Polistovsky Nature Reserve, Polistovsky Zapovednik () is a

strict nature reserve A strict nature reserve (IUCN category Ia) or wilderness area (IUCN category Ib) is the highest category of protected area recognised by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), a body which is part of the International Union for ...

(a '' zapovednik'') in the northwest of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located in Bezhanitsky and Loknyansky Districts of Pskov Oblast, in the Polist-Lovat Swamp System. The reserve is about 120 km southeast of the city of

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. It was formally established on May 25, 1994. Previously, it functioned as a zakaznik. The nature reserve is created to protect the raised bog ecosystems of the Northwestern Russia.

Location and geography

The area of the reserve is elongated from southeast to northwest and is adjacent to the border between Pskov and Novgorod Oblasts. At the other side of the border, in Novgorod Oblast, the nature reserve continues as Rdeysky Nature Reserve. The nature reserve is divided between the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of the Lovat River and the

Polist River The Polist () is a river in Bezhanitsky District of Pskov Oblast and in Poddorsky District, Poddorsky and Starorussky District, Starorussky Districts, as well as in the town of Staraya Russa of Novgorod Oblast of Russia. It is technically a tributa ...

. The territory of Polistovsky Nature Reserve is a glacial landscape, which is essentially a flat swampy area with a large amount of lakes. Some areas are forested.

Ecoregion and climate

The reserve is in the '' Sarmatic mixed forests'' ecoregion, a band of mixed oak/spruce/pine forests stretching from southern Sweden to the Ural Mountains. The climate is '' Humid continental climate, cool summer'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

(Dfb)). This climate is characterized by large swings in temperature, both diurnally and seasonally, with mild summers and cold, snowy winters

Flora

The area mostly consists of raised bogs. Forest grows on the islands on the bog. The main types forest are coniferous forests based on

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'' ...

and broadleaf forest, based on oak and linden. Birch and

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

appeared as derivative forest from oak and linden. Around 370 species of plants grow in the reserve.

Fauna

European mink is a critically endangered mammal species which is resident in the reserve.

References

External links