Altai reserves. Altai Nature Reserve

On the tops of the Altai mountains you can see, perhaps, some of the most beautiful places on the planet - alpine meadows. The “kingdom of permafrost”, which is located above, has not yet begun here, but the monotonous tundra has already ended. Alpine meadows are found not only in the Alps. This is a collective name that is used to designate low-grass vegetation at the upper limit of its existence in the Pyrenees, Apennines, Cordillera, Caucasus and Altai. During an extremely short warm period, a real miracle is formed here - a continuous carpet of herbs and flowers.

Lake Teletskoye is the heart of the Altai Nature Reserve, one of the most beautiful places Siberia

The Alpine meadow is truly a paradise: dozens of exotic flowers and herbs grow here

Full name Altai State Natural Reserve biosphere reserve.
IUCN Category: Ia (Strict Natural Reserve).
Date of foundation: April 16, 1932.
Region: mountains Southern Siberia in the Turochaksky district of the Altai Republic.
Area: 882,000 hectares.
Relief: mountainous.
Climate: continental.
Official website: http://www.altzapovednik.ru/.
Email: [email protected].

History of creation

The Altai Nature Reserve is one of the largest in Russia. Initially, it was allocated an area of up to 1.3 million hectares, but gradually they were reduced to the size that exists today. It is interesting that since 1930, a family of Old Believers hermits, the Lykovs, lived in the Altai mountains, completely unfamiliar with modern civilization.

The Altai Nature Reserve is, without a doubt, a treasure of Russia. That is why today it is difficult to understand how it could happen that the reserve was liquidated twice - in 1951 and 1961.

Flora

On the territory of the reserve grow 1,480 species of vascular plants from 107 families, 250 species of mosses, more than 500 algae, among which diatoms of Lake Teletskoe and other reservoirs, and about 37 species of lichens predominate. In total, about 200 plant species are endemic to this region.

The amazingly beautiful landscapes of the Altai Nature Reserve will not leave any visitor indifferent

The coniferous forests of the Altai Nature Reserve consist mainly of Siberian cedar (Pinus sibirica), Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata). The main deciduous tree species are birch - warty birch (Betula pendula) and downy birch (Betula pubescens).

On the mountain peaks of Altai grows the outlandish edelweiss flower (Leontopodium), translated from Greek as “lion’s paw” (from leon - “lion” and podion - “paw”). It is also called the Alpine star, the silver flower of the rocks. As an image of strong love that overcomes any obstacles, as well as a symbol of inaccessibility and good luck, this flower is found in many Altai tales and legends.

Altai herbs... This phrase always sounds fascinating for admirers of a healthy lifestyle, because Altai means healing, rare, possessing amazing properties. But these ideas are actually close to the truth. The most common here are goldenrod (Solidago dahurica), bitterleaf (Saussurea latifolia), thistle (Cirsiurn helenioides), raponticum (leuzea) safflower, or maral root (Rhaponticum carthamoides), a unique medicinal plant that grows in the Altai mountains. It effectively improves immunity and promotes overall strengthening of the body. It was “suggested” to man by deer - Siberian red deer (Cervus maral).

Animal world

58 species of mammals, 323 of birds, 6 of reptiles, 18 of fish and about 15 of invertebrates live here.

Wolverine is one of the most interesting animals of the Altai Nature Reserve, the largest representative of the mustelid family

The animal world of Altai is rich and diverse: from squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) and Asian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus) to deer (Cervus maral), bears (Ursus arctos) and wolverines (Gulo gulo). One of the most notable animals is the lynx (Lynx lynx). She has mastered all the landscapes and habitats of Altai remarkably well, climbs trees, runs and swims well. Lynx fur is considered a particularly chic item, so these animals are in danger.

Wolverine is a predatory animal of the mustelid family, resembling both a bear and a badger. Having long legs disproportionate to the proportions of the body (with maximum length body 86 cm, average length of limbs - 10 cm), the animal moves easily, like on skis, on the snow cover.

Among all the inhabitants of the reserve, birds most clearly characterize its main feature: altitudinal zonation. In general, 323 species of birds live on the territory of the Altai Nature Reserve. Black-throated loon (Gavia arctica) and red-cheeked grebe (Podiceps auritus) are found in the water bodies. In the forests you can always see the Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) and Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos).

There are 14 species of fish in the waters of Lake Teletskoye, among which the most common are taimen (Hucho taimen), Teletskoye grayling (Thymallus arcticus), and lenok (Brachymystax lenok).

The main attraction of the Altai Nature Reserve is Lake Teletskoye, which is 78 km long and has a maximum depth of 325 m. About 400 years ago, tribes who called themselves Teles lived along the shores of the lake, which is why this name appeared. But the local population called it Altyn-Kel - “Golden Lake”. In addition to the main river Chulyshman, 70 rivers and more than 150 temporary watercourses flow into it. Lake Teletskoye flows into the Biya River, feeding the Ob with its waters. Korbu Waterfall, a natural monument since 1978, is located at the foot of the Korbu ridge, a hundred meters from the shore of Lake Teletskoye. It, like the entire right bank of the lake, is located on the territory of the Altai Nature Reserve. The only way to get to Korbu is by boat on the lake. And such excursions are very popular among tourists.

Korbu Waterfall

In the Uimon steppe near the Chulyshman valley there is a unique natural phenomenon - stone mushrooms, rocky formations that were formed over thousands of years under the influence of erosion and weathering.

Information for visitors

Reserve mode

The Altai Nature Reserve can be visited by agreement with its administration. The Teletska School of Youth Ecotourism has been established at the reserve. A number of interesting ecological routes are constantly operating.

