Caucasian Biosphere Reserve is a state natural reserve. The full
name is the Kh. G. Shaposhnikov Caucasian State Natural Biosphere
Reserve. The largest in territory and the oldest, specially
protected natural area in the North Caucasus. Located within three
subjects of the Russian Federation - Krasnodar Territory, the
Republic of Adygea and the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.
Caucasian Biosphere Reserve
is the legal successor of the Caucasian bison reserve, established
on May 12, 1924, located in the Western Caucasus, on the border of
the temperate and subtropical climatic zones. It is the largest
mountain forest reserve in Europe. The total area of the reserve
is more than 280 thousand hectares, of which 177.3 thousand hectares
are in the Krasnodar Territory.
On February 19, 1979, by the
decision of UNESCO, the Caucasian Reserve was given the status of a
biosphere reserve, and in January 2008 it was named after Kh. G.
Shaposhnikov.
In 1999, the territory of the Caucasian State
Natural Biosphere Reserve, together with a number of other nature
conservation objects with an area of about 19 thousand hectares in
the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea, called the
Western Caucasus, was included in the World Heritage List.
Kuban hunting
In 1888, on behalf of the
Grand Dukes Peter Nikolaevich and Georgy Mikhailovich, about 480
thousand acres of land in the region of the Greater Caucasus Range
were leased from the forest dachas of the Ministry of State Property
and the Kuban Regional Military Administration. An agreement was
concluded with the Kuban Rada for the exclusive right to hunt in
these territories for the grand dukes. Later the territory became
known as the Grand Duke Kuban Hunt.
A few years later, the
princes stopped traveling to the Kuban for health reasons, and then
in 1892 handed over the right to hunt to Grand Duke Sergei
Mikhailovich, who took up active development of the territory.
Bison reserve
In 1906, the expiring lease term for the
territory of the Kuban hunting was extended for another three years,
after which it was planned to divide these lands between the
villages of the Kuban Cossacks. In 1909, Kh. G. Shaposhnikov, who
worked as a forester of the Belorechensky forestry of the Kuban
Army, sent a letter to the Russian Academy of Sciences
substantiating the need to reserve the territory leased from the
Kuban Army. The main reason for the creation of the reserve was the
protection of the endangered Caucasian bison. The letter also
outlined the boundaries of the reserve. On the basis of this letter,
Academician N.V. Nasonov made a report, and the Academy of Sciences
created a commission. As a military forester, Shaposhnikov
participated in her work on organizing the reserve. However, for a
number of reasons related to the division of the land by the Kuban
Cossacks, the matter did not advance significantly.
Repeated
attempts to create the reserve were made in 1913 and 1916. Finally,
in 1919, a positive decision was made.
With the establishment
of Soviet power in the region, the question of the reserve had to be
resolved anew. Only in May 1924, the state Caucasian bison reserve
was established.
Fauna
The reserve is home to 89 species
of mammals, 248 - birds, including 112 nesting ones, 15 species of
reptiles, 9 - amphibians, 21 - fish, 1 - cyclostomes, more than 100
species of molluscs and about 10,000 species of insects. The exact
number of worms, crustaceans, arachnids and many other groups of
invertebrates remains unclear.
Undoubtedly, large mammals are
the most vulnerable link in natural ecosystems. In the reserve,
these are bison, red deer, brown bear, West Caucasian tur, chamois,
lynx, roe deer and wild boar. However, a number of small animal
species also need urgent conservation measures and detailed study,
including the badger, Caucasian mink, otter, etc.
Among
birds, representatives of the orders of passerine and falconiformes
predominate. The most numerous groups of herpetofauna are real
lizards and snakes, in fish - carps.
Large migratory routes
of birds pass over the reserve, the most visible flight of buzzards
gathering in large flocks.
Many animals of the reserve have a
limited distribution (endemics), or are living witnesses of past
geological eras (relics). They are especially abundant among
invertebrates, as well as fish, amphibians and reptiles.
The
endangered species of our planet have found their last refuge in
protected natural boundaries. Of the vertebrates of the reserve, 8
species are included in the IUCN Red Data Book, and 25 species are
included in the RF Red Data Book. And together with invertebrates,
71 species are included in the state and regional Red Data Books.
