Kuznetsk Alatau. Kuznetsk Alatau is a nature reserve. Map, photo

"Kuznetsk Alatau" is a reserve in which representatives of flora and fauna of the Kemerovo region are preserved and studied. The nature of these places is unique. Information on the location of the reserve and its inhabitants can be found in this article.

Location

The State Reserve is located in the southern part of Central Siberia, on the western slope of the Kuznetsk Alatau Ridge, at its highest part, in the Mezhdurechensky, Novokuznetsk and Tisulsky Districts of the Kemerovo Region.

The Kuznetsk Alatau Range occupies about a third of the Kemerovo Region. It is a medium height mountain ranges, dismembered by deep valleys of rivers. In the southernmost part of the Kuznetsk Alatau, the greatest division is observed in the range of ridges at the sources of the Usa, Middle and Upper Tersei, White and Black Iyus rivers. In the east, the reserve is limited to Minusinsk, and in the west - to the Kuznetsk basin. In the north, Kuznetsk Alatau does not have a clear boundary, in the south it rests on the Abakan range of the Western Sayan.

History of creation

The process of creating and creating the "Kuznetsk Alatau" lasted about ten years. The main argument for the opening of the reserve was the problem of preserving biodiversity and water resources of the Kemerovo region. In 1989, on December 27, the resolution of the Government of the RSFSR No. 385 on the creation of a reserve was issued. Four years later, in 1993, on September 28, the Small Council of the Kemerovo Regional Council of People's Deputies issued Decision No. 213 on the approval of the boundaries of the reserve and the guard zone in the adjacent territory. In 1995, on August 22, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Khakassia approved the size of the protected area of the nature reserve in the amount of 8,000 hectares. In 1996, on October 4, Alexei Andreevich Vasilchenko was appointed director of Kuznetsk Alatau.

Already after the official creation of the reserve, its area was reduced from 455 thousand hectares to 412.9 thousand hectares in connection with the forest management works of the Siberian Expedition Glavokhoty of the RSFSR.

Climatic conditions

The climate of the reserve "Kuznetsk Alatau", photos of which can be seen in this article, was studied very unevenly. At a low air temperature in the cold period of the year, the average monthly average wind speed is observed. This is especially noticeable in the transitional seasons. In the autumn and spring, winds blowing at a speed of 10-15 meters per second are much more frequent. At the mountain tops, the air speed exceeds 25-30 meters per second, in some cases reaches 60-70 meters per second. Hurricane winds are also in the warm season, in summer their speed reaches 30-34 meters per second. In most cases, the warmest month is July. In August and June, the air temperature is approximately the same.

Mammals

In Kuznetsk Alatau, 65 species of mammals live, including five species of ungulates, thirteen - predators, three - lagiformes, twenty four - rodents, nine - bats and eleven - insectivores. In general, the fauna of the reserve is represented by taiga forms: a red-gray vole, a chipmunk, an Altaian mole, a tiny shrew, and so on. There are also moose, wolf, fox, brown bear, otter, badger, red and common voles. Thus, the mountains of the Kuznetsk Alatau are the habitat of a depleted mammal complex typical for the Altai-Sayan region as a whole.

Natural features

The main feature of the reserve "Kuznetsk Alatau" is the height of the snow cover, which is exceptional for this region of Siberia. On average in the territory of the nature protection zone it reaches three to five meters, and in intermountain inflatable and troughs - ten to fifteen meters. Therefore, in the reserve wonderful feeding conditions are formed for artiodactyls, especially for reindeer and a brown bear. High snow cover also prevents freezing of soils in landscapes of Kuznetsk Alatau, which ensures successful wintering of otter, mink, muskrat, beaver and mole. However, the fauna of mammals is constantly exposed to the risk of destruction, as illegal hunting is flourishing in the most densely populated region of Siberia - Kuzbass. Particularly affected by nomadic species of animals: maral, moose, roe deer. Their number in the reserve is low.

Fauna of birds

"Kuznetsk Alatau" is a reserve in which 273 species of birds live. It is widely distributed throughout the territory of the nature protection zone such a rare species of birds as a black stork. On the Lower Tesi nesting places of the Osprey were found. In the reserve there are golden eagles and peregrine falcon. In the subalpine belt, you can meet a Saker Falcon, and in the sparse forests - a wader and a crested osoeda.

In the lower and middle parts of the rivers the eagle-dwarf lives. Recently, less and less often there are a hawk owl, long-tailed owl, a long-eared owl, a spittle, a passerine owl and an owl. In the Kuznetsk Alatau, there are 41 species of little-studied and rare birds. The settled typical taiga inhabitants are different species of woodpeckers, the yellow, long-tailed tit, black and brown nuts, nuthatch, kuksh, jay, nutcracker, capercaillie.

In the vicinity of the mountain rivers, there is a large crouch, and along the quiet channels and old people there are nesting chitter-cocks, pintails, mallards and killer whales. On the forest and mountain lakes there are crested blacks, hump-nosed turpans and gogol. The most numerous representative of the predatory species of birds is the black kite. In fir and cedar woodlands there are thrushes: singing, rattling, pale, Siberian and mountain ash. In these places also live the harrier, the brown chaff and the Bluethroat.

Fauna of fish and amphibians

The reserve "Kuznetsk Alatau", on whose map a lot of rivers and lakes, is the habitat of 13 species of fish. In mountain rivers there is grayling Siberian, and also taimen and lenok. The number of fish that are found in lakes in the reserve is relatively small. Only in the upper reaches of the Kiya River can you catch burbot, perch, spikenka ordinary and pike. Here, in abundance, there live a crochet gingerbread man, a Siberian goat, a minnow, a dace and a river minnow. In the source of the river Middle Tes, a poorly studied and extremely rare species of amphibians, the Siberian lamprey, was found.

Kuznetsk Alatau is home to five species of amphibians, but only two live in the reserve itself: the frog is sharp and the toad is gray. Two species of reptiles have been found here: the viper and the viviparous viper.

Flora

On the territory of the reserve "Kuznetsk Alatau" found 618 vascular higher plants, it is assumed that in these parts grows 943 species of grasses, shrubs and trees. A significant part of the reserve is covered with taiga mountain forests of spruce, fir and Siberian pine, on eastern slopes with alternating larch and pine thickets. The vegetation cover here is represented by the species of all high-altitude belts: the alpine tundra, alpine meadows, black taiga, steppe and forest-steppe zones. In the reserve grows a lot of rare plants: Venus shoe, pink rhodiola, lefthia safflower and others.

Conclusion

The expanses of the Kuznetsk Alatau Ridge are poorly understood. Mezhdurechensk is a city in the Kemerovo Region, in which the office of the State Reserve "Kuznetsk Alatau" is located. " Here work is carried out to study the ecosystem of local places, measures are taken to protect the flora and fauna from the harmful effects of human economic activity, and cultural and educational activities are carried out. This difficult matter is necessary for preserving the native nature in its original form.