and steppe.

The Central Chernozem Reserve is located in the southwestern part of the Central Russian Upland, within the middle belt of the forest-steppe zone, and consists of six isolated and different in size areas: Streletsky (2046.0 ha), Cossack (1638.0 ha), Barkalovka (368.0 ha), Bukreevy Barm (259.0 ha), Zorinsky (495.1 ha) and Poyma Psla (481.3 ha). The total area of ​​the reserve is 5287.4 ha.

The Central Chernozem Reserve has received wide recognition in the scientific community of Russia and abroad.

Since 1979, it has been included in the system of biosphere reserves of the UNESCO world network.

In 1998, he received a diploma from the Council of Europe and joined the Association of Specially Protected natural areas Central Black Earth Region of Russia.

Since 2012, it has been part of the Emerald Network of Europe.

The reserve consists of a natural core and a three-kilometer protected zone surrounding it along the perimeter. The following ecosystems are represented on its territory:

• steppe and meadow - 49%
• forest - 36%
• wetlands - 8%
• others - 7% of the area

The Central Chernozem Reserve is located in the temperate continental climate zone with average annual temperature air +5.8°C . The coldest months are January, February. The annual amount of precipitation (570 mm) exceeds the amount of annual evaporation (408 mm).

The Central Chernozem Reserve is located within the Voronezh crystalline shield. The most ancient bedrocks that occur close to the day surface are deposits of the Upper Cretaceous age, represented by marls, chalk and flasks, as well as sandy deposits of the Paleogene.

Soils are a special value of the reserve. In terms of nutrient reserves, local black soils are unmatched in Europe. Under the steppes of the reserve, the thickness of the humus layer reaches 1 meter or even more.

The virgin steppe areas of the reserve were in communal use for several centuries (haymaking and grazing), thanks to which they have survived to this day in their original form. The steppe chernozems have never been touched either by the plow, or even more so by the plowshare of the modern plow.

There is no place in the whole world with a similar natural landscape. It is generally accepted that chernozems are formed in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, mainly under grassy vegetation. Feature of the Central Chernozem Reserve - chernozems under woodlands.

Powerful typical chernozems are found only on flat areas of watersheds, watershed and ravine slopes, occupying 50-55% of the area. They consist of three horizons - humus, transitional humus and carbonate. The humus horizon reaches 80-100 cm. The upper half-meter layer of the humus horizon is densely permeated with grass roots.

The transitional humus horizon is 20-40 cm, the humus content decreases to 1-2%. This horizon differs from the humus and underlying carbonate horizons in color. The carbonate horizon is 1.5 m or more, its lower boundary lies at a depth of about 2.5 m, and sometimes deeper, and coincides with the lower boundary of the soil profile. The depth of the upper boundary of the carbonate horizon is variable and subject to seasonal movements. The content of humus in the carbonate horizon is reduced to 0.4-0.6%.

The main wealth of the Central Chernozem Reserve is virgin meadow steppes, which represent the indigenous zonal type of herbaceous vegetation. The steppes of the reserve belong to the type of northern meadow steppes and differ sharply from the dry steppes of the south: the vegetation turns green and develops throughout the summer and does not have a dormant period. The nature reserve is characterized by such plants as coastal brome, ground reed grass, awnless bonfire, steppe timothy grass and others.

Also in the reserve you can meet Cretaceous gossamer, Cretaceous thyme, protozoan protozoa, coin-leaved sunflower, istod (hybrid and Siberian), Russian cornflower, meadow cornflower, yellow flax, Ukrainian flax, common mordovnik, kachim tall and panicled, cretaceous bedstraw. Quite remarkable are Shiverekia Podolskaya (a relic of the Tertiary period), as well as Yulia's wolfberry - a very rare relic species growing on chalk hills.

In the meadow-steppe communities there are those real steppe shrubs (steppe cherry, Russian broom, blackthorn) and semi-shrubs, in which the lower parts of the stems do not die off for the winter (Marshall's thyme, yellow flax). Of particular value is the vegetation of meadow steppes at chalk outcrops in three areas of the reserve - Barkalovka, Bukreevy Barmakh and Yamsky.

