UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are environment-protected scientific-research institutions of international status that are created with the intent for conservation in a natural state the most typical natural complexes of biosphere, conducting background ecological monitoring, studying of the surrounding

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...

, its changes under the activity of

anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human impact on the enviro ...

factors. Biosphere Preserves are created on the base of

nature preserve 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, funga, or features of geolog ...

s or

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s including to their composition territories and objects of other categories of nature-preserving fund and other lands as well as including in the established order the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere or nature reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage susta ...

in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

framework "

Man and the Biosphere Programme Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments. MAB engages w ...

". The focal point in Poland for the Biosphere Reserves is the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation.

Reserves

There are currently ten such reserves in Poland, including trans-boundary reserves shared between Poland and neighboring countries. * ''(Reserve POL 01)'' Babia Góra,

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

, , designated 1976, extended in 2001 The reserve is located on the border with Slovakia in the Western Beskidy Mountains. Babia Góra is the second highest

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

() in Poland and forms part of the watershed boundary between the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

basins. There are four environments that occur as the altitude increases. The forest belt is divided into a lower belt (up to ), consisting of forests of European

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

(''Fagus sylvatica''), silver fir (''

Abies alba Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The g ...

'') and Carpathian spruce (''Picea abies''), and the upper belt (up to ) consisting of Carpathian spruce forest. Above the forest is the subalpine belt (up to ) with dwarf

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, bog pine, creeping pine, or mugo pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and So ...

(''Pinetum mughi'') and low-growth European blueberry (''

Vaccinium myrtillus ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a Holarctic realm, holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberr ...

''). At the highest slopes is the alpine grassland belt (up to ) consisting of

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

-covered siliceous bedrock with tussock-based grasses like (''Festuca supina'') and (''Avenella flexuosa''). * ''(Reserve POL 02)''

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex on the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more ...

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...

, , designated 1976 The reserve, in northeastern Poland, lies adjacent to the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Biosphere Reserve in Belarus. The forest complex, the last and largest remaining mixed deciduous

primeval forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

on the

North European Plain The North European Plain ( – North German Plain; ; – Central European Plain; and ; French: ''Plaine d'Europe du Nord'') is a geomorphological region in Europe that covers all or parts of Belgium, the Netherlands (i.e. the Low Countries), ...

, is situated in the transition between the hemiboreal and

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

areas. The forest is composed of a mosaic of diverse communities, principally composed of grey willow ('' Salix cinerea''), European hornbeam (''

Carpinus betulus Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

''), arctic dwarf

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

(''Betula humilis'') English oak (''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It ...

''), small-leaved lime (''

Tilia cordata ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...

''),

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-gr ...

(''Pinus sylvestris''), Norway spruce (''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, ...

''), which reaches its southern limits in the northern hemisphere here, and sessile oak (''

Quercus petraea ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Welsh oak, Cornish oak, Irish oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an un ...

''), which reaches its northeastern limit here. * ''(Reserve POL 03)'' Łuknajno Lake, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, , designated 1976 The reserve is a

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

typical of those located in the

Masurian Lake District The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lake Land () is a lake district in northeastern Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpath ...

with an area of , and a maximum depth of . The lake is connected with nearby Sniardwy Lake by a channel. The site is a breeding ground for water birds such as

grebe Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order (biology), order Podicipediformes (). Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in sea, marine habitats during Bird migration, migration and winter. Most grebes f ...

s, water rail (''Rallus aquaticus''), moorhen,

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

(''Ardea cinerea''), bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus''), white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''),

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

(''Pandion haliaetus''),

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other Diurnality, diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harrier (bird), harriers. The species currently breeds only i ...

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and ...

and black tern (''Chlidonias niger''). The lake has been a protected location since 1937 as a habitat of the

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

(''Cygnus olor''), as every year there are a dozen to tens of dozens of nesting pairs, and during

moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

they arrive in numbers reaching up to 2,000 birds. Ludwik Tomiałojć, Tadeusz Stawarczyk: ''Awifauna Polski. Rozmieszczenie, liczebność i zmiany.''

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

: PTPP "pro Natura", 2003, pp. 157–297. * ''(Reserve POL 04)'' Słowiński,

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

, , designated 1976 The reserve consists of set of

dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

lakes, bogs, and wetland forests on the southern

coast between

Łeba Łeba (, ; ) is a seaside town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is located in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania ( Pomerelia), near Łebsko Lake and the mouth of the river Łeba on the Slovincian Coast of the Baltic Sea. History ...

and Rowy, Poland. The coastal

aeolian processes Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian, pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth (or other planets). Winds may erosion, erode, transport, and deposit ...

have produced some of the most extensive and active mobile sand dunes, which can reach high, on the Baltic Sea.

Coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

and other geological processes lead to the creation of sand-bars, forming brackish lakes and bogs. The area consists of a series of vegetation zones going from the sand communities of the coastline towards the forests of the mainland. The forest includes beech (''Fagus sylvatica''), birch (''Betula pubescens''), alder (''Alnus glutinosa''), pine and oak. It is an important way station for migrating wader birds and waterbirds such as

geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s and

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

s. The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') and other birds nest at the site. * ''(Reserve POL-SLO-UKR 01)'' East Carpathian,

Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional As ...