How to get there

You can get to Gorno-Altaisk by train, then by car or regular bus to the village of Artybash at the mouth of Lake Teletskoye. After this there is a lake message. By car you can get to the village of Yailyu - the central estate of the Altai Nature Reserve.

Where to stay

In the villages of Yogach and Artybash, located near the reserve, at the mouth of Lake Teletskoye, there is a network of campsites, tourist centers and “green” houses. Works here information center Altai Nature Reserve, where you can find out all the information about accommodation, excursion and other tourism services. In the village of Yailyu there is a guest house, as well as “green” houses of local residents, where you can stay by prior arrangement.

The Altai Nature Reserve was founded in 1932, modern borders were designated in 1968. It is located in the Chulyshman River basin and is included in the top ten large reserves RF. Area - 881,238 hectares, of which 13 thousand hectares are water bodies and 247.8 thousand hectares are forest zones. The Altai Nature Reserve is part of the Altai territories included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The purpose of creating a protected zone is to protect the natural complex of Siberia and study the ecosystems of the region.

Landscape and climate features

The Altai Nature Reserve of Russia, stretching for 230 km, amazes with its diversity of landscapes. Here there was a place for taiga forests, steppes, tundra, and meadows. The pearl of the protected zone is Lake Teletskoye (water area - 223 km2). 70 rivers flow into it, the largest of which is Chulyshman. The shore of the lake is decorated with 150 waterfalls.

The main part of the Altai Nature Reserve lies at an altitude of 1,450-1,650 m above sea level, the ridges rise to 3,000 - 3,500 m. The mountains are characterized by a pronounced altitudinal zone: coniferous taiga, where cedars, larches and fir grow, gives way to open forests. Higher up are alpine meadows and tundra with a predominance of low shrubs and lichens. Mountain areas are rich in springs, springs and lakes, covering an area of 15 thousand m2.

The territory of the Altai Nature Reserve is dominated by continental and mountain climate. The first is due to the location - the protected zone lies in the central part of the continent, where the weather is influenced by the air masses of the Arctic and the anticyclones of Asia. The mountain climate prevails in the Altai ridge zone.

The formation of climatic conditions also depends on the specifics of the landscape of individual areas. Thus, the southern part, where the valleys of the Chulyshman River and Lake Teletskoye are located, is characterized by mild winters and short, cool summers. There is almost no snow here, the annual precipitation is 400-500 mm. In the northern part of the Altai Nature Reserve and the mid-mountain taiga zone, on the contrary, cold winters prevail. Snow falls already at the end of October. In summer the air temperature rises to +30 °C. The amount of precipitation per year is 800-900 mm.

Plants of the Altai Nature Reserve

According to botanists, the number of vascular plants growing in the Altai Nature Reserve is 1,480 specimens from 107 families. Among them there are endemics and relicts: loose sedge, circe, Siberian kandyk, Voronets and dendranthema notamata. Business card are cedar forests. The diameter of some trees is 1.8 meters, and their age reaches 500 years!

The flora of the alpine meadows enchants with its diversity. Numerous violets, azure gentians, crimson pennyworts, golden adonis and rare edelweiss bloom here. Among the herbs, saxifrage, five-leaf clover, cotoneaster, cinquefoil, bergenia and beautiful flower dominate. The mountain slopes are decorated with raspberries, gooseberries, sea buckthorn, viburnum and Daurian rhododendron. The steppe belt is represented by feathery feather grass and fescue. The marshy area is covered with ferns. Of the lower plants in the Altai Nature Reserve, about 100 species of fungi are known, 668 of algae and 272 of mosses and lichens carpeting the tundra soil.

Animals of the Altai Nature Reserve

The fauna protected by the Altai Nature Reserve is typical of the taiga forests of western Siberia. However, due to the diversity of reliefs and climatic conditions, animals whose habitats are mountains, tundra and steppes are also found here. According to research in 2010, the reserve has:

73 species of mammals;
15 thousand species of invertebrates;
10 species of amphibians and reptiles;
334 species of birds;
18 species of fish.

Mammals

Among the animals of the Altai Nature Reserve, representatives of three families of insectivores and eight species of bats are of interest. The rarest are the Siberian shrew, discovered in the protected area only in 2003, the brown long-eared bat, the long-whiskered bat, the great tubebill and the northern leatherback.

The mustelid family is represented by the badger, weasel, ermine and mink, and to a lesser extent by the otter and wolverine. The sable, which was practically exterminated in the 30s of the 20th century, now lives everywhere in the taiga. Among the ungulates, musk deer, deer, elk, and roe deer are widespread. It is extremely rare to find forest reindeer. The southern regions are inhabited by argali and Siberian mountain goats. Everywhere you can see the mountain hare, Altai pika, Asian chipmunk and common squirrel. The theriofauna includes 16 predators, typical representatives of which are the brown bear, wolf and fox.

There are 59 endangered fauna representatives on the territory of the Altai Nature Reserve. This represents 52% of the total number of animals protected in the region. Here you can still see the snow leopard, which is on the verge of extinction and is listed in the Red Book of the world and the Russian Federation.

Invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles

The invertebrate world of the Altai Nature Reserve is extremely rich, but due to the diversity of species it has been little studied. The most interesting are the diurnal and nocturnal butterflies: Erebia Kindermann, Apollo Phoebus, swallowtail, peacock's eye and Hebe the bear.

The reptile fauna includes six species. Sanding and viviparous lizards, cottonmouth, common viper and patterned snake are ubiquitous. The gray viper is occasionally seen. The gray toad lives in the interfluves and floodplains. At an altitude of 2,140 m, the sharp-faced frog lives in moist places.