The basis of the herbage is low sedge, feather grass, fescue, desert sheep, Cretaceous thyme, protozoa protozoa, sickle-shaped volodushka, and coin-leaved sunflower. Endemics of the middle part of the Central Russian Upland are also found here - Kozo-Polyansky's breakwater, multi-veined volodushka, two-spike ephedra, Yulia's wolfberry, Shiverekiapodolskaya, Zavadsky's dendrantema.

The fauna of the Central Chernozem Reserve is represented by 50 species of mammals, which is about 70% of the theriofauna of the Kursk region. In the protected area are common: wild boar, roe deer, elk, fox, badger. In the steppe biotopes, the common mole rat is numerous. Only in the Central Chernozem Reserve is such a species as a dark mouse.

Of the insectivores, the common and small shrew, shrew, and hedgehog live in the reserve. The wood mouse hunts in the oak forests of the reserve. Its main food is the seeds of trees and shrubs, especially pears and apples. Yellow-throated, field and house mice also coexist with it.

V in large numbers in the reserve there is a hare, as the conditions of the forest-steppe are optimal for its habitat. But, unfortunately for the hare, there is also a predatory fox here, there are wolves. Of the representatives of ungulates, elk, roe deer and wild boar settled in the reserve.

The Central Black Earth Reserve is also rich in representatives of the bird kingdom. There are 227 bird species here. Passerines (102 species) and Falconiformes (26 species) are most fully represented. . The nuthatch, the black-headed warbler, the nightingale, the great tit, the European robin, the rattlesnake warbler, the meadow chaser, the skylark, the yellow wagtail, the rook, the common wheatear, the starling, the goldfinch, the hemp, the shrike, the swift, full list birds that have chosen these places.

Black kite, common buzzard, and common kestrel nest in the oak forests of all five sections of the reserve. The goshawk does not nest only in the Yamsky area, the hobby falcon nests in all areas, but in the oak forests of the Bukreeva Barma area - irregularly. Red-footed falcon nests irregularly. There are few natural hollows for owls in the reserve, but they successfully use the nests of corvids.

There are 5 species of reptiles in the reserve: agile and viviparous lizards, spindles, grass snakes and steppe vipers. Reptiles are more numerous than amphibians, and their numbers are more constant. This is due to the fact that 3 species - the steppe viper, the spindle and the viviparous lizard - are viviparous and the development of their eggs is practically independent of weather conditions. The quick lizard and the common snake lay their eggs in the soil, in moist, well-heated places, and in a cold rainy summer, the eggs may die due to lack of necessary conditions for incubation.

The most numerous are the steppe viper and the nimble lizard, the viviparous lizard and the spindle are less common. The legless spindle lizard is called by the local population smooth or copperhead for its tightly fitting smooth scaly cover and is usually considered poisonous snake. The common one is rare, only at the cordon in the Gorodnoy tract, in Barkalovka.

There are 10 species of amphibians: green toad, common spadefoot, moor, lake, pond and edible frogs, red-bellied toad, crested and common newts. There are almost no natural water sources in the reserve, and groundwater is deep. Only the swamp in the Barkalovka tract, three ponds in the Streletsky area and a reservoir in the protected zone of the Yamsky area do not dry out.

Of the invertebrates in the reserve, there are about 4 thousand species of insects alone. The fauna of the reserve is extremely rich in all kinds of beetles - 2039 species, butterflies - more than 856, Diptera - 519, Hymenoptera - 289 and bugs - 190 species. Here you can meet ground beetles, beetles, dark beetles, leaf beetles, weevils, barbels, lemongrass, urticaria, mourning, swallowtails, hawks and a huge number of other representatives.

From insects - 19 species are listed in the Red Book of Russia. The entomofauna of the reserve is not just a mixture of forest and steppe species. Many insects are distributed only in the forest-steppe. About 200 species of spiders have been reported from the areas of the reserve.

In 2003, on the territory of the central estate in the village. The reserve opened an Ecological Information Center with an area of ​​128 sq. m. It houses a study room, a library, a kitchen and sanitary block. Various environmental education events are held on the basis of the Ecocenter: video lectures, seminars, thematic lessons for local schoolchildren, environmental circles, and the Ecocenter library is replenished with methodological and environmental-biological literature, videos, photographs that are used by students and schoolchildren. About 1,000 people visit the Ecocenter every year.

Excursion trail No. 1 "Streletskaya steppe".
Ecological trail 0.5 km long. On the eco-trail, a panorama of the virgin steppe opens before the eyes of visitors. The guide acquaints visitors with the rules of behavior on the trail, with the various modes of conservation of the steppes, with the species composition of plants.

