Zapovednik - Theory of zapovednost'

Theory of zapovednost'

The theoretical justification for the zapovedniks is known as zapovednost' (заповедность) - strictly meaning 'the state of being protected in a zapovednik'. It was developed in the 1890s and early 20th century, principally by the soil biologist V.V.Dokuchaev.

The fundamental idea is the exclusion of people and the prohibition of economic activity, the only exceptions being non-intrusive access allowed to scientists and rangers. Zapovedniks are intended to be parcels of untouched natural ecosystems that can be studied as etalony (эталоны) or standards with which to compare managed ecosystems, such as are created in agriculture and forestry. To this end, zapovedniks need to be large enough to be self-sufficient, with a complete range of trophic levels up to the top predators.

In 1910 the theory of zapovednost' was taken a step forward by I.P.Borodin, who argued that zapovedniks should not be established piece-meal, but as a planned system of reserves including samples of all the main natural regions in the country.

In the 1940s Aldo Leopold understood the need for zapovednik-type reserves: "While even the largest wilderness areas become partially deranged, it required only a few wild acres for J.E.Weaver to discover why the prairie flora is more drought-resistant than the agronomic flora which has supplanted it." The answer was that the wild prairie had a much more complex, and more efficient, root system, and this could only have been discovered by studying the undisturbed natural ecosystem.

Of course it would be difficult, if not impossible, to establish a 'perfect' zapovednik today, entirely natural and self-sufficient, especially in view of downstream effects involving pollution and greenhouse gases. Nevertheless many Russian zapovedniks are a good approximation to the ideal, and have been operating as scientific institutions for many decades.