The fauna of the reserve is heterogeneous in its origin.
Representatives of the Mediterranean, Caucasian, Colchian and
European faunas meet here. Endemic and relict species are found in
all altitudinal zones of the mountains.
In the reserve lies
the western border of the distribution of many high-mountainous
Caucasian and forest Colchis species of animals.
Flora
The
flora of the reserve contains 3000 species, of which more than half
are vascular plants. More than 720 species of mushrooms are known in
the reserve.
The predominant families are Aster (189
species), Bluegrass (100), Pink (101) Legumes (77). The forest flora
includes more than 900 species, some of which are also found in the
mountain-meadow belt. The total number of alpine plants exceeds 800
species. Trees and shrubs are 165 species, including 142 deciduous,
16 evergreen deciduous and 7 conifers.
The flora of the
reserve is characterized by the presence of ancient species and
representatives of limited distribution. Every fifth plant in the
reserve is endemic or relict.
Ferns (about 40 species),
orchids (more than 30 species), evergreen and wintergreen species,
and a large number of ornamental plants give originality to the
flora of the reserve. So, of the five species of rhododendrons
growing in the Caucasus, three (Pontic, Caucasian and yellow) are
found in the reserve.
Almost throughout the entire reserve, single trees and small
groups of yew are found. This ancient evergreen coniferous tree can
live up to 2-2.5 thousand years, and such patriarchs are not
uncommon in the Khosta department of the reserve - the world-famous
yew and boxwood grove.
In the subtropical forests of the
Khosta and Western divisions, in addition to the yew, there are many
ancient representatives of the flora: Colchis boxwood, Colchis
holly, Colchis leptopus, Carian figs, St. John's wort and many
others. The forests of the reserve differ from northern European
forests in the presence of vines. On the southern slope, there are
eight types of woody lianas, including Colchis ivy and common ivy,
tall sassaparilla, grape-leaved clematis, Greek ovine, fragrant
honeysuckle, false Persian nightshade, forest grapes.
The
exact number of mushroom species has not been established, but,
according to experts, the reserve's microflora includes at least
2,000 species. Among the mushrooms, the subtropical species (double
dictyophora, Caesar mushroom), as well as tropical flower mushrooms
(red trellis, fusiform flower stalk) are especially distinguished.
Most of the reserve is covered with forest vegetation, and only
in the highlands are subalpine and alpine meadows developed. Oak
forests, alder forests and subtropical Colchis forests of the
foothills above are replaced by beech forests with the participation
of hornbeam and chestnut forests. The upper belts of vegetation are
formed by dark coniferous fir and spruce forests, light pine
forests, park maple forests, crooked forests, subalpine and alpine
meadows.
Forest vegetation is very distinctive and subject to
changes depending on the macroslope, altitude, exposure, nature of
soils and underlying rocks.
In the foothills of the southern
macroslope in the Khosta and Zapadnoye forestries, there are unique
subtropical polydominant mixed broad-leaved forests with evergreen
undergrowth. The slopes of southern exposures up to 800-1200 m above
sea level of both macroslopes are occupied by oak forests, formed
mainly by rock and Georgian oaks, although 6 more species of oaks
participate in the formation of oak forests, Cappadocian maple,
birch, high ash, Caucasian hornbeam, etc. River valleys and gorges
up to the middle mountains are covered with alder-willow
near-channel forests with white willow, gray, black and bearded
alders. Oak forests higher on the slopes give way to hornbeam,
chestnut and beech forests, and on the northern macroslope - beech
and fir-beech forests.
The main forest-forming species in
them are relict species: oriental beech, sowing chestnut, Nordmann
fir. The upper zones of the forest in the reserve, as a rule, are
formed by fir and spruce forests, with the participation of endemic
eastern spruce. On rocky and well-warmed areas, hooked pine grows.
Between the forest and mountain-meadow belts, the transitional
zone is made up of park maple forests, crooked forests, small
forests, shrub formations and rhodorets with areas of subalpine tall
grasses. More than 15 species form subalpine tall grasses, the
height of individual plants exceeds 3 m. In addition, a kind of
rocky talus vegetation develops on the outcrops of rocks, and
wetland vegetation develops near waterlogged places, especially in
the highlands.
