Dainava Forest () also the Druskininkai-Varėna Forest (), historically the Hrodna Forest (), or the Belarusian Forest () is the largest forest in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It as a

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 ...

Dzūkija Dzūkija () or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population (mostly rural farmers) and has never been defined as a poli ...

region (also known as Dainava) in southern Lithuania with the total area of of which is covered by trees. A large part of the forest is protected by the

Dzūkija National Park __NOTOC__ Dzūkija National Park is a national park in Dzūkija, Lithuania, located 100 kilometers southwest from the capital, Vilnius, and 100 kilometers south from Kaunas. It was established on April 23, 1991 by the Supreme Court of the Republic ...

and the Čepkeliai Nature Reserve. The Dainava Forest mainly consists of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

trees. There are some

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 ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

black alder Black alder is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Alnus glutinosa'', native to Europe and widely naturalized *''Ilex verticillata ''Ilex verticillata'', the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in ...

groves. Soils are sandy, light, densely covered by cup lichen. The forest is rich in edible mushrooms,

bilberries Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries. The species most often referre ...

cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not t ...

, and

cowberries ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is known colloquially as the lingonberry, partridgeberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, or cowberry. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra through ...

. Collection of these mushrooms and berries are an important part of the local economy. The fauna includes many endangered species, such as the

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

, wood grouse,

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in m ...

hoopoe Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "Crest (feathers), crown" of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. Two living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many y ...

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total le ...

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 ...

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution ...

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

, ''

Coronella austriaca The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...

'',

great capricorn beetle ''Cerambyx cerdo'', commonly known as the great capricorn beetle or cerambyx longicorn, is a species of beetle in family Cerambycidae. It occurs in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia), Europe (Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Cze ...

, and ''

Lucanus cervus ''Lucanus cervus'', known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. ''L. cervus'' is listed as Near T ...

''. Most rivers belong to the basin of

Merkys River The Merkys () is a river in southern Lithuania and northern Belarus. It flows for through Belarus, along the Belarusian–Lithuanian border, and through Lithuania before joining the Nemunas from the right bank near Merkinė. The Merkys is mos ...

, including the

Ūla The Ūla () is a river which starts in northern Belarus and flows into the Merkys river, in southern Lithuania.Ūla
''

, Katra, Grūda,

Varėnė The Varėnė is a river of Alytus district municipality and Varėna district municipality, Alytus County, southern Lithuania. It flows for 48 kilometres and has a basin area of 411 km². The Varėnė begins near Skaičionys village. There ...

, and Skroblus. These rivers are characterized by their clear, cold water, and numerous tributaries. Also, there are some tiny

thermokarst Thermokarst is a type of terrain characterised by very irregular surfaces of marshy hollows and small hummocks formed when ice-rich permafrost thaws. The land surface type occurs in Arctic areas, and on a smaller scale in mountainous areas such ...

lakes and bogs, including

Čepkeliai Marsh The Čepkeliai Marsh () is the largest bog (a mire) in Lithuania. Located in Varėna District Municipality, south of Marcinkonys village and north of Kotra River, which flows along the Belarus–Lithuania border in this area. Its area is a nat ...

, the largest

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 ...

in Lithuania. Bieszczady Flora

Dainava Forest is the most sparsely populated region of Lithuania. Some of the villages were little affected by agricultural reforms and have preserved traditional Dzūkian folk architecture, which is now preserved as architecture monuments, destinations of

rural tourism Rural tourism is a form of tourism that focuses on actively participating in a rural lifestyle. It can be a variant of ecotourism, emphasizing sustainable practices and community involvement. Many villages can facilitate tourism because of the ho ...

. Algimantas Černiauskas, Mindaugas Lapelė. ''Didžiųjų girių apsupty''. Vilnius: Gamtos pasaulis, 2012. These villages include

Marcinkonys Marcinkonys (Polish: ''Marcinkańce'') is a village in Varėna district, Lithuania, located 21 km. south-west of Varėna. It is the administrative center of the Marcinkonys Eldership and it houses the administrations of the Dzūkija National ...

, Zervynos,

Latežeris Latežeris is a village in Druskininkai municipality, in Alytus County, in south Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 35 people. Latažeris village is located c. from Druskininkai, from Kermušija (the neares ...

, Lynežeris, Dubininkas, Margionys,

Musteika Musteika is a village in Varėna district municipality, in Alytus County, in southeastern Lithuania. According to the 2021 census, the village has a population of 36 people. Musteika village is located c. from Druskininkai, from Marcinkonys, fr ...

Gallery

File:Dainavos giria001.JPG, Pines of Dainava forest File:Lynežeris001.JPG,

Ethnographic village An ethnographic village is a real or artificial settlement which portrays historical and ethnographic characteristics of life of a certain ethnic group. The concept is close to that of an open-air museum or "living museum." Ethnographic village exh ...

of Lynežeris in the depths of the forest File:Varene springs.jpg, The sources of Varėnė river File:Pelkėtas miškas, Musteikos apylinkės.JPG, Wild rosemary undergrowth in Dainava forest near

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite encyclopedia , last = , first = , author-link = , encyclopedia =

Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija The ''Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija'' or VLE () is a 25-volume universal Lithuanian-language encyclopedia published by the Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute from 2001 to 2014. VLE is the first published universal encyclopedia i ...

, title = Dainavos giria , trans-title = , url = https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/dainavos-giria/ , access-date = 2021-04-26 , language = Lithuanian , edition = , date = 2001–2015 , publisher = Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas , volume = , location = Vilnius , pages = {{cite map , author = , title = Nowy Dwor , trans-title = , map = , map-url = , date = , year = 1926 , url = http://maps.mapywig.org/m/WIG_maps/series/100K_300dpi/P33_S39_NOWY_DWOR_(1926)-1931_300dpi_bcuj298234-285455.jpg , scale =1:100000 , series =Row 33, column 39 , version = , cartography = , publisher = Wojskowy Institut Geograficzny , page = , pages = , section = , sections = , inset = , edition = , location = Warsaw , language = Polish , format = , isbn = , id = , access-date = , archive-url = , archive-date=

Sources

* Dainavos giria. Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija, T. 1 (A-Grūdas). Vilnius, Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija, 1985, 374 psl. Forests of Lithuania Alytus County Varėna District Municipality Druskininkai Municipality