In the middle of the route along the trail, against the backdrop of a Scythian mound located in the protected zone, there is a cultural monument of the 11th century - a stone statue, the so-called "stone woman", made a thousand years ago by the Polovtsy, the route passes along the border of the mowed and unmowed sections of the steppe, where differences are visible between them grows the type of the Red Book of Russia - the fine-leaved peony.

Excursion trail No. 2 "Reserved oak forest".
The ecological trail, 2.0 km long, is circular. Starts from the village Zapovedny and goes along the forest road of the Dubroshina tract, leading to a forest clearing between quarters No. 21 and No. 22, along which the tourists return. At the beginning of the eco-trail, there is a story about different types of forest, coppice oak forests, species composition tree-shrub and herbaceous vegetation, about the animal world and traces of its vital activity.

After 200 meters there is a soil section with reference powerful typical chernozems, where tourists get acquainted with the characteristic features of the structure of these soils. In the middle of the route, the trail goes to a clearing and visitors get acquainted with military history the Dubroshin tract, where the guards tank unit stood before leaving for their the last fight to the edge of the fire Kursk Bulge. At the end of the route, visitors are shown scientific stations.

Six small islands of untouched marvelous nature in the Kursk region are our wealth and pride.

Visitor hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.

Photos of the Central Chernozem Reserve

Presentation on the topic: Central Black Earth state reserve named after Professor V.V. Alyokhina

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Presentation on the topic: Central Black Earth State Reserve named after Professor V.V. Alyokhina

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All six sections of the Central Chernozem Reserve are located within the middle zone of the forest-steppe, where natural natural (primary) communities in the conditions of flat watershed surfaces, called plakors, are meadow steppes and broadleaf forests predominantly from pedunculate oak. A much smaller area on certain landforms is occupied by other types of plant communities (true and steppe meadows, petrophytic steppes, wetland vegetation, thickets of shrubs, small-leaved forests, etc.). All six sections of the Central Chernozem Reserve are located within the middle zone of the forest-steppe, where natural natural (primary) communities in the conditions of flat watershed surfaces, called plakors, are meadow steppes and broad-leaved forests, mainly of English oak. A much smaller area on certain landforms is occupied by other types of plant communities (true and steppe meadows, petrophytic steppes, wetland vegetation, thickets of shrubs, small-leaved forests, etc.). According to the data for the entire period of flora studies, on modern territory In the Central Chernozem Reserve (5287.4 ha), by the end of 2010, the growth of 1287 species of vascular plants, including adventive (adventive) herbaceous plants and woody introduced plants, was noted (published and typewritten materials).

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Mushrooms The kingdom of mushrooms in the Central Chernozem Reserve has about a thousand species. 12 species of mushrooms living in the CCR are poisonous and can cause not only poisoning, but also death. First of all, this group should include the deadly poisonous pale grebe. Mushrooms entered human life not only as a source of tasty food, but also as natural healers under the most various diseases. More than 40 species of mushrooms inhabit the Central Chernobyl medicinal properties. The use of red fly agaric for rheumatism, neuralgia, tuberculosis, atherosclerosis, vasospasms and epilepsy is well known. False mushrooms were used as a laxative and emetic, and even cholera was treated with pale grebe. 2 species of mushrooms of the reserve are listed in the Red Book of Russia: branched tinder fungus or ram mushroom /Polyporus umbellatus/ is found in the Streltsy area, its fruiting body can reach more than 10 kg of weight and varnished tinder fungus /Ganoderma lucidum/, which is registered only in the Streletsky and Cossack areas .

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Steppe vegetation Steppe vegetation Steppes are the main value for which the reserve was created. The steppes presented on its territory belong to the northern, or meadow. The Central Black Earth Reserve includes the largest of them - the Streletskaya (730 ha) and Cossack (720 ha) steppes. Relic vegetation ("Country of Living Fossils") Of particular value is the vegetation of the southeast of the Kursk region (the upper reaches of the Oskol River basin), where peculiar calcephytic-petrophytic steppes are located, located on slopes and hills with close underlayment of Cretaceous deposits. For their protection, in 1969, sections of the Barkalovka Reserve and Bukreevy Barmy were organized here. The plant communities growing in these habitats are known as "lowered alps". They are stable over time, are characterized by a dense herbage of small average height, a noticeable participation of shrubs and semi-shrubs, a rich floristic composition and a significant concentration of rare species.

