The Forest on Vorskla site is located in the south-west of the Belgorod region. This is a nature reserve created to protect the 100-year-old oak forest, as well as the most valuable 300-year-old oak forests. Its territory is limited by rivers: from the east and south - Vorskla, from the west - Gotney. There are villages along the borders of the reserve.
History
The Belogorye Reserve in the Belgorod Region is interesting not only in natural terms. It is of no less interest in historical terms.
Since ancient times, this territory has been a place of struggle with nomads - the Tatar-Mongol hordes, Polovtsy and the troops of the Crimean Tatars. Dense forests have always been a reliable defense when passing cavalry. Later, people began to build forest "logging sites" - a kind of obstacles from fallen trees. In the mid-17th century, they were an 800-kilometer structure along the Vorskla River, which included fortresses, earthen ramparts, and even fortresses.
During the reign of Peter I, oak groves were very strictly protected, due to the fact that the construction of the navy required a lot of wood, especially oak.
Cutting down elm, oak and ash for other purposes was punishable by death. In this area, Count Sheremetyev arranged a forestry hunting estate, protected from outsiders' interference. Thanks to this, the pristine beauty of the forest has been preserved here.
Creating a reserve
After the October Revolution, there was no one to protect the forest, and people began to destroy it just as barbarously, as well as to kill the animals living in it. Foxes, roe deer, and martens were almost completely exterminated.
Thanks to the active work of S. I. Malyshev, the Les-on-Vorskla Nature Reserve, known to many experts, was created on these lands. The Second World War inflicted huge damage on him. Immediately after the war, he was transformed into a training forestry. Only in 1979, he again received the status of a reserve.
The nature of the Belgorod region
This is a territory located in the very heart of our country. Belgorod Oblast is a region of Russia remote 500-700 km from Moscow, on the border with Ukraine. The largest cities in the region are Belgorod, with a population of 356 thousand inhabitants, Stary Oskol (260 thousand), Gubkin (90 thousand)
Belgorod Region is part of the Central Black Earth Region and the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation. In the south and west it borders with the Kharkov, Lugansk and Sumy regions of Ukraine, in the north-west and north - with the Kursk region, in the east its neighbor is the Voronezh region.
The length of the region’s borders is about 1,150 km, of which 540 km are located on the border with Ukraine. The total area exceeds 27.1 thousand km², the region stretches 190 km from north to south, 270 km from east to west.
The Belgorod region is located on the Central Russian Upland, on its southwestern and southern slopes, in the basins of the Don and Dnieper rivers, in the forest-steppe zone. Its highest point is located at an altitude of 277 m above sea level - located in the Prokhorovsky district. The lowest point is in the valley of the Seversky Donets and Oskol rivers. The territory is densely cut with beams, ravines, on the territory of which there are oak forests.
Rivers
Over 500 rivers and small streams flow through the region. Most of them belong to small rivers. Their length does not exceed 100 km. The longer rivers are Oskol (220), Vorskla (115), Seversky Donets (110) and Tikhaya Pine (105). The river network is more than 5000 km.
Terrain relief
"Belogorye" is a nature reserve with a diverse relief. Widely developed network of beams and ravines. The climate of this territory is temperate continental. The warm period lasts 155 days. Winter is windy, cold, with frequent snowstorms. Spring is dry, short, frosts do not happen often. Summer is hot and long. In general, the area is climate friendly.
Groundwater is rather deeply located, tree roots do not have access to them, therefore, atmospheric precipitation is almost the only source of moisture. The Vorskla River is very calm, the current is quiet, so it overgrows with mud and other aquatic vegetation. Ice cover lasts from early December to the second half of March.
The Belogorye State Nature Reserve has over 20 types of soils. The most common are gray weakly and medium-podzolized loams. The fertility of these soils is associated with the intake of plant debris, which, when decomposed, release a lot of nutrients.
Flora
Reserves of the Belgorod region are distinguished by a variety of vegetation. Belogorye is no exception.
The most cold-resistant plants are birch, pine and spruce. Over time, the oak replaced the birch and pine.
550 species of flowering plants and fern-like plants, about 25 species of mosses, 61 species of lichens, and about 900 species of mushrooms were registered in the reserve. In most of this area, oak is growing; there is a small admixture of other species.
Forest systems are distinguished by a longline structure. On the first tier are 200-300-year-old huge oaks. The second tier is occupied by small-leaved linden, plane-maple, ash, and elm. The third tier is assigned to small-growing trees - wild apple trees, pears.
The next tier consists of shrubs - European and warty spindle trees, dogrose, field maple, etc. The grass cover is forest vegetation. In addition, here you can see mosses, algae, lichens.
In different seasons, the grass cover is different. In the early spring, Galler's Corydalis prevailed here, Siberian spawning, buttercup anemone, small and yellow goose onions, and clean. By the beginning of summer, they disappear and summer shade-tolerant plants appear in their place. They are distinguished by white flowers and dark leaves.
Among them, one can distinguish sedge, hairy, rot, lanceolate astringent, odoriferous woodruff, nettlebell bellflower, unclear lungwort, violets pleasant and surprising, bought. "Belogorye" is a nature reserve on the territory of which more than 200 associations have been identified. Here there are areas of exotic (rare for the area) plants. These are Amur velvet, Manchurian and walnut, Siberian larch, yellow acacia, etc.
The experts are interested in the vegetation of forest glades with free-standing centuries-old oaks. Next to them live a team hedgehog, common field mushroom, mountain and field clover, narrow-leaved bluegrass, Veronica spiky, thin-legged.
Sites of dry steppes are located on the southern slopes. Forest-steppe is represented by small areas with a predominance of hawthorn, thorns, buckthorn.
The Voroshka floodplain is distinguished by magnificent meadows with sedge, bubbly and sharp, mannica flowing and large, double-reed-shaped, beckmania.
Fauna
Reserves of the Belgorod region are inhabited by many rather rare animals. This area is quite densely populated. To our great regret, it should be noted that Belogorye is a nature reserve on the territory of which noble deer, hard-working beavers and otters have been completely exterminated due to rash human activities. True, in recent years, an ordinary vole, a gray hamster, a quail, a mole rat, and a chasing meadow have appeared here.
"Belogorye" is a reserve on the territory of which such rare insects as swallowtail, stag beetle, hermit beetle, mnemosyne, podalirium, migrant, blue sash live. They are listed in the Red Book of Russia.
Birds
This is a separate world in the fauna of the reserve. It is no less diverse. In early spring, the reserve is filled with the singing of great tits, field sparrows, bluebirds, pikas, and nuthatch. A woodpecker is heard in the forest. In March, in the protected areas you can observe common migratory birds - starlings, rooks, gray herons, finches, white wagtails, black and songbirds, various birds of prey.
Bats, stone martens, and squirrels live in high hollows in the forest. Old stumps and basal hollows were inhabited by yellow-throated mice, bushy voles, and redheads. Shrews hide in a forest litter. Badgers and foxes feed in high-altitude areas. For moose and roe deer, the best delicacy is euonymus.
At the edges of the forest at night you can see grazing ungulates and hares. On sunny days, flowers are surrounded by clouds of bees, butterflies, bumblebees. Many animals have chosen Belozerye. The reserve in the southern part is inhabited by badgers, foxes, raccoon dogs. In the dense thickets of reed and willow, the offspring of the coronella, swamp thrush-like warblers are bred. In swampy places there are a large number of toads and frogs.
I must say that the work to protect the environment is paying off. The map of reserves that we published in our article shows how this area is developing in our country. There are territories throughout the country where animals feel comfortable under the protection of humans.