, in Poland, designated 1992 and extended 1998, Joint with Slovakia and Ukraine The reserve is located in the

Bieszczady Mountains Bieszczady Mountains (; ; ; ) is a mountain range that runs from the extreme south-east of Poland and north-east of Slovakia through to western Ukraine. It forms the western part of the Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern B ...

on the border with Slovakia and Ukraine. There are four distinct altitude-dependent vegetation ecosystems in the mountains starting with

forest (''Fagetum sylvaticae''), followed by mixed forests of beech and silver fir (''

''), forested areas of green alder (''Alnetum viridis''), and finally a belt of treeless poloniny, a subalpine meadows dominated by grasses. Over 100 species of birds live in the area such as the black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') and the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos''). * ''(Reserve POL 05)''

Kampinos Forest Kampinos Forest () is a large forest complex located in Masovian Voivodeship, west of Warsaw in Poland. It covers a part of the ancient valley of the Vistula basin, between the Vistula and the Bzura rivers. The forest began to form 14-11,000 yea ...

Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...

, , designated 2000 The reserve is located on the

, north-east of Warsaw, parallel to the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

River and is characterized by a high diversity of lowland habitats with dune belts separated by swamp areas and a mixture of forest types. The forests are principally composed of a mixture of grey willow ('' Salix cinerea''), European hornbeam (''

''), arctic dwarf

(''Betula humilis'') English oak (''

''), small-leaved lime (''

'') and

(''Pinus sylvestris''). * ''(Reserve CZE-POL 01)'' Karkonosze,

, in Poland, designated 1992, Joint with Slovakia The reserve is part of the Western Sudetes mountains stretching from south-central Poland along the northern border of the Czech Republic to eastern Germany. The mountains are located at the watershed dividing the

and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

basins. The area is known for its high biodiversity in four altitudinal vegetation belts, from submontane to alpine. The river valleys and lower layers form the sub- montane zone made up of forests of European

(''Fagus sylvatica''), silver fir (''

'') and Carpathian spruce (''Picea Abies''). The higher parts form the montane vegetation zone characterized by forested areas of Carpathian spruce (''Picea Abies''). Above is the

subalpine zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

, which is marked by dwarf

(''Pinus mugo''), mat-grass meadows and subarctic high moors. There are three

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s that support an extensive

algal Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, s ...

community important for migratory birds and raptors. The alpine vegetation zone, is characterized by large rocky deserts with herbaceous perennials such as ''Carici (rigidae)-Nardetum'' and ''Festucetum supinae''. * ''(Reserve POL-SLO 01)'' Tatra Mountains,

, in Poland, designated 1992, Joint with Slovakia The reserve covers areas on each side of the border between Poland and Slovakia. The area contains a number of natural features such as a dwarf pine belt, alpine meadows, lakes and rocky peaks. The area consists of temperate broadleaf forests or woodlands made up of mixed beech (''Fagus sylvatica'') forest with fir (''Abies alba'') and sycamore (''Acer pseudoplatanus''). Higher up in the mountains this transitions to forests of silver fir (''

'') and Carpathian spruce (''Picea Abies'') until the timber line (). Above the forest is the

() with dwarf

(''Pinetum mughi''), ''Sorbus aucuparia'' and ''Betula carpatica''. The

alpine zone Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

consists of grasses and low-growth herbaceous groundcover. * West Polesie,

Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...

, in Poland, designated 2002 and extended 2012, Joint with Belarus and Ukraine The reserve comprises a vast open lowland landscape with a mosaic of swamps, moors, lakes, rivers and forests located between the basins of the Bug and Wieprz rivers. The site is part of the European Ecological Corridor of the Bug River. The location supports bird species including raptors such as lesser spotted eagle (''Aquila pomarina''),

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Palearctic, Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It bird migration, migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian ...

(''Circus cyaneus'') and Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') and birds such as aquatic warbler (''Acrocephalus paludicola''), marsh sandpiper (''Tringa stagnatilis'') and Eurasian cranes ('' Grus grus''). The area is considered to be an important crossing point for migratory birds. The north–south flyways and east–west flyways of birds meet in the region. The areas consists of boreal

(''Pinus sylvestris'') forests, black alder (''Alnus glutinosa'') wetland forests, meadows and peatbog ( raised bog, transitional bog and

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

) ecosystems. * ''(Reserve POL 07)'' Tuchola Forest,

, , designated 2010 The reserve covers one of the largest forests in Poland, containing mainly

(''Pinus sylvestris''). The landforms of the area were sculpted by a glacier that retreated at the end of the last glacial age creating characteristically long ribbon lakes. Additionally there are large clusters of inland sand dunes. There are extensive areas of peat bogs formed as a result of the overgrowing of the shallower lakes. A number of species of birds live in the area such as the black stork (''Ciconia nigra''), black grouse (''Tetrao tetrix''), wood grouse (''Tetrao urogallus'') and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

(''Falco peregrinus'').

References

{{Polish protected areas

Biosphere reserves Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments. MAB engages w ...