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Meadow vegetation Meadow vegetation Meadows are usually divided into floodplain and continental (located on watershed spaces). Their vegetation is represented by rather poor communities with a predominance of trivial meadow or weed-meadow species, among which couch grass, narrow-leaved and marsh bluegrass, yarrow and common dandelion predominate. Bog and aquatic vegetation On the territory of the Central Chernozem Reserve, the bog type of vegetation has a relatively small distribution. In the areas of Barkalovka, Zorinsky, Poyma Psla, grassy swamps are represented, occupying a total of about 260 hectares. Floodplain grass bogs are mainly widespread: reed, mannic, sedge, cattail. The most abundant in these communities are cereals (common reed, large manna, graying reed grass, marsh bluegrass), sedges (sharp, soddy, swollen, fox, coastal, false sucrose, vesiculate, etc.), cattails (narrow-leaved and broad-leaved), river horsetail, forbs. Forest vegetation The forests of the reserve are located in the southwestern part of the Central Russian Upland within the central strip of the forest-steppe zone and are part of the Kursk forest-steppe district. Due to the increased human colonization of the forest-steppe landscape, they are represented by separate forest tracts or larger tracts, and, as a rule, are surrounded by agricultural land.

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Rare plant species Rare plant species Currently, 13 species of vascular plants from the Red Book are known to grow on the territory of the Central Chernozem Reserve Russian Federation(2008), which is 65% of the "Red Book Russian species”, reliably noted in the Kursk region. Basically, these are species located near the borders of their range: in the north - thin-leaved peony, Zalessky's feather grass, the most beautiful, pubescent and pinnate, leafless iris (iris); in the south - Lozel's elk forest; as well as species with a fragmented range - a real lady's slipper, Russian and chess hazel grouses, upland wolfberry (Yulia's wolfberry), Alaunian cotoneaster and Kozo-Polyansky's prolomnik

State natural reserves At present, there are 101 state nature reserves in Russia. nature reserve with a total area of ​​about 340,000 sq. km. in all natural zones from polar deserts to subtropics in 70 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

CENTRAL DISTRICT

CENTRAL BLACK EARTH RESERVE

Central Black Earth them. prof. V.V. Alekhine Biosphere Reserve

Date of establishment Central Black Earth State Natural biosphere reserve them. V.V. Alekhin was created on February 10, 1935 by the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR.

The purpose of the creation The main objectives of the reserve, defined during its creation, were: the preservation of virgin steppe areas in combination with forests of various types (oak forests, pine forests, "aspen bushes"), as complexes natural conditions northern steppes to study steppe biogeocenoses, the process of formation of chernozem, the relationship between the forest and the steppe, the influence of the forest in the fight against drought, for the scientific justification of a more profitable use of the natural conditions of the steppes of the northern and middle steppe belt of the European part of the USSR for agriculture and forestry.

Geographical position The reserve is located in the southwestern part of the Central Russian Upland within the middle belt of the forest-steppe zone, on the territory of the Medvensky, Manturovsky, Gorshechensky districts of the Kursk region. Until 1999, it also included the Yamskaya Steppe site in the Belgorod Region, now it is included in the Belogorye Nature Reserve

Area 5287.4 ha Number of clusters 6 (Streletsky plot with an area of ​​2046 ha, Kazatsky plot with an area of ​​1638 ha, Barkalovka (2 plots) - 368 ha, Bukreevy Barmy (2 plots) - 259 ha, Zorinsky - 495.1, Psel river floodplain (2 plots) - 481.3 ha.

The most protected species Mammals wild boar badger

roe fox

mole rat

Also, 5 species of reptiles were noted in the reserve: agile and viviparous lizards, spindleworm, common snake, steppe viper and 10 species of amphibians. About 30 species of fish live in the Psyol River. Of the invertebrates in the reserve, there are about 4 thousand species of insects alone. There are numerous beetles - 2039 species, butterflies - 856, Diptera - 451, Hymenoptera - 289 and bugs - 190. 23 species of insects are listed in the Red Book of Russia. About 200 species of spiders inhabit the areas of the reserve.