Birds

Frequently encountered representatives of the avifauna of the Altai Nature Reserve in Russia include the tit, corncrake, crane, jock, hoopoe, field pipist and rock pigeon. The employees are especially proud of the appearance in the steppes of the sandpiper, which until 2013 was not included in the list of birds in the region, and the growing population of the pink starling, listed in the Red Book.

Gulls, bitterns, black storks, whooper swans, goldeneyes, mallards and herons nest on the banks of lakes and rivers. In the forests you can observe the life of hazel grouse, cuckoos, woodpeckers, wood grouse, partridges and nutcrackers. The tundra zone is favored by the Altai snowcock, horned lark, tundra partridge and red-bellied redstart. As for feathered predators, the Altai Nature Reserve is home to the eagle owl, osprey, kite, falcon, white-tailed eagle, peregrine falcon and golden eagle.

Ichthyofauna

Fish in the Altai Nature Reserve are represented by 18 species. The most valuable are taimen, Siberian char, osman and grayling, which are found in the Chulyshman River. They come to spawn in the high-mountain lake Dzhulukul - the most “fishy” reservoir in Russia. Lake Teletskoye, which is not distinguished by a variety of food, is inhabited by burbot, sculpin, pike, dace, lenok, whitefish Pravdina, perch and rare Teletskoe sprat.

Ecotourism

The Altai Nature Reserve protects the integrity of the landscape and all species of plants and animals found on its territory. Monitoring observations of the dynamics of natural processes are carried out here, as well as scientific research. Their goal is to study the ecosystems of Altai, assess changes in the fauna, flora and seismic state of the region.

Staying in protected areas of the reserve without a special pass is prohibited. An exception is granted only to tourist groups making excursions designed to familiarize themselves with the nature, environmental features and historical monuments of the region, such as burial mounds, stone tombs and ancient sculptures of the Turkic peoples. Popular routes are:

Belinskaya terrace and orchard;
Inaccessible waterfall;
Bascon waterfall;
Chichelgan zigzag;
Uchar waterfall and Chulcha river;
Kokshi cordon;
Yailyu village and Minor pass.

Also available for visiting tourist groups are observation platforms located at the foot of the Korbu and Kishte waterfalls.

Animals and plants listed in the Red Book of Russia

Plants:

Lake lancet - Isoetes lacustris L.
Feather grass - Stipa pennata L.
Zalesskii feather grass - Stipa zalesskii Wilensky
Siberian Kandyk - Erythronium sibiricum
Swollen lady's slipper - Cypripedium ventricosum Sw.
Lady's slipper - Cypripedium calceolus L.
Large-flowered lady's slipper - Cypripedium macranthon Sw.
Epipogium aphyllum
Neottianthe cucullata
Liparis loeselii (L.)
Baltic fingerweed - Dactylorhiza baltica
Orchis militaris L.
Altai rhubarb - Rheum altaicum Losinsk.
Unfound fighter - Aconitum decipiens
Pascoe's wrestler - Aconitum paskoi
Chuy's oysterwort - Oxytropis tschujae
Siberian toothed tooth – Dentaria sibirica
Dendranthema sinuatum
Volodushka Martyanov - Bupleurum martjanovii
Rhodiola rosea - Rhodiola rosea L.
Altai Kostenets - Asplenium altajense

Insects:

Rhymn's blueberry - Neolycaena rhymnus
Common Apollo – Parnassius apollo
Erebia Kindermanni – Erebia Kindermanni

The coordination and management center of the Altai Nature Reserve is located at the address: 649000, Russia, Gorno-Altaisk, Naberezhny Lane, 1.

ALTAI Reserve. General information and history of creation

N. A. Maleshin, N. A. Zolotukhin, V. A. Yakovlev, G. G. Sobansky, V. A. Stakheev, E. E. Syroechkovsky, E. V. Rogacheva

The Altai State Nature Reserve, one of the largest reserves in the mountains of Southern Siberia, has existed since 1932, but due to voluntaristic government decisions in the 1950-1960s, its fate was twice subjected to severe trials.

At the end of the 1920s, the scientific department of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR and the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation were looking for opportunities to create new reserves in the sable habitat areas. A complex expedition led by Professor V.I. Baranov, working in 1929 in Altai, outlined a mountain reserve with an area of more than 2 million hectares from the border with Tuva to the Katun River. Lake Teletskoye would be in the center of this vast territory. This option was rejected as impeding the development of the economy of the Oirot (Gorno-Altai) Autonomous Region, and on May 4, 1930, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a resolution that provided for the creation of the Gorno-Altai Nature Reserve with an area of up to 600 thousand hectares. In 1931, a new expedition of the People's Commissariat for Education was sent to Altai to clarify the boundaries of the reserve, in which conservation enthusiast F. F. Schillinger participated. In the project presented by the expedition, the protected area covered an area of 1 million hectares, including 800 thousand hectares of the Oirot and 200 thousand hectares of the Khakass Autonomous Regions in the upper reaches of the river. Great Abakan (Shillinger, 1931). In accordance with this project, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a resolution in April 1932 “On the establishment of the state Altai Nature Reserve within the Oirot and Khakass Autonomous Regions.” Although the text of the resolution referred to a territory of “about 1 million hectares,” in fact its area was larger - 1.3 million hectares.

The reserve was guarded not only by rangers and foresters, but also by border guards, since the eastern and southern borders of the reserve territory coincided with the border of the USSR and the Tuvan People's Republic. In the thirties, on the territory of the reserve there were 5 settlements, one border outpost, 8 cordons, 16 taiga huts and 1220 km of horse trails. In 1935, 1,116 people lived on the right bank of the Chulyshman. In the upper reaches of the Bolshoi Abakan lived the Lykov family of Old Believers, first described in literature by the scientist-writer A. A. Malyshev and later gaining fame thanks to the essays of V. M. Peskov. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, more than 60 foresters, researchers and workers of the reserve went to the front; 57 of them died.

