The Republic of Belarus, whose nature is very picturesque, is a state in Eastern Europe and borders on Poland on the western side. Ukraine is located on its south side, Latvia and Lithuania are on the north-west, and Russia is on the north-east and east. The territory of the republic is quite compact and amounts to about 207 thousand square meters. km The nature of Belarus is famous for its bewitching plains, hills, forests and lakes.
Modern Belarus and its nature
The entire territory of the country is penetrated by dense hydrographic grids of rivers, lakes and streams. Plain rivers flowing in gentle, spacious valleys are distinguished by their tortuosity and have swampy watersheds, as they flow through swamps from the south of the country. A tenth of the republic’s area consists of river valleys, and towards the south of the glacier’s passage there are many wide, small irregular valleys. Therefore, the nature of the Republic of Belarus is famous for a large number of fresh lakes of various sizes and depths - there are over 10 thousand. Most often, water bodies form in lake groups. The most famous of them are Ushachskaya, Braslavskaya and Narochanskaya.
The country is also famous for its forests, which occupy 40% of the entire territory. In the north of the Republic of Belarus, nature is replete with alder and spruce, in the south - with oak and pine, in its central part there is a lot of birch bark, hornbeam and oaks. Among them, you can find berries and edible mushrooms. Especially a lot of blueberries and cranberries in the country's forests. Viburnum, blueberries, raspberries, lingonberries and mountain ash also grow here. The main asset is the forest fund of Belarus. It consists of over 9.4 hectares of plantings and is growing annually, which is why the country is known as forest.
As mentioned above, unevenly distributed swamps and lowlands, covered with sedge and cereals, which are a unique ecosystem, occupy 10% of the area. The largest natural swamps in Europe are located exactly on the territory of Western Polissya. Transitional bogs with mosses, shrubs of Ledum and myrtle, as well as coniferous forests can be found in the central part of Belarus. In the north, there are riding marshes with thickets of white grass, cotton grass and sundews. All these areas act as a reservoir, feeding rivers and mitigating temperature differences in the middle of winter and summer. The wildlife of Belarus with its swamps has become an excellent habitat for many ungulates, valuable rodents and game.
Animal resources of nature of Belarus
The nature of Belarus with its mixed forests, meadow vegetation and swamps is a favorable habitat for deer, wild boars, moose, as well as famous bison. There are also predators such as martens, foxes, badgers, wolves, brown bears, otters and minks. Belarus, whose nature attracts many endangered species, has about 309 bird species. Spoonbills, large cormorants, gray geese, mute swans and yellow herons returned to the territory for nesting.
National parks and protected areas of the Republic of Belarus
The territory of the Republic of Belarus is one of the greenest countries in Europe and is famous for its unique reserves and reserves. A colossal array of primeval forests is Belovezhskaya Pushcha. It stretches from Belarus to Poland through the watershed of Pripyat, Neman and the Western Bug. On its total area of 150 hectares, there are about 55 species of large mammals and over 200 species of birds. But the main inhabitants of the Bialowieza Forest are European bison (bison), which previously were at the extinction stage.
Also a unique protected area is the Berezansky Reserve. It is a system of ancient pine forests, bogs and moraine hills. In addition to a large number of mammals and birds, there are 700 species of plants.
In the southwestern part of the Gomel region, on the right side of the Pripyat River, is the Pripyatsky National Park. He became famous not only for its inhabitants in the primeval floodplain oak forests, but also for the ichthyofauna. National parks Braslav Lakes and Narochansky also deserve attention.
Hunting and fishing in Belarus
Since the wildlife of Belarus is unique, the country occupies a special place in hunting Europe. The environment of pristine swamps and forests is favorable for many animals, which causes excitement in fishing. On Belarusian land, hunting traditions have developed over the centuries, because the diversity of the animal kingdom has attracted the attention of even Russian tsars, Polish kings and princes of Kiev. At present, Belarus, whose nature is unique in its beauty, is open for hunting all year round. Since there are a significant number of valuable fish in the lakes and rivers of the republic (carp, eel, bream, pike perch, smelt, asp, perch, burbot, rudd, etc.), the popularity of fishing is growing every day. Fans and fishing professionals will discover large rivers such as the Neman, Berezina, Dnieper, Viliya, Sozh, Western Dvina, Western Bug, Pripyat and Goryn.
Environmental Protection in Belarus
The landscapes of the republic are unique in their diversity of flora and fauna, and are also the habitat for many rare, endangered species, therefore, most of the lands have been given the status of protected. The entire territory is included in the zone of ecological value for Central and Eastern Europe. That is why nature conservation in Belarus extends to 4 national parks, a biosphere reserve and 84 national reserves. It is worth noting that on the territory there are 861 natural monuments of local and republican significance, which play a special role in the conservation of biological diversity resources.