The reserve is a natural repository of a large
number of species of plants and animals that have become rare in
other parts of the world. The Red Book of Russia includes 55 species
of plants growing on the territory of the Caucasian Reserve.
Dozens of plant species inhabiting the countries of the Black Sea
and Mediterranean basins are found in Russia only on the southern
(Sochi) slope of the reserve and in the Sochi National Park: Rizei
snowdrop, spiral twist, Wittmann's peony, Provencal orchis, split
larkspur, etc.
Physical and geographical location
The
Caucasian State Natural Biosphere Reserve is located on the northern
and southern slopes of the Western Caucasus at coordinates 44-44.5 °
north latitude and 40-41 ° east longitude.
Actually, this
territory was declared a reserve on May 12, 1924, but the history of
preserving the unique natural complex began much earlier, from the
moment the Grand Duke “Kuban Hunt” was organized in 1888.
Being the largest protected area of the Caucasian Isthmus and the
second largest in Europe, the reserve occupies the lands of the
Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Adygea and the
Karachay-Cherkess Republic of Russia, closely adjacent to the border
with Abkhazia. Separated from the main territory, in the Khostinsky
district of Sochi, there is the subtropical Khostinsky department of
the reserve - the world famous yew-boxwood grove with an area of
302 hectares. The total area of the reserve is 280 335 hectares.
It is surrounded by a protected zone, numerous reserves and natural
monuments, and the Sochi National Park adjoins its southern border.
The territory of the reserve is conditionally divided into six
protection departments: Western, Northern, Southern, Khostinsky,
Eastern and South-Eastern. The management of the reserve is located
in Sochi (Adler), and in the capital of the Republic of Adygea,
Maikop, there is the Adyghe scientific department of the reserve.
The reserve employs more than 100 people, structurally included in
the scientific, security and environmental education departments.
The Caucasian Reserve has an international benchmark value as an
area of untouched nature that has preserved pristine landscapes
with unique flora and fauna. It is no accident that in 1979 the
reserve received the status of a biosphere reserve and entered the
World Network of Biosphere Reserves, and in December 1999 it was
included in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites. In the
context of an increasing planetary offensive on nature, the role of
the Caucasian Reserve as an untouched area will increase, and one of
the main values of this specially protected area in the future
will be the containment of negative phenomena associated with an
increase in anthropogenic impact. Caucasian Nature Reserve -
coordinator in the field of nature protection and conservation of
natural biodiversity in the Caucasus region. It is an open-air
laboratory for scientific research and environmental monitoring of
the natural environment.
The Caucasian Reserve contributes to
the normal functioning of a large Russian resort - Sochi. The
forests of the reserve are the "lungs" of the resort, giving healing
mountain air, and clean mountain rivers, whose sources are located
in the protected area, are the basis for water supply not only to
Sochi, but also to many settlements of the Krasnodar Territory, the
Republic of Adygea and the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.
The
territory of the reserve is a group of mountain and alpine
ecosystems (absolute elevations above sea level from 640 m to 3346
m) of the Western Caucasus, limited to 36 ° 45'-40 ° 50 'north
latitude and 43 ° 30'-44 ° 05' east longitude and characterized by
elevations from 260 to 3360 m above sea level. The basis of its
relief is the Main Caucasian ridge, which stretches from northwest
to southeast. In general, the ridge is asymmetric: with a more
extended northern macroslope and a steep short southern one.
Tourism
11 officially approved routes pass through the reserve,
including one of the most popular Soviet tourist routes - route
number 30, which today is called "Eco-tourist route 1".
To
visit the reserve, you must obtain a pass. The Digital Valley Sochi
Foundation announced the creation of a mobile application for
purchasing passes to the reserve. The prototype of the application
was presented at the all-Russian competition "Digital Breakthrough",
the fund continued cooperation with developers after its completion.
Later it became known that the application was named Biletik.ru.
In February 2020, the Nemkin Foundation planned to sign an
agreement with the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve and Sochi National
Park at the Russian Investment Forum, but the event was postponed
due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus.
In addition,
guests of the reserve should remember that on its territory of the
reserve, tourists are prohibited from damaging the flora and fauna.