In 1951, the Altai Nature Reserve was liquidated. The difficulties of logging in the mountains and the lack of roads did not allow significant logging to be carried out in the protected area. On the initiative of the scientific community, the Altai Nature Reserve was restored in 1958 to the system of the Main Directorate of Hunting and Nature Reserves under the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR (Glavokhota RSFSR). Its area decreased to 940 thousand hectares due to the territory of Khakassia (the upper reaches of the Greater Abakan) and certain sections of the right bank of Chulyshman.

In 1961, the reserve was liquidated a second time. However, the need to protect nature Gorny Altai was so obvious that by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR dated October 7, 1967, the Altai Nature Reserve was restored again on an area of 863.8 thousand hectares. Currently, after the exchange of individual plots of land with neighboring land users and the inclusion of part of the water area of Lake Teletskoye within the reserve, its area is 881,238 hectares. The reserve has an elongated shape and, with an average width of about 35 km, extends in the meridional direction for 250 km.

^ Physiographic conditions

According to geomorphological zoning, the entire territory of the reserve belongs to the Altai province of the country “Mountains of Southern Siberia” (Olyunin, 1975). Along the boundaries of the reserve there are high ridges: in the north - Abakansky, reaching 2890 m above sea level. u. m. (Sadonskaya town), in the south - Chikhacheva (Getedei town, 3021 m), in the east - Shapshalsky (Toshkalykaya town, 3507 m). Several isolated mountain ranges are located in the center of the reserve: Kurkure (Kurkurebazhi town, 3111 m), Tetykol (up to 3069 m), Chulyshmansky (Bogoyash town, 3143 m). From the west, the territory is limited by the valleys of the rivers Chulyshman, Karakem and Lake Teletskoye.

High alpine terrain is represented on most of the ridges. This type of relief is characterized by narrow ridges with sharp peaks, numerous ravines and troughs. The walls of the carts, as a rule, are very steep, and thick screes form at the foot of the slopes. There are small glaciers and numerous snowfields. The alpine relief is especially pronounced on the Kurkure ridge - powerful jagged walls, sharp bizarre peaks rise sharply above the Chulyshman plateau.

On the remaining ridges of the reserve, high- and mid-mountain weakly dissected relief prevails. Watersheds have soft outlines, and wide valleys have gentle slopes. This type of relief is most typical on the Tetykol, Plosky and Elbektularkyr ridges.

In the Dzhulukul basin and the upper reaches of the Chulchi River, formations of glacial and fluvioglacial origin are widely developed. Glacial deposits include terminal, stadial and main moraines; Fluvioglacial intraglacial deposits are eskers in the form of sandy ridges, as well as kamas and kame terraces. All these formations are also represented in the upper reaches of the river. Chulchi.

The underlying rocks are mainly gneisses, granites, diorites, granodiorites and quartzites. There are gabbros, sandstones, and shales. On the northern coast of Lake Teletskoye there are massifs of crystalline limestone and marble.

The hydrographic network of the reserve belongs to the right bank part of the drainage basin of Lake Teletskoye and its main tributary - the river. Chulyshman. The river flowing down from the Chikhachev ridge. Taskyl and several other tributaries of the river. Mogenburen belong to the river basin. Kobdo. From a number of lakes. located on the border of the reserve along the Abakansky and Shapshalsky ridges, streams and rivers originate, rushing their waters into the tributaries of the Yenisei - Khemchik and Bolshoy Abakan. Total area reservoirs in the reserve - 28,766 hectares (3.2%), of which 11,757 hectares are in the protected part of the water area of Lake Teletskoye.

The rivers of the reserve with their many large and small tributaries form a very branched and dense hydrographic network (on average 1.5 - 2.0 km/km2). Most rivers begin on the Abakan and Shapshalsky ridges and their spurs, crossing the territory of the reserve in a latitudinal direction. The rivers Chulcha (length with its tributary Itykulbazhi - 98 km), Shavla (with its tributary Saykho-nash - 67 km), Bogoyash (58 km) and the Chulyshman River (241 km), flowing from Lake Dzhulukul, stand out for their maximum length, water content and development of large valleys . Chulyshman flows through the reserve only for 60 km - from the source to the Kudrul tract. Treeless, swampy upper reaches of rivers usually have wide, trough-shaped valleys plowed by glaciers. In the middle and lower reaches of the rivers, the valleys cut deeply into the mountains and have steep, forest-covered slopes.

The beds of turbulent, fast-moving rivers here are cluttered with stones, the flow speed reaches 2-5 mvs. The width of river valleys is largely determined by the nature of the rocks cut through, narrowing in areas of granite distribution and widening where chlorite schists are developed. The rivers of the reserve are picturesque - with powerful rapids, rifts, quiet reaches and waterfalls. More than ten rivers have waterfalls ranging from 6 to 60 m in height: Big Shal-tan and Big Korbu, Kishte, Kaira, Aksu and others. On the river Chulche, 8 km from the mouth, is the largest waterfall in Altai - “Inaccessible”. This is a 150-meter cascade of water raging among huge gneiss blocks.

There are 1190 lakes in the Altai Nature Reserve with an area of more than 1 hectare each. Most of them are located in the highlands. The origin of lake basins is associated with the activity of glaciers. Tarn lakes have an oval, sometimes round shape and steep shores. Often trains of rocky screes descend into the lakes. The depth of karst lakes is significant - up to 35-50 m. Thermokarst lakes are found in the zone of permafrost development in the south-eastern part of the reserve. These are either small oval single lakes or bizarre complexes of connected thermokarst basins with a ridge-basin bottom and small islands.

