Red book of Karelia: plants, animals, mushrooms, fish

Banal slogans calling for the protection of nature, have recently acquired an actual meaning. The activity of man on earth proved to be too active: the air is poisoned by the enterprises and exhaust gases of cars, the reservoirs are polluted, many animals, fish, birds and plants are threatened with extinction. Therefore, people are forced to resort to the letter of the law, creating various lists, due to which it is not allowed to destroy this or that natural species. Such a list is the Red Book.

What is the Red Book?

The idea of creating this book appeared in 1948. It was created on the initiative of the scientific community, which began to sound the alarm because of the increasing incidence of extinction of populations of living organisms. The Union for Nature Protection printed an alarming list and sent it out to the leaders of world states. Why did they choose the red color? In fact, everything is simple: it is an alarming shade, and at the same time, the color of life. Therefore, the Red Book is designed to attract public attention. It is interesting that it is not completely red: it has pages of different colors:

1. The black. The most tragic pages are painted in the color of mourning. Those animals or plants that are recorded on them are never to be seen again. This is forever extinct species.
2. Green. The most cheerful sheets: they contain species that have been restored and saved.
3. Red. Pages of this shade indicate species that are threatened with extinction.
4. White. Here are rare forms of flora and fauna.
5. Gray. Insufficiently studied species gathered on gray pages.
6. Yellow. Color draws attention to the rapidly shrinking populations.

In addition to international and national lists, there are also regional ones. It is to this that the Red Book of Karelia belongs.

Karelia: endangered species

The nature of the Republic of Karelia is in many respects unique and striking. Such riches simply need to be protected by the state, so scientists have developed such an extensive publication as the Red Book of Karelia. Animals, representatives of flora, fish and poultry, which are on its pages, badly need the guardianship of a person. This useful book was reprinted three times. It was first published in 1985. It included 160 species of vascular plants, more than 30 species of insects and vertebrates, as well as 22 species of various fungi. In the second edition of 1995, the information was somewhat extended. The Red Book of Karelia included 390 items assigned to plants, among which were mosses, mushrooms and lichens. Also included were insects, mollusks, birds, mammals and amphibians: a total of 365 species. The most complete was the third edition, published in 2008 according to all the rules for compiling lists of this kind.

Plants of Karelia

For this region, a very important publication, thoroughly developed by local scientists, was the Red Book of Karelia. The plants that settled on its pages really need urgent protection at the state level. These are ferns (aspleniums, gonzdniki, shields), wild orchids (Venus shoe, leafless leafless, two kinds of doze), several types of medicinal plants. Also, decorative species, such as rhesus and circebita alpine, Siberian australia and windbreaker, were not ignored. Marsh plants are also listed in this list, for example, sundew intermediate and caulinian. Types of shrubs and trees that are on the brink of extinction are recorded on the pages of this book: Karelian birch, hazel, cotoneaster.

Some plants should be told separately. Unfortunately, people allowed what began to disappear such a useful species, like St. John's wort. This medicinal plant is recognized as folk and traditional medicine. It has the following useful properties: it perfectly anesthetizes, relieves spasms, restores blood loss, heals wounds, tones and soothes. Even in antiquity they were treated for diseases of the digestive tract, liver and kidneys. Also the infusion of St. John's wort is used for cough and rheumatism. But we must be careful, since the upper stems of the plant are poisonous, so before using, you should consult a doctor.

This is a small fragment of the wealth that contains the Red Book of Karelia. Plants such as rhodiola rosea, also called the golden root, are valued indeed in gold. If it is correctly applied, then rhodiola can have a beneficial effect on the entire body. Especially good it affects the intellectual abilities of a person, his memory. Antihistaminic and antipyretic properties of this plant have also been noted.

In addition to medicinal plants, it is worth noting the rare orchid, preferring wet and dark places, - kypridin slipper. As it was not called: Venus, marinin or kukushkin shoe, Bogoroditsin boot, moccasin (in America), ladies' shoe (in England). In Karelia, it grows exclusively in the Kivach Reserve. It is noteworthy that this orchid blooms for almost a whole month.

Protection of mushroom stocks

What else is guarded by the Red Book of Karelia? Fungi, of which about 100 species in the republic, also need protection. For example, an aspen white is entered in the guard list. This edible mushroom grows in the national parks and reserves of Karelia. The aspen is not borne annually.

Bright-violet mushroom called purple striderovka is also edible. He adores heaps of brushwood and a pile of straw. The fungus is quite large and reaches 20 centimeters along the circumference of the cap.

A very rare species is the Polish mushroom. This handsome man can be eaten, but he is so rare that he is not allowed to collect. It grows only in the territory of the Kivach Reserve.

Another species of mushroom is a cobweb purple. Gourmets consider it a delicacy. It is extremely rare, and the people gave it the name "drill".

