Barguzinsky Nature Reserve (russian: Баргузинский заповедник) is the oldest of ''

zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...

s'' (

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

s). It is located in

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...

(

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

) on the west slope of the

Barguzin Range Barguzin Range (russian: Баргузинский хребет) is a range in Buryatia, Russia along the northeastern shore of Baikal. Its length is 280 km, height up to 2,840 m. It is mostly covered by larch taiga. The range bounds the B ...

, including the northeast shores of the

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the ...

and a part of the lake itself. The name of the preserve (and the range) comes from the

Barguzin River The Barguzin (russian: Баргузи́н; bua, Баргажан, Bargajan) is a river in Buryatia, Russia, long, flowing into the Barguzin Bay of Lake Baikal, the largest and deepest bay of Baikal. Barguzin is the third (by the flow amount) in ...

. The area of the reserve is . It was created in 1916 to preserve and increase the numbers of Barguzin

Sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

(''Martes zibellina''). Mountainous and

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, sp ...

landscapes are also being preserved. The mountain landscape is intersected by glaciers and lakes.

Ecoregion and climate

The Barguzin Reserve is located in the Trans-Baikal conifer forests ecoregion. This ecoregion covers a mountainous region of southern

stretching east, and south from the shores of

in southern Russia, reaching into northern

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

. The climate of Barguzin is a ''

Subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...

'' with dry winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

Subartic climate(Dwc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1–3 months above ) and cold winters, having monthly precipitation less than one-tenth of the wettest summer month.

Flora and fauna

The Barguzin Nature Reserve is inhabited by

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

(commonly called ‘elk’ in Eurasia),

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their f ...

(known as ''kabarga''),

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

, Eurasian wild boar,

Altai wapiti The Altai wapiti, sometimes called the Altai elk, is a subspecies of ''Cervus canadensis'' found in the forest hills of southern Siberia, northwestern Mongolia, and northern Xinjiang province of China. It is different from the Tian Shan wapiti in ...

(known as ‘elk’ in North America),

Ussuri brown bear The Ussuri brown bear (''Ursus arctos lasiotus''), also known as the Ezo brown bear, Russian bear, or the black grizzly bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear or a population of the Eurasian brown bear (''U. a. arctos''). One of the largest b ...

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

raccoon dogs The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Commo ...

black-capped marmot The black-capped marmot (''Marmota camtschatica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the Russian Far East, but its range is discontinuous and divided into three main parts, each with its own subspecies. The black-c ...

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...

capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Taxonomy The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of hi ...

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...

, Siberian lynx, yellow-throated marten. Additionally, there is Omul, sig,

sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Early ...

, grayling, taimen (таймень),

lenok Lenoks, otherwise known as Asiatic trout or Manchurian trout,James Card: Fly fishing in South Korea.' Retrieved 22 June 2015. are salmonid fish of the genus ''Brachymystax'', native to rivers and lakes in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, wider Siberia (incl ...

(ленок) and other fish which

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: A ...

in the waters of the reserve. Taiga of cedar, fir and larch dominate at higher altitudes.

Related personnel

Konstantin Zabelin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Gr ...

(1885–1934) * Zenon Svatosh (1886–1949) *

Evgeny Chernikin Evgeny Mikhailovich Chernikin (russian: Евге́ний Миха́йлович Черни́кин, uk, Євген Михайлович Чорникiн) (20 July 1928 – 17 August 2009) was a Soviet/Russian zoologist and ecologist, known for h ...

(1928–2009)

References

Barguzinsky Reserve
Accessed 2 September 2009 Nature reserves in Russia Biosphere reserves of Russia Geography of Buryatia 1916 establishments in the Russian Empire Protected areas established in 1916 Zapovednik {{Asia-protected-area-stub

Ecoregion and climate

Flora and fauna

Related personnel

See also

References