The largest among the high-mountain lakes of the reserve - Dzhulukul - is located in the basin of the same name at an altitude of 2200 m above sea level. u. m., among many other reservoirs of moraine origin. The area of Julukul is 3020 hectares, depth - 7-9 m, length - about 10 km. Mountain moraine-dammed lakes are very picturesque, with steep rocky shores or bordered by forest (the basins of the rivers Shavly, N. Kulasha, etc.)

Lake Teletskoye is the largest and most beautiful lake in Altai, located at an altitude of 434 m above sea level. u. m. Altyn-Kol - the “Golden Lake” of the Altai people - has been the subject of many enthusiastic descriptions by scientists and travelers. A lake with surrounding mountains and dark coniferous trees. predominantly cedar taiga - a magnificent natural monument of Siberia.

The lake stretches for 78 km as a narrow blue ribbon, squeezed by the Korbu and Al-tyntu ridges. Its area is relatively small - 223 km2, however, thanks to great depth(up to 325 m) it contains a huge amount - 40 billion cubic meters. m - excellent fresh water, clean, oxygenated. By giving its waters to the Biya River, the lake largely supplies the Ob. About 70 rivers and 150 temporary watercourses flow into the lake, with more than half of all water supplied by the Chulyshman River.

The position of the reserve near the center of Asia determines the general continental nature of the climate. However, the features of the relief and conditions for the transfer of air masses with the large size of the reserve give rise to a significant variety of climatic conditions. Its northern part is characterized by warm and humid summers, snowy and relatively mild winters. Average annual temperature 3.2°; the average January temperature is -8.7°; July - +16.0°C. There is a lot of precipitation - up to 850-1100 mm per year, about half of which falls in summer. The Priteletskoye region is also characterized by a significant thickness of snow cover - up to 80-120 cm. In general, the northern part of the reserve adjacent to Lake Teletskoye is one of the warmest and wettest places in the Altai Mountains.

In the southeastern part of the reserve the climate is sharply continental and very severe. In winter, frosts reach -50°C, and on summer days the maximum temperature sometimes reaches +30°. The average annual temperature is -5°. Precipitation is 3-4 times less than at Lake Teletskoye, and the duration of the growing season is only one and a half months versus five months in the northern part.

Climatic conditions also vary in different altitude zones. The amount of precipitation increases (up to 1500 mm at an altitude of 1200 m), average temperatures decrease, and the frost-free period decreases.

The soil cover of the reserve territory is characterized by vertical zonation and latitudinal zonality. On the steppe slopes, predominantly chernozem-like and chestnut-like primitive highly gravelly soils are developed. In the northern part of the reserve, under black aspen-fir and fir- cedar forests podzolized brown soils and gray forest soils are formed. In the taiga, under fir-cedar, pine and spruce-cedar forests, acidic cryptopodzolic, soddy non-podzolic and humus-podzolic soils are formed. Under the larch taiga, soddy-podzolic and humus-podzolic processes predominate. In the central part of the reserve, thin podzols are formed under larch and cedar forests, and humus and sod-humus soils are formed on the border with the highlands.

In the highlands, at low temperatures and increased atmospheric moisture, mountain-tundra primitive peaty and peat-gley soils are formed on a rocky-gravelly base. Among the Dzhulukul depression, mountain-tundra turf soils under fescue and cobresia meadows are developed.

Mountain-meadow soils are characteristic of gentle slopes with southern exposures, as well as hollows and depressions occupied by high-mountain meadows.

More than 20% of the reserve's area is covered with rocky outcrops, screes, pebbles, and snowfields.

^ Vegetation cover

The entire diversity of lower plants of the Altai Nature Reserve cannot yet be fully surveyed.

Certain groups of fungi and myxomycetes were studied by specialists such as T. N. Barsukova, I. A. Dudka, O. G. Golubeva and a number of others, who managed to make many interesting discoveries and describe species new to science. Of the specially protected species of mushrooms previously listed in the Red Book of the RSFSR, it should be noted the double networt, which was discovered in the Oymok tract in 1986 in birch-pine-grass-green-moss forests. In the Priteletsky region of the reserve there are: umbrella griffola, pistillate horntail, coral blackberry. The maiden umbrella mushroom is also indicated for the reserve.

More than 500 species of algae are known in the reserve, among them diatoms of Lake Teletskoye and surrounding reservoirs predominate.

For the territory of the reserve, 37 species of lichens were previously indicated. In 1985 E.F. The Queen began an inventory of the lichen flora, which, according to preliminary data, numbers at least 500 species. So far, the families Peltigeriaceae (16 species), Nephroraceae (6), Lobariaceae (6), Hypohymniaceae (7), Parmeliaceae (40), Umbilicariaceae (18), and Cladoniaceae (47 species) have been processed. In the reserve there are three species of lichens included in the Red Books of the USSR and the RSFSR: Lobaria pulmonata is quite common as an epiphyte on tree trunks; Lobaria reticulum is the only find on the rocks along the river. Bayas; fringed stikta - occasionally on mossy trunks and boulders.

Based on collections collected in 1934, 1935, 1976-1980. and determined by N.V. Samsel, L.V. Bardunov, E.A. and M.S. Ignatov, about 250 species of bryophytes were known in the reserve. Subsequent special studies (N.I. Zolotukhin, M.S. Ignatov) made it possible to increase this list to 510 species. The reserve contains species that were included in the Red Book of the RSFSR: Krylov's campilium and southern alpine leptopteryginandrum. From the territory of the reserve, a monotypic genus new to science (Orthodontopsis Bardunov) and a new species (Polytrichastrum altai) of bryophytes were described, many interesting species with disjunctive habitats were discovered, including - for the first time in Russia - Barbula phylum, Bryoerythrophyllum unequalifolia, Brachythecium sickle-shaped, etc.