Reptiles or reptiles viviparous steppe lizard viper

Birds 210 species of birds have been recorded. The meadow steppes are inhabited by many partridges, quails, larks, and harriers. The common buzzard, black kite, common kestrel, goshawk and hobby falcon nest in the oak forests of the reserve. A rare species, the pygmy eagle, nests relatively regularly on the territory of the Barkalovka site.

pygmy eagle

Flora The flora of the Central Chernozem Reserve, protected on its territory, is unusually rich and diverse. 1276 species of higher plants are known in the reserve, which is more than 70% of the flora of the Kursk region. 9 species are listed in the Red Book of Russia: upland wolfberry (v. Yulia), Kozo-Polyansky's breakwater, feather grass, feathery feather grass, beautiful feather grass, real lady's slipper, thin-leaved peony, Russian hazel grouse, Alaunian cotoneaster. 145 species of mosses, more than 200 species of algae, 80 species of lichens and about 800 species of fungi have been registered, two of which (umbellate griffon and pistil hornwort) are listed in the Red Book of Russia.

The Central Black Earth State Nature Biosphere Reserve named after Professor V.V. Alekhin is a state nature reserve located on the territory of the Kursk region.

The boundaries of the reserve have changed several times. The reserve is located in the southwestern part of the Central Russian Upland within the middle zone of the forest-steppe zone, on the territory of the Medvensky, Manturovsky, Gorshechensky districts of the Kursk region. Area - 5287.4 hectares. Number of clusters: 6 (Streletsky plot with an area of ​​2046 ha, Kazatsky plot with an area of ​​1638 ha, Barkalovka (2 plots) - 368 ha, Bukreevy Barmy (2 plots) - 259 ha, Zorinsky - 495.1, Psel River floodplain (2 plots) - 481.3 ha.

Story

The territory of the current Kursk region at the end of the first - beginning of the second millennium was occupied by vast expanses of steppe with ravines and gullies, overgrown with forests. Huge herds of tarpans, aurochs, saigas, and wild asses grazed here. An uncountable number of small rodents and marmots lived. Such large birds as bustards and little bustards nested. Being on the border of the "Wild Field" and the Slavic settlements, the forest-steppe, apparently experienced a double pressure, both from the nomadic peoples and from the princely squads, the sedentary northern population of the Semya. In the 16th century, the main occupation of the inhabitants of Kursk, which defended the southern borders of the Russian state, was agriculture. The raids of the Crimean Tatars required a more reliable cover of the southern border. The government began to attract local and alien people to the service, they accepted Don and Zaporozhye free Cossacks. Streltsy and gunners were sent here. On June 1, 1626, according to the letter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the steppes near Kursk were transferred to serving people - Cossacks and archers of the Kursk fortress exclusively for grazing and haymaking. Thus, the protected, never plowed steppe was preserved.

"... In the summer of 7124 June, on the 1st day of the Sovereign, Tsareva, and the Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of All Russia, a letter attributed to the clerk Mikhail Danilov and on the investigation of the voivode Ivan Vasilyevich Volynsky gave an extract to the Kursk archers on their land, which was given to them as a city. .." "... yes, they were given to the archers in the Kursk district in the suburban camp across the river for the Family to hay Petrina Dubrov, and near that Petrina Dubrov, between nine oaks, and now there are seven oaks. from the midnight side from the mixed lands to the river to Mlodat and up Mlodat ... and along the wild field and along the oak forests of the streltsy hay mowing, according to the estimate of hay, six thousand kopecks ... "

Central state archive ancient acts fund 1317 inventory 2 No. 10 sheet 47, sheet 10

According to Professor V.V. Alekhin in the last 300-400 years, meadow-steppe vegetation in the modern territory of the reserve was formed under the influence of mowing and grazing, and in some cases on the site of forest areas. In the Streletskaya steppe, early spring grazing, haymaking, and autumn grazing on the aftermath (grass regrown after mowing) alternated. Periodically, harrowing was used, during which the moss cover was torn off, sods of cereals were broken. Burning was used to improve pastures. These Kursk steppes were first seen like this in 1907 by V.V. Alekhin, being a final year student at Moscow University.

In 1909, the first article by V.V. Alekhin “Essay on vegetation and its successive change in the Streltsy steppe area near Kursk”, and in 1910 - “ Cossack steppe Kursk district in connection with the surrounding vegetation”, where he visited a year later.

