The Central Black Earth Reserve is one of the largest in the European part of Russia. It is located in the Kursk region. It bears the name of Professor Vasily Alekhine.
History of the reserve
The Central Black Earth Reserve is located in territories that at the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd millennium were occupied by steppes, ravines and overgrown forests. In those days, saigas, kulans and tours grazed on the site of the modern Kursk region. There lived a myriad of diverse rodents. Large birds, such as strept and bustard, nested.
The peoples who lived in these places were under pressure from both princely squads and nomads. By the sixteenth century, the main occupation of the inhabitants of Kursk was agriculture. In addition, the city by that time was on the southern borders of the Russian state. Therefore, from time to time it was necessary to protect these borders.
Local residents were unable to cope with the raids of the Crimean Tatars, therefore, Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks, who played the role of actual border guards, began to actively engage in service in Kursk. Both Pushkari and Streltsy served here in those days.
Ultimately, many of them settled in these places. The lands near Kursk were transferred to them for haymaking and grazing. Thanks to this, the untouched steppe, which the Central Black Earth Reserve named after Alekhine is famous for today, has been preserved to this day.
Local nature formation
These places were carefully studied by Professor Alekhine at the beginning of the 20th century, whose name today is the Central Black Earth Reserve. According to his research, in the last three to four centuries, vegetation on these lands was formed under the direct influence of regular mowing and grazing. And often this happened on the site of forest plots.
In the Streletsky part of the steppe, haymaking and spring and autumn grazing were clearly alternated. Often, locals used harrowing when they destroyed the soil crust, destroying weeds and protecting the earth from drought.
In order for the pastures to be richer, burning was used. It was in this form that Vasiliy Alekhin found the Kursk steppes when he first came here in 1907. At that time, he was still in his last year at Moscow State University.
The study of local nature by Alekhine
Alekhine began to actively study places that were later called the Central Black Earth Reserve. The scientist began to devote his publications to them in reputable journals. So, his first article about this area was called "An outline of vegetation and its successive change on the Streletskaya steppe plot near Kursk." In 1910, he described in detail the Cossack steppe, which he studied a year later.
In 1925, Professor Vladimir Khitrovo, a well-known florist and geobotanist, published the book "Vegetation of the Oryol Province". The fact is that later these territories also entered the Central Black Earth Reserve named after Alekhine. His work was a good help for Alekhine in his further research.
In the same 1925 Alekhine first raised the question of the need to immediately prohibit the use of these sites in order to preserve their natural integrity. Exactly 10 years later, the Soviet government decided that a Central Black Earth State Biosphere Reserve should be created in these territories.
The territory of the reserve
The decision to create the reserve was adopted by the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The Central Black Earth Biosphere Reserve has occupied an area of more than 4.5 thousand hectares.
Initially, the administration of the reserve was tasked with preserving the untouched steppe areas in combination with forests of all types. The purpose of this is to further study the processes of chernozem formation in a given area, as well as the complex relationships of the steppe and forest. Also, biologists were interested in the influence of forests on the fight against drought, the rationale for where it is best to farm in the northern and central strip of Russia.
In 1971, the protected zone of the reserve was established. And in 1988, it was revised and expanded by three kilometers. Currently, the Central Black Earth State Reserve covers an area of more than 28.5 thousand hectares.
The value of the natural wealth available here is valued not only in Russia. Central Black Earth Reserve. Alekhine has a diploma from the Council of Europe.
Current state
This reserve became one of the first biosphere reserves that appeared on the territory of the USSR. Here you can observe and study the natural course of various processes in complexes of meadow-steppe virgin lands.
Particular attention is paid to the influence of human activity on these complexes. The administration of the reserve today is developing activities that help preserve and restore the original natural communities.
One of the key subjects of study in this reserve is chernozem. It is worth noting that in our time, chernozems that have not yet been plowed are an extremely rare occurrence. They are considered standards that can be studied to assess their impact on modern agriculture. Since 1975, the Central Black Earth State Nature Reserve has been regularly used to develop modern technologies for shooting natural objects from spacecraft.