On the modern territory of the reserve, 1,480 species of vascular plants from 107 families are known, excluding 144 species of anthropochoroids introduced by humans and growing or growing only in the village of Yailyu, on cordons, and tourist sites. The largest families: Compositae - 192 species, grasses - 155, sedges - 106, Rosaceae - 97, legumes - 85 species. The main genera: sedge - 88 species, cinquefoil - 40, willow - 31, wormwood - 27 species. Ferns (36 species) and orchids (26), represented by almost all species of Altai, are distinguished by significant diversity; but at the same time, the role of legumes in the reserve is reduced - 55% of their total diversity in the Altai Mountains, which is explained both by natural-historical reasons and by the fact that after reorganization the reserve lost most of the steppe areas on the right bank of the Chulyshman.

Among the Asteraceae, the most common species are Daurian goldenrod (in the meadows and forests of the entire reserve), broadleaf bitterweed, variegated thistle, raponticum safflower (maral root) - in tall grass meadows, in park forests and woodlands. Particularly rare Asteraceae are Carpesium sadum, recently discovered in the lower reaches of the Kyga and Kamga rivers, and previously known only in the Far East; three-lobed Waldheimia, Price's groundsel and glacial bitterweed are ultra-high-mountain species growing in the reserve only in the extreme south of the Shapshalsky ridge at altitudes from 2600 to 3340 m. lilac color, found on the rocks of the coast of Lake Teletskoye and the right bank of Chulyshman.

The most common cereals of the reserve are sphagnum fescue, downy sheep, fragrant alpine spikelet, meadow foxtail, Siberian and meadow bluegrass; in the highlands, in addition, Altai trichaete, Altai bluegrass, Alpine bison. Rare are Kitagawa's snake grass (steppe areas), Sobolevskaya bluegrass (only the upper reaches of the Chulchi River near the border with the Western Sayan), Mongolian sheep's grass (highlands of the southern part of the reserve), Vereshchagin's reed grass (Dzhu-Lukul depression, endemic described from the reserve). The feather grass and Zalessky feather grass were included in the Red Book of the RSFSR. The first species is a fairly common and numerous steppe plant in the reserve, the second is recorded only in the Berektuyaryk tract.

Among the sedge family, the largest genus is sedge. The reserve represents 90% of the total species diversity of this genus in the Altai Mountains. Common sedges are large-tailed (found in a variety of forests), Ilyina (cedar and green-moss larch forests), foot-shaped (forest-steppe, rocky slopes), narrow-fruited and Ledebura (mountain tundra), dark (high-mountain meadows), Shabinskaya (swamps, meadows, tundra - the most widespread species), swollen (reservoirs, swamps), as well as mousetail cobresia (highlands). Only at the lake. Derinkul is marked with loose sedge, included in the Red Book of the RSFSR. The Martynenko sedge, an endemic of the reserve, was described from the northern shore of Lake Teletskoye. In total, about 1000 copies of this are known interesting looking, whose closest relatives grow in the Far East.

Representatives of the orchids (orchids) family in the reserve are diverse, but are distributed mainly in the Priteletsky region. Many species are rare, small in number and were included in the Red Books of the USSR and the RSFSR: Lezel's liparis - a meadow in the vicinity of Yailyu; Baltic palmate root - swampy meadows on the shore of Lake Teletskoye; Helmeted yat-ryshnik - meadows on the coast of Lake Teletskoye and in the lower reaches of Chulyshman; lady's slipper is real - clearings in birch and pine forests in the Bele region, the lower reaches of the Kyga and Chulyshman rivers, as well as the more widespread lady's slipper grandiflora, the leafless capillary, Neottianthe capulata.

Among the herbaceous plants of other families are the serpentine, alpine and viviparous mountaineers, two-flowered and spring minuartia, tall delphinium, hybrid sedum, thick-leaved bergenia, summer and Siberian saxifrage, bush pentafoil (Kuril tea), South Siberian kopeks, white-flowered and South Siberian geraniums, willowweed - narrow-leaved tea, golden and multiveined hogweed, dissected hogweed, grandiflora gentian, boreal bedstraw, blue and Altai honeysuckle, Siberian patrinia. In the highlands, angustifolia angustifolia, glandular columbine, single-flowered cotoneaster, cold and snow-white cinquefoil, alpine cinquefoil, alpine silverweed, cold gentian, obtuse svertia, allifolia lagotis, and Eder's myringue are relatively common.

Of the specially protected plants of other families in the reserve, there are Altai onions (wild batun) - a very valuable species that suffered outside the protected area from excessive harvesting; Martyanova's volodushka is a Sayan endemic, in the upper reaches of the river. Chulchi passes the western border of the range; Olympus vesicularis - Altai endemic, noted in the extreme south of the Shapshalsky ridge; Chuya urchin is a high-mountain Altai species; kan-dyk Siberian - Altai-Sayan endemic, common in western

^ Altai Nature Reserve

vednik, but increasingly rare in other areas where it is collected as an ornamental plant; Altai rhubarb is a valuable species for breeding and is widespread in the reserve; Ukok larkspur is an Altai endemic that also grows in the south of the Shapshalsky ridge; deceptive wrestler - Altai-Sayan endemic, quite widespread in the reserve; the Pasco wrestler is a high-mountain Sayan endemic, the western border of its range runs along the Shapshalsky ridge; amazing bedstraw - rare, in Altai it is found only in the reserve; lacustrine polushnika - in Southern Siberia it is known only from three lakes of the Altai Nature Reserve; smooth seed (Parriya) stemless - Altai-Saur high-mountain endemic, growing in the south of the Shapshalsky ridge; Brunnera sibirica is a rare Altai-Sayan endemic, not found in other reserves.

