Rostovsky Nature Reserve or Rostov Zapovednik is a state natural biosphere reserve of federal significance, located in the Southern Federal District, in the southeast of the Rostov Region, 100 km from Rostov-on-Don, in the Oryol and Remontnensky districts.
The valley steppes of Manych are variants of the
moderately dry, dry and desert steppe. The soil of the Manych valley
is, in addition to the weakly expressed zonal soil, areas of steppe
solonetzs, solonetzic soils, and therefore salt-tolerant plant
communities have formed here.
410 species of higher vascular
plants have been registered on the territory of the reserve. They
are represented mainly by the families of legumes, cereals,
Compositae, cruciferous, labiate, clove and haze. Of the legumes,
the most common in the reserve are 4 types of peas: hairy, Olbia,
four-seeded, hairy; common camel thorn. The family of cereals is the
feather grass of several species. Representatives of Asteraceae are
yarrow (4 species) and dandelion (2 species). Common rape and
shepherd's purse are cruciferous family. Sage of 3 types - labiate.
Quinoa of 6 species - represents the family of haze. Also on the
territory of the reserve there are 6 rare species that are protected
in Russia: Schrenck's tulip, Sarmatian belevalia, beautiful feather
grass, Ukrainian feather grass, dwarf iris, Volga maikaragan. From
the list of the Red Data Book of the Rostov Region, there are many
plants: calyx astragalus, bubble astragalus, Bieberstein's tulip,
two-flowered tulip, Lessing's feather grass, Sarepta feather grass,
rough katran, low iris, two-spiked ephedra, etc.
Birds
Birds are the most numerous vertebrates in the reserve both
in terms of species and quantity. Here you can find rare birds:
bustard, little tern, cormorant, pink and curly pelicans, spoonbill,
belladonna, black-headed gull, owl, flamingos and others. More than
200 bird species have been recorded on the territory of the reserve
and the adjacent steppe and water areas, of which about 120 nest in
this area. 63 species are observed here during migrations and
migrations, 16 wintering species.
Other animals
Amphibians
- green toad, lake frog, garlic.
Reptiles are represented by 8
species, this is an ordinary snake, a water snake, a yellow-bellied
snake, a patterned snake, a four-striped snake, a steppe viper, a
marsh turtle, a nimble lizard.
There are more than 50 species of
7 orders of mammals here.
Rodents - small ground squirrel, large
jerboa, field mouse;
Hare-like hare;
Carnivores - wolf, fox,
raccoon dog, ferret, dressing;
Insectivores - hedgehogs (common
and eared);
Bats - rufous nocturnal, Mediterranean bat;
Artiodactyls - saiga;
Equid-hoofed - manic mustangs
Insects
There are rare insects in the reserve: the short-winged
bolivaria (Bolivaria brachyptera), the steppe bumblebee (Saga pedo),
the Hungarian ground beetle (Carabus hungaricus), the steppe and
giant scolia (Scolia hirta, S. maculata), the steppe bumblebee
(Bombus fragrans), the motley ascalaf Ascalaphus macaronius), giant
bump (Satanas gigas).