Where is the Mordovy Reserve? Mordovian State Nature Reserve. PG Smidovich: history, description, photo

In this article we want to tell you about the Mordov reserve. It is located in the Temnikovskiy district of Mordovia, in the zone of broad-leaved and coniferous forests, as well as the forest-steppe, on the banks of the Moksha river. The total area of the reserve is more than thirty two thousand hectares of land.

From the history of the reserve

Mordovian reserve them. PG Smidovich was organized in March 1936, and he received his name in honor of the state employee of that time, who dealt with environmental issues in the country.

The primary goal of creating the reserve was to restore the number of forests affected by felling and burned in fires. In 1938, the trees of the taiga zone lost about two thousand hectares of trees. At the present time, a struggle is underway to preserve the natural landscape of the region.

Mordovian reserve them. PG Smidovich, as well as its surroundings contain many historical monuments. For example, here you can find fort sites and sites of a man dating back to the Neolithic period. In the seventeenth - twentieth centuries, the south-eastern part of the Murom forests belonged to monasteries, the ministers of which tried to preserve and multiply the forest wealth. They built special ditches for draining wetlands. The remnants of their activities have survived to this day.

In the reserve, regular observations are made of the state of the rarest species of flora on stationary registration sites.

Location of the protected area

Mordovian State Nature Reserve. PG Smidovich is located on the right bank of Moksha. The border of the northern part of the protected zone passes along Satis, which is a tributary of the Moksha. The western border is outlined by the river Chernaya, Moksha and Satis. On the southern side of the forest steppe, which naturally delineates the boundaries of protected lands. It turns out that the forest reserves of the reserve enter the zone of coniferous and deciduous forests on the border with the forest-steppe.

As for the climate, the protected area falls into the Atlantic-continental region. The frost-free period in the year is up to 135 days. The negative temperature starts in November. The maximum warm temperature reaches here forty degrees, and the minimum in the winter period to -48 degrees.

Water system

The water system of the protected lands is represented by the rivers Bolshaya and Malaya Chernaya, Pustoi and Argoi. There are also streams flowing into Moksha. All of them also have their own tributaries. However, in the summer, some rivers are partly dry. Summer rains have little effect on the water level in the rivers. Only strong showers can lead to an increase in the water level of rivers. The most part of the reserve is the territory of the catchment of the river Pushta. In the south-west there are lakes, and there are a lot of them, about two dozen. There are large and small in size.

Flora of the reserve

The Mordovian reserve is entirely covered with forests. Half of them are pine. But in the eastern and western parts, birch massifs predominate, while in the central part they are lime. In the floodplain of the Moksha River, oaks grow, the age of which is one hundred and forty-one hundred and fifty years. Sometimes there are more ancient giants, whose age reaches three hundred years.

The reserve flora is represented by 788 species of vascular plants, as well as 73 species of mosses. The most widespread kind of vegetation is subtaiga (light coniferous) forests of various types. Specific for this region are pine-oak, as well as pine-linden burs. Humidity and soil provide such a wide variety of forest areas. Here you can see both dry lichen burs, and raw fir groves, and black alder poplars.

It should be noted that the Mordovsky Reserve (the photo is shown in the article) has preserved quite a lot of forests in its territory in its natural state. Pine forests dominate. There are no clear boundaries between forest types.

Fauna of the protected area

In 1930 Mordovskiy Reserve named after Smidovich was engaged in the introduction of imported new species to the protected area. In this way, muskrats, spotted deer brought from Primorye were released to the lakes, which not only took root in these parts, but also became quite common for this region, and the most numerous of hoofed representatives. From the Voronezh region and Kherson (Askania-Nova), marals were brought here. In 1940, introduced roe deer. Later, bison and buffalo, Ukrainian gray cattle were also brought. Even created a special zubrark, which existed until 1979. Unfortunately, further work was stopped, the zoo park was destroyed, and the animals themselves were sent to live.

Restoration of the number of beavers

For the years of its existence the Mordovian state reserve named after Smidovich has restored the number of almost completely destroyed beavers. Work was begun in the late thirties. Now in the basin of the Moksha River, the beavers have become quite numerous.

Eight hundred individuals were sent for further resettlement in Mordovia, Ryazan, Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Tomsk regions.

Beavers are very interesting animals. For the preparation of feed and for construction they fell trees. Bite off the twigs, and then divide the trunk into separate parts. Imagine that they can knock the aspen off in five minutes. A tree with a diameter of forty centimeters is slowly cut overnight. By morning, after their active work, there remains only a stump and a bunch of sawdust. Chest beavers, standing on their hind legs, and leaning on the tail. Their jaws work like a saw. The teeth of the animals are self-sharpening, and therefore always remain sharp.

The branches from the fallen tree are partially eaten by the beavers, and the others are rafted along the river to their house or to the place where they will build a new dam. Sometimes animals even dig in the canals that serve to feed the food. The length of such a channel can be a couple of hundred meters, and in width to reach fifty centimeters. The depth thus reaches one meter.

Beavers live in burrows, or so-called huts. The entrance to their house is always under water. Animal burrows are digging in the banks. They represent a complex system of labyrinths having four or five entrances. Walls and floors of beavers are very carefully processed. In general, the dwelling itself is located at a depth of no more than one meter, has a width of up to a meter and a height of up to fifty centimeters. Animals think through the house so that the height of the floors in the house is about twenty centimeters taller than water. If suddenly the water level in the river rises, then the beaver immediately raises the floor, scraping off the building material from the ceiling.