In addition to the listed species, there are many others in the reserve. rare plants, including those described for the first time recently: ferruginous chickweed, Irina violet, Altyn-Kola onion. The complex terrain with altitudes up to 3500 m, various climatic and natural-historical conditions create a significant diversity of vegetation cover of the Altai Nature Reserve. The predominant part of it (62% of the total area) belongs to the highlands, 36% to the forest belt, and only 2% of the territory is forest-steppe.

The mountain steppes of the reserve occupy separate areas in the Chulyshman valley, in the lower reaches of its tributaries - Kaira, Chul-chi, Aksu, Chakrym, Shavly, on the eastern coast of Lake Taurus.

True and meadow steppes, as well as their petrophytic variants, are most fully represented. Desert steppes, found only in the Akkurum tract, are developed on moraine terraces and proluvial plumes. In various variants of desert steppes, the dominant species is thy brilliant - a large-grass grass up to 1.5 m high; sedge is hard; stemless cinquefoil.

True steppes are developed on gentle slopes and above-floodplain terraces. The main species here are thin-legged comb, hairy and feathery feather grass, and cold wormwood. In early spring, among the dry grass of last year, purple “bells” of the flowering lumbago stand out, low iris with yellow flowers, miniature gentians splayed and false water.

Meadow steppes are found along the boundaries of steppe areas, in hollows and floodplains. The most abundant plant groups include grasses: steppe timothy, downy and Altai sheep, Siberian feather grass, and ground reed grass. Among the herbs, Russian iris, open lumbago, and crescent alfalfa should be noted.

The steep southern slopes with rocky and gravelly-woody substrate are associated with communities of upland xerophytes, which include xerophytic shrubs, dwarf shrubs and subshrubs: Cossack juniper, single-seeded and horsetail conifers, small-leaved honeysuckle, dwarf caragana, meadowsweet (three-lobed spirea) , Siberian barberry, Artemisia rutifolia, Astragalus hornifera, Ziziphora fragrant.

The forests of the reserve are formed mainly by coniferous species: Siberian larch, Siberian cedar (Siberian pine) and Siberian fir.

Larch is most common in the reserve, especially in its central and southern parts. Light-loving, undemanding to heat, it usually forms sparse, sometimes “park” forests, sharply contrasting with the gloomy dark coniferous taiga. Individual oppressed larch trees penetrate into the highlands up to 2550 m.

The main tree species in the biogeocenoses of the reserve is Siberian cedar. It is found in all areas except the south of the Julukul Basin. Cedar forms dense, clean stands, and in the Priteletsky region, together with fir. It is undemanding to heat, humidity and the nature of the substrate; it rises up to 2450 m in the mountains, but the increased dryness of the air limits its spread. More than half of all forests in the central and southern parts of the reserve are cedar-larch and larch-cedar. But here there is a clearly expressed change from larch to cedar, since larch undergrowth less than 80 years old is almost completely absent, and cedar regenerates well, including under the larch canopy. The most powerful cedars are found in the river basin. Kygis are trees 300-400 years old, up to 38 m tall and 1.7 m in diameter.

Siberian fir actively forms plantations only in the Priteletskaya part of the reserve and in certain areas of the river basin. Shawly. At the upper border of the forest, it sometimes forms low-growing elfin thickets of trunks and branches spread out on the ground.

Siberian spruce and Scots pine play a subordinate role in the vegetation cover of the reserve. In the northern part of the reserve, spruce is found very rarely - in individual trees or groups, and only on the Chulyshman Plateau is it sometimes included as a significant admixture in the taiga; sometimes it forms pure stands along river banks and sphagnum bogs. Pine forests are found in separate tracts on the eastern and northern coasts of Lake Teletskoye and along the valleys of the Kyga and Shavla rivers. Pine trees in the reserve do not rise above 1750 m.

Of the small-leaved species, the most common are silver birch and common aspen. They are more typical for the Priteletsky region, less common in the basins of the Chulcha and Shavla rivers, and are practically absent in the southern third of the reserve. It is interesting that tracts of birch and aspen forests are also found on steep slopes in the depths of the taiga in areas that have never experienced logging.

The undergrowth in the reserve is formed mainly by goat willow, bird cherry, Siberian rowan, blue honeysuckle, dark purple currant, meadowsweet, Ledebur rhododendron, and bush alder. In the northern part of the reserve there are common viburnum, oak-leaved meadowsweet, and caragana tree. In many types of forests of the reserve, thickets of blueberries, lingonberries, and blueberries are well developed in the lower tier.

The meadow type of vegetation in the forest belt of the reserve is modestly represented. Steppe meadows are found on the eastern shore of Lake Teletskoye, in the river basin. Chulchi (especially along the Yakhansor and Suryaza rivers and in the Kumyrskha-lu tract), along Shavla, Chulyshman and in some other places. The common species of steppe meadows are downy sheep, angustifolia bluegrass, stop-shaped sedge, Russian iris, multi-veined hairsweet.

Dry meadows are found in separate small areas in different areas of the reserve. The common grasses here are meadow fescue, cocksfoot, Siberian bluegrass, meadow foxtail, and Siberian trichaete. The most numerous types of forbs are: common and Asian yarrows, golden capillary, meat-red grass, boreal bedstraw, lupine clover, small cornflower, Asian bathwort, blue cyanosis.

Lowland meadows, developed in floodplains and intermountain depressions, occupy a very limited area. Here you can find soddy pike, Langsdorff's reed grass, blunt-swelled and Pavlova, Asian swimsuit, long-leaved speedwell, Siberian onion, Kurai sedge, and common mantle.