In 1925, Professor V. N. Khitrovo in the book “Vegetation of the Oryol province. The nature of the Oryol Territory" (the territory of the reserve used to be part of this province) wrote: "Looking at these last remnants of the colorful harmony of the region, an annoying thought arises: can we ... not leave for ourselves, but plow up the last remnants of the steppe vegetation, and children ours will only read from books about the former beauty of our land, available for enjoyment to every one. ”In the same 1925, professor at Moscow University V.V. Kursk. The decision to establish the Central Black Earth Reserve was made 10 years later.

Central Black Earth State Reserve named after prof. Alekhin was created on February 10, 1935 on the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions by a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. The total area was set as "about 4536 ha". In the resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee dated February 10, 1935, on the organization of the CCR, the following tasks were outlined: “Preservation of virgin steppe areas in their combination with forests of all types (oak forests, pine forests, aspen bushes) as complexes of natural conditions of the northern steppes, for the study of steppe biocenoses , the processes of formation of chernozem, the relationship between the forest and the steppe. Influence of the forest in the fight against drought, scientific substantiation of the most profitable use of the natural conditions of the steppes of the northern and middle strip of the European part of the USSR for agriculture and forestry.

The buffer zone of the reserve was formed by the decision of the Executive Committee of the Kursk Regional Council of People's Deputies No. 380 of July 2, 1971. In 1988, it was reapproved and expanded by 3 km (Decision of the Executive Committee of the Kursk Regional Council of People's Deputies No. 294 of November 17, 1988). Currently total area The buffer zone is 28,662 hectares (according to the Regulations on the federal state institution "Central Chernozem State Natural Biosphere Reserve named after V.V. Alekhin", approved by Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia No. 530 dated 10.06.2003).

The reserve was awarded a diploma of the Council of Europe.

Activity

The Central Black Earth Reserve became one of the first biosphere reserves in the USSR (1978). The reserve studies the natural course of processes in the natural complexes of virgin meadow-steppe lands, forest-steppe oak forests and their contact zone on the Russian Plain, as well as the influence of the anthropogenic factor on these complexes, and measures are being developed that contribute to the conservation and restoration of indigenous biogeocenoses (natural communities). One of the objects of protection and study is chernozem. Its humus horizon of a lumpy-granular structure, penetrated in the upper part by grass rhizomes, reaches 90 cm. Typical chernozems that have not been plowed are now extremely rare. These are benchmarks that can be used for comparison when studying the effects of modern agriculture on soils. Since 1975, the reserve has been used to develop technologies for capturing natural objects from space.

Flora and fauna

Connected in vegetation specific traits northern or meadow steppes and oak forests. Animal world also has features inherent in snowy natural zones - it presents both typically forest and typically steppe forms.

1287 species of vascular plants are registered on the territory of the reserve, including adventive (adventive) herbaceous plants and woody introduced species. Among them are 86 rare species, and some of them are threatened with extinction, so their protection is of particular importance. Relics (“living fossils”, as B. M. Kozo-Polyansky said back in 1931) are considered to be such species as: Kozo-Polyansky’s breakwater, multi-veined volodushka, upland wolfberry, Podolskaya shiverekia, Zavadsky’s dendrantema. They have broken ranges, parts of which lie in the mountains of the Urals, Siberia or Western Europe. On the territory of the sections of the reserve created in 1969 - Barkalovka and Bukreevy Barmy - relict vegetation occupies about 25 hectares. The most prominent role is played by the evergreen shrub of the wolfberry upland. In May, during its lush flowering, the slopes acquire a pink hue, and a pleasant aroma reminiscent of lilacs is in the air. Islands of steppe vegetation with all the diversity of life forms, the complexity of the structure, the specifics of seasonal processes are priceless. The main components of the steppe communities include almost 140 plant species! About 200 species of macromycete mushrooms grow in the reserve, which are visible to the naked eye.

There are 50 species of mammals in the reserve. 226 species of birds are registered on the territory of the reserve, which is about 80% of all birds of the Kursk region, of which more than 90 species nest on the territory of the reserve. In the fauna of the reserve there are 35 species of fish, 10 - amphibians, 5 - reptiles, 191 species of spiders: 96 in the steppe, 105 in the forest and on the edges, more than 4 thousand species of insects.