The last, of whom we recall in this opus, is an inedible mushroom cap. The name is quite accurate: the fungus is really similar to the family of the morels.

Quieting bird voices

Unfortunately, the Red Book of Karelia is rich and diverse. Birds, of course, also live on its pages. Black grouse, bearded owl, some species of swans, blue-tail and large curlew are recorded not only in the alarming book of Karelia, but also in all-Russian and even world lists.

A kilogram kulik, called curlew, is the largest among the fauna of Russia. It can be distinguished by a curved beak of considerable length. In the spring, his whistling songs are carried far enough.

Also in the Red Book of Karelia is a large bearded owl. The range of its wings is one and a half meters, and the weight is up to a kilogram. This bird is sometimes confused with a filigree, but their way of life is different: the eagle owl is a night bird, while the owl is awake during the daytime. The size of the population varies depending on the abundance of rodents. The bird is listed in several security lists.

A wood grouse is a beautiful, majestic bird. He is the only one that has fully adapted to the northern climate, especially to cold winters. Male wood grouse is truly gigantic in size, its weight reaches 6.5 kilograms. The female is half smaller and does not differ in the brightness of the plumage. This representative of chicken in winter eats pine cones and needles, and in the summer can eat even lizards. In flight the wood grouse is rather clumsy. The meat of this giant is very useful, therefore some hunters exterminate the bird without measure. That is why the Red Book of Karelia has been replenished by such representatives of the feathered squad as a wood grouse.

Karelian fish

The reservoirs of Karelia are densely populated by the inhabitants, but 28 species of fish belong to the disappearing. For such groups of residents of rivers and lakes, the Red Book of Karelia is simply necessary. Fish Such families as salmon, sturgeon, whitefish, carp, catfish, and loach are included in the list of mandatory for protection. Their mass catch led to catastrophic consequences: on the verge of extinction were sturgeon, sterlet, lime salmon, nelma, whitefish, tench, Chekhon, shchipovka and catfish. These valuable species of fish could disappear forever from the reservoirs of Karelia, if they were not taken in time by the state.

Animal world

Many representatives of fauna contain the Red Book of Karelia. Animals of this region are known to all through documentary and feature films, but if their shooting is not stopped, human irresponsibility will lead to their complete disappearance. For example, the northern forest deer. This fine animal horn is present in representatives of both sexes. And he is also famous for the fact that in the heart of a deer there is a bone, the purpose of which is unknown until now. These nomads from the wild live in herds of up to 15 individuals. In winter, groups of 100 deer can migrate. Beautiful ungulates, living up to 25 years, like to settle in swamps, in forests with mossy bedding, river meadows. At the moment the population lives in two national parks and Kostomuksha State Reserve.

On the territory of Karelian reserves and parks there lives the only living representative of the genus "glutton", this is how the name Gulo - Wolverine is translated. The Red Book of the Karelian Republic could not but replenish such a colorful, but unfortunately, disappearing character. This single beast is very cautious and strong. A fairly massive animal resembles a large badger or bear. Has a thick, coarse wool, sharp claws and powerful teeth. The weight of the beast reaches 18 kilograms. If a lair is found in a secluded place or under the roots of a tree, you can be sure that the wolverine lives there.

The Red Book is not just a security list. This is a reminder to mankind, how many beautiful animals, birds and fish nature has given us. It would be unpardonable stupidity and waste to lose all this. After all, each link in nature has its own purpose. Wolverine, for example, because of its omnivor, plays the role of the medic of the forest, eating carrion.

Another inhabitant of the Karelian forests is the lynx. As this big cat looks, almost everyone knows, but her habits deserve special attention. A large and graceful beast simply adores dark littered forests, swims and climbs beautifully through trees. If the food is not enough, the lynx can start up long wanderings, that's how they got to Kamchatka. The tactic of attack is insidious and wait-and-see, and not the same as most people would think: she does not attack, jumping on a victim from a tree. In winter, when the snow is very deep, the lynx can overcome even the female of the wapiti. For many years it was believed that the lynx should be exterminated as a dangerous predator (and the fur of the beast is of considerable value), but after a while it turned out that the animal plays a huge role in the biocenosis, therefore the state is simply obligated to protect the lynx.

Among other things, the Red Book of Karelia contains such rare species of fauna as flying squirrel, fox, brown bear, ermine, hare, weasel, marten and moose on its colorful pages.

What is the value of the security list?

The Red Book is a document of national importance. But he only warns people about the species that are disappearing. The next stage of protection is the creation of national parks and reserves. It was such measures that helped to save many species of birds, animals and plants from extermination. It is also necessary to create protected areas: protected areas for breeding a certain species of fauna or flora. The use of such measures has made it possible to contain anthropogenic factor seriously threatening the nature of the planet.