Huts, however, animals are built in places where it is impossible to dig a burrow. These are either low wetlands or shoals. The walls of the house are smeared with mud or clay, it becomes strong and unapproachable for any predator. The air enters the hut through the ceiling. Inside there are many moves. With the onset of frosts, animals insulate their homes and all winter there is a plus temperature. Water in the manholes never freezes, and therefore beavers can always go under the ice of the reservoir. In the period of severe frosts over the huts you can see steam. This indicates that the house is inhabited. Sometimes the settlement of this animal simultaneously consists of burrows and huts. What do you think, why do beavers build dams? Everything is very simple. They, though large, but rodents. They have enough enemies: a bear, a wolf, a wolverine, a lynx. To the enemies did not reach them, the entrance must be flooded. For a beaver, this is not an obstacle, and predators will not reach it. However, these animals can not live in water all the time.

Lynx in the Mordovian Reserve

In the reserve, the lynx refers to protected animals. Currently, the number of this animal is expected to increase. According to staff, this is due to the fact that this year there is an increase in their main fodder-rabbit hare.

In addition, researchers record an increase in the number and other animals such as squirrels and spotted deer. I must say that over the past years, the number of squirrels, roe deer, foxes, martens has increased. All these data are obtained through routing, which allows tracking the change in the number of individuals.

In general, the lynx is a very beautiful and hardy animal, which is a symbol of the reserve. The Mordovian nature reserve first discovered the lynx in March 1941 following the traces of its life activity. Then in 1942 the hunters killed three individuals at once (it was a female and two young lynxes), later - also an adult male. And since then, for six years no traces of this animal have been found anymore.

And only in 1949 the reserve Mordovsky started re-settling the lynx.

This animal is characterized by a dense and strong physique, has very developed legs. The animal's fur is beautiful and thick. The sense of smell in the lynx is not strongly developed, but hearing and sight are great. Like all cats, she climbs beautifully through trees, moves quietly and silently, and if necessary makes a big leap for prey. In general, the lynx eats hares and some birds (wood grouses and hazel grouses). However, sometimes they are able to attack prey much larger than themselves, if they see that they can overpower it. So recorded cases of attacks on roe deer. Lynx is a night hunter.

There are rumors that cats are very strong and bloodthirsty, but talk about attacks on people is extremely exaggerated. If the animal is not touched, then it is never the first to attack. Lynx, on the contrary, tries to avoid a person.

Unfortunately, previously there was a decrease in the number of individuals of wild cats. But at the present time the population has increased significantly.

The tasks assigned to the reserve

Mordovian State Park named after PG Smidovich performs measures for the preservation of the natural state of natural complexes (biotechnical, fire-fighting and other measures), measures to protect and protect forest areas, measures to extinguish fires, equipping areas with signs and information boards.

The employees of the reserve have the task of identifying and suppressing any violations of the regime of the protected zone. The Mordovsky Reserve conducts environmental education work, including with schoolchildren.

In addition, scientific research works are carried out. The sanatorium administration organizes cognitive ecological tourism. This is primarily the creation of special ecological paths with places for tourists to relax.

Mordovian Nature Reserve and Ecological Tourism

The purpose of the reserve is to preserve and multiply natural resources, and not hide them from the human eye behind the seven locks. Therefore, the reserve Mordovsky actively engaged in the development of ecological tourism. This is primarily a journey into a new and unexplored world. Such tours are organized in untouched forests for cognitive and educational activities.

Within the framework of such tourism, ecological trails, specialized recreational facilities, visit centers and many other interesting objects have long been established in the reserve. However, the territory of the reserve is closed, its visit is prohibited. But tourist excursions are possible, but by prior arrangement with the administration.

Since 2013, the reserve has also become a tourist operator of the Russian Federation. To his visitors he offers eight different program-tours for every taste:

1. "Visiting the Reserve" - one-day program with a visit to the central manor and thematic events.

2. "Reserve Mordovia" - a one-day excursion route with a visit to the main attractions of the reserve.

3. Expedition to the cordon of Inor. A seven-day trek with visits to monasteries, picturesque places, as well as cognitive activities and programs.

4. Expedition to the cordon Pavlovsky. Five days the guests live in wooden houses, go on excursions, visit monasteries and the main estate.

5. " Survival rate in the forest". This trip is designed for five days with accommodation and meals in the field. Instructors will teach you the basics of survival in the wild, and master classes await you.

6. "Our animals." A fascinating journey into the world of wild nature. The guide will introduce you to the life of birds and animals. Also in winter time, vacationers will be able to ride a snowmobile.

7. Family tour. This excursion is designed for the weekend. For two days you not only visit the reserved places, but also a number of monasteries.

8. Tour "National cuisine". You can not only enjoy the beauty of the protected lands, but also taste dishes of national cuisines.

Instead of an afterword

Mordovian Nature Reserve. Smidovich preserves and protects the riches of nature. If you decide to visit it and admire the local beauties, then you can choose for yourself one of the eight excursion tours that are currently provided. All of them are very different and each will be able to choose the right variant for himself. We wish you a good rest from everyday life and admire the local beauties.