Zapovednik - Environments Protected

Environments Protected

It is not easy to summarize the coverage of ecosystems protected by zapovedniks, but a rough idea can be gained by counting the number of reserves in the main natural-vegetation zones. On the map these are, from north to south:

  • Arctic desert (treeless; no continuous vegetation cover) and tundra (treeless; small shrubs, sedges, mosses)
  • taiga (coniferous boreal forest with admixture of birch and other deciduous trees)
  • deciduous forest (discontinuous zone dominated by oak and other deciduous species)
  • steppe (treeless, dominated by forbs in the north and grasses in the south).

This is a highly simplistic classification: each major zone is divided into subzones, and there are transitional vegetation types. Moreover many zapovedniks, especially if in a transitional zone or covering a range of altitudes, will contain examples of several vegetation types.

With those qualifications, the numbers of zapovednik sites (some zapovedniks occupy widely dispersed sites, some of which are here counted separately) in the different zones are as follows: Arctic desert and tundra - c.15; taiga - c.40; deciduous forest - c.13; steppe - c.30. About half a dozen are predominantly montane, especially in the Caucasus. Komandorsky and Wrangel Island are remote islands. A few are mainly wetlands.

Read more about this topic:  Zapovednik

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