The roe deer is a native inhabitant of the forest-steppe, found today, unfortunately, only in relatively few areas of this natural area. In addition to roe deer, speckled ground squirrel, common mole rat (sometimes often found in the steppes), hare, fox, badger, pine and stone martens, etc. are typical for the fauna of the reserve. violate the natural balance and have to be regulated. They do the same with the wolf, which has found reliable shelters in the protected forests.

But birds are welcome inhabitants of the reserve. Where else can one observe such an accumulation of gray partridge and quail, crowded agriculture in other places! Swifts, swallows, golden bee-eaters flicker in the air, arriving here to feed from tens of kilometers. The trills of the famous Kursk nightingales in June days are heard from every copse, from every curtain of bushes. And the steppe fills with the singing of larks. Quite frequent encounters with kites, steppe harriers, common buzzards, hawks convince us that the world of raptors is not yet completely impoverished. Here is a rare predator honey buzzard crossing the open space between two forest tracts...

Blessed Kursk steppes

Central -Chernozem Reserve , territorially located in the forest-steppe zone of the Kursk region, has the complex name "natural, biospheric". This means that the territory of the reserve is studied by specialists in various fields - chemists, climatologists, geologists, biologists. The value of the reserve lies in its land, vegetation, air, climate.
Found this amazing place Professor V.V. Alekhin, and marked the boundaries of the protected area at the beginning of the twentieth century, and officially the Kursk steppes were named a protected area in 1935. This is one of the oldest reserves in Russia, and it is simply amazing how time has not regenerated the herbs inherent in this area. Now the reserve bears the name of Professor V.V. Alekhin and covers an area of ​​5287.4 hectares.
The second name of the Central Black Earth Reserve is the Streletskaya Steppe, after the name of the Streletskaya Sloboda, a historically famous place in the Kursk region. Interesting fact: with the same name in Kursk, the Streltsy Steppe balm is produced, the basis of which is herbs cut in the protected area.

Fauna of the Kursk Reserve
The vast expanses of the steppe are cut through by unusual bends of ravines and gullies, on the slopes of which groves and mixed forests. For a long time, saigas, kulans, roe deer, and aurochs have been found here. The steppe is inhabited by small rodents, mainly marmots, spotted ground squirrels, mole rats, badgers, and martens. Bustards, larks, little bustards like to nest in dense tall grass. Families of vociferous nightingales, which are a symbol of the Kursk region, settle in the bush.
Wild boars and wolves found shelter in the protected forests. The number of wolves has to be regulated, but small animals and birds are considered privileged residents here. Often there are kites, steppe harriers, buzzards, hawks, honey beetles. All these birds are rare predators today, and in the streltsy steppe in the early morning and on a hot day you can see the flight of fast birds crossing the sky, or proudly soaring large birds.
There are 50 species of mammals, 226 species of birds. In rivers and lakes there are 35 species of fish, 10 species of amphibians. The steppe is distinguished by a large number of rare insects living in the grass, on the forest edges.
Flora of the Kursk Reserve
The steppe vegetation of the Central Chernozem Reserve is distinguished by the fact that the herbs can be harvested twice during the warm season. Early spring haymaking and autumn haymaking alternate along the aftermath - the grass that has grown after the first mowing.
The colorful harmony of shrubs, grasses, forests, ravines is preserved from generation to generation. Virgin steppe areas, forests, oak forests, groves, pine forests, even isolated shrubs are preserved. All this is a complex of natural conditions of the steppe zone.
relic plants, which are called "living fossils", are considered to be a prolomnik, a volodushka, a wolfberry, a dendrantema, a shivekeria. 1287 plant species grow on the lands of the reserve, including adventitious grasses and 86 rare plant species that are threatened with extinction.
Modern scientists study the steppe biocenosis, the process of formation of black soil, the relationships that develop in nature between the forest, the steppe and the living creatures that inhabit them. Modern measures for the protection of rare and endangered plants and animals are being studied.
Polovtsian statue - business card Streltsy steppe

Refers to the monuments of the IX-XIII centuries, when there was a custom to erect idols. The name "baba" in translation from the Turkic language means "ancestor" or "grandfather-father". The statues symbolize the immortality of warriors, the feminine power capable of reviving nature, the fertility of the earth.
In addition to the ancient stone woman, in the Kursk steppes you can see the modern Museum of Nature, the Ecological Information Center, and the botanical nursery. Interesting cognitive excursions, environmental education events are held here.

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