The natural wealth of the reserve
Like all reserves of the Central Black Earth region, this one has a very rich flora. It combines northern and meadow steppes, as well as oak forests.
Researchers counted on its territory more than one thousand two hundred vascular plants, among which there are rare and even red-listed. Approximately 86 species of these plants are threatened with extinction; therefore, their protection is especially important and significant.
About 25 hectares are relict vegetation. An important role in the natural kingdom of the reserve is played by such an evergreen shrub as a pine forest wolfberry. Throughout the territory, you can find islands of steppe vegetation with diverse life forms. Here, only 200 species of macromycetes are found. They can be seen even with the naked eye.
Animal world
The fauna of the reserve inhabitants is also rich. It is inhabited by species that are more common in snowy natural areas. For example, it contains about 50 species of mammals.
35 species of fish, 10 - amphibians and 5 - reptiles. Almost 200 species of spiders, some of which live in the steppe areas of the reserve, and the rest - on the forest edges. Here you can find almost four thousand species of insects.
The native inhabitant of the Kursk reserve is roe deer. This is pride and a visiting card of the Kursk region. Roe deer is found only in some areas of this natural zone. There are also speckled ground squirrels, brown hares, badgers, martens, foxes. There are many ungulates, especially wild boars, which actively breed under human protection and due to the ban on hunting in the reserve. True, when they upset the natural balance, their number has to be regulated by a person. They do exactly the same with wolves, who find reliable shelter in protected forests.
Birds in the Kursk reserve
More than 220 species of birds live on hectares that are part of the Kursk reserve. About 80% of all birds living in the Kursk region live here. Of these, about 90 species nest here.
Partridges and quail live in large numbers, which the man pressed out from other areas where he began to actively develop agriculture. For dozens of kilometers, swallows and swifts arrive. In these places they find shelter and food.
In June, at almost every step you can hear trills of the famous Kursk nightingales, which are even dedicated to songs and romances. Larks sing and fly in the steppes, kites, hawks and buzzards are often found.
There is also a rare feathered predator - a beetle from the order of Falconiformes.
Scientific research
The reserve has a large number of scientists who are engaged in a variety of research work. The main theme of most research is related to the observation and study of natural processes. This includes monitoring the weather, soil, territory, flora and fauna of the entire animal world. Drawing up and maintaining a calendar of nature.
In the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kursk researchers worked no less fruitfully than in Soviet times. More than 30 research projects have been developed. Here, university students constantly practice, and not only from Russia. Young scientists come from Austria, Sweden and Switzerland. They are also interested in the problem of black soil in the central zone.
Red Book
Perhaps the most significant achievement of researchers is the publication of the Red Book of the Kursk region. It was the result of many years of work and dozens of expeditions. The book reflects all the biological diversity that can be found on the territory of this reserve.
These days, work continues. Now employees of the reserve are working on a new edition of the Red Book, which will include new materials and research. The scientific and practical collection "Studies on the Red Book of the Kursk Region" is regularly published.
A special monograph on rare bird species of the Kursk region has been published.
Ecological tourism
Ecological tourism is actively developing on the territory of the Kursk reserve. About 3 and a half thousand tourists visit it annually. There are many interesting and unique objects for them.
Firstly, it is a museum of nature. It presents about 250 exhibits. There is a common room, which tells about the history of the reserve, the people who stood at its origins, and also gives a description of the sites into which it is divided. In the second room you can get acquainted with the peculiarities of the local climate and soil. The third presents animals and plants. The fourth room is reserved for scientific works and monographs published by the reserve.
Secondly, you can go on ecological trails. Tourists can visit the "Streletsky steppe" or "Preserved oak forest".
Thirdly, there are also its historical and cultural attractions. They include a stone sculpture of the XI century, which is called the "stone woman". And also thousands more sculptures, the appearance of which historians attribute to the 17th century. These statues were placed at the crossroads to indicate the direction of the path. "Stone women" were considered deities worshiped and sacrificed by our ancestors.