Meadows in the subalpine zone of the reserve play a subordinate role, occupying mainly small depressions. Only in certain areas of the Abakan ridge, the upper reaches of Chulcha and the right bank of Shavla are subalpine meadows as well represented as dwarf birch forests.

Tall-grass subalpine meadows are developed on fairly thick and moist mountain-meadow soils. The floristic composition is variegated. The predominant species are broadleaf bitterleaf, raponticum safflower, Lobel's hellebore, and thistle.

The low-grass subalpine meadows are colorful. These prevail here decorative types like columbine ferruginosa, Pallas's primrose, Fischer's gentian, compact myringue. Among other species, white-flowered geranium, Siberian bluegrass, and dark sedge are common.

The subalpine belt in the upper reaches of Chulyshman is very unique. Here, significant areas are occupied by meadows with a predominance of cobresia and Altai fescue.

The main species in the tall-grass alpine meadows within the reserve are Asian swimmer, glandular columbine, Altai doronicum, South Siberian kopekweed, strange sayanella, shaggy shulzia, Altai snakehead.

Low-grass alpine meadows develop on saddles, in hollows, and near snowfields. The dominant species are Altai violet, Altai oleaginium, grandiflora gentian, and Altai ranunculus. Alpine tundras occupy large areas in the reserve. The tundra type of vegetation includes shrub tundras: dryad, shikshevo-dri-adova, shikshevo. The predominant species here are the sharp-toothed dryad and the almost-holarctic shrew. Late lloidia, Ledebur's sedge, sphagnum fescue, Eder's grass, as well as lichens from the genera Kladina, Cetraria, and Alectoria are common. The tundra type of vegetation also includes moss-lichen dwarf birch. The round-leaved birch is represented by low specimens and does not form continuous thickets. The most common mosses are Polytrichum vulgaris and Schreber's pleurocium. The predominant lichens are star and forest lichens, Icelandic cetraria and capulata, and tamnolia vermiformis.

Berry-moss tundras occupy gentle slopes with northern exposures and leveled areas. On the soil, a continuous cover is formed by mosses: Hylocomium lucidum, Polytrichum vulgaris, Schreber's pleurocium, Drepanok-ladus uncinate.

Rocky and gravelly “tundras” should perhaps be classified as a different type of vegetation - rocky. V.B. Kuvaev (1985) classifies them as alpine deserts with the caveat that in Altai their landscape is subordinate to the alpine-glacial one. They occupy a large highland area in the reserve. Of the flowering plants, various saxifrages, minuartia, saxifrage, fescue, alpine bison, Altai bluegrass, Turchaninov's willow and rice-leaved barba, golden skerda are often found; crustacean lichens from the genera Lecanora, Lecidea, and Rhizocarpon are common.

The swamp type of vegetation in the Priteletskaya part of the reserve occupies only small areas; it is more developed on the right bank of Chulcha (especially in the area of the lake

Saigonysh). Lowland marshes found along the banks of rivers and streams. Among the woody plants in such swamps grow alder and round-leaved birch. There are many sedges (ash-gray, soddy, swollen, sword-leaved), as well as soddy pike, marsh marigold, and marsh chickweed.

True raised bogs with an active peat-forming process are rare in the reserve. The dominant species here are mosses of the genus sphagnum, as well as blueberries and small-fruited cranberries. Pallid sedge, multi-spike cotton grass, and turfy downy grass are common.

There are hundreds of lakes, rivers, and streams on the territory of the reserve, but there are few places where rich aquatic vegetation is developed. Almost all tarn lakes are generally devoid of large aquatic plants; Only diatoms are relatively diverse (as in Lake Teletskoye).

Thickets of macrophytes in the protected part of Lake Teletskoye are found in the Kamginsky and Kyginsky bays, near Cape Azhi and the mouth of the river. Oyor. They are formed by pierced-leaved and grass-like pondweeds.

In small lakes in the central and southern parts of the reserve, northern bramble, Gmelin's buttercup, water mulberry, alpine pondweed, etc. grow. In lakes Derinkul, Tetykol and Yahansoru, lake grass was found - a species very rare in Siberia.

The richness of the vegetation cover, including 34 species of mosses, fungi, lichens and vascular plants listed in the Red Books of the USSR and the RSFSR, more than 200 Altai-Sayan endemics, as well as rare steppe, forest, aquatic and high-mountain communities of good preservation, determines the outstanding role Altai Nature Reserve in the protection of flora and vegetation of Southern Siberia.

^ Fauna

A significant area of the Altai Nature Reserve is located at the junction mountain systems Altai, Sayan, Tuva. The complexity of natural-historical development and biogeographical boundaries, the diversity of natural conditions determine its exceptional faunal richness. In the protected area you can meet inhabitants of high latitudes (reindeer, ptarmigan), and inhabitants of the Mongolian steppes (gray marmot), and many typical “taiga inhabitants”. The unique zoogeographical interest of Altai was noted in the classical works of academician P. P. Sushkin (1938).

The diversity of invertebrate animals in the reserve is great, but relatively complete information is available only on the fauna of stoneflies, dragonflies, mayflies and caddisflies (Belyshev, Dulkeit, 1964; Borisova, 1985; Zapekina-Dulkeit, 1977, etc.). Research continues on a number of other groups of insects.

Of the particularly rare and worthy of protection insects, we should note the only representative of a unique order of Grilloblatidae in Siberia - Galloisiana Pravdini, described from the territory of the Altai Nature Reserve. It lives under stones and dead trees in coniferous-small-leaved forests. Two other species from this order are found in Russia only in the south of Primorsky Krai.

Among the Lepidoptera included in the Red Book of the USSR (1984), the reserve contains the common Apollo, Phoebus, Gero, and also the rarer swallowtail. Eversmann's Apollo is occasionally found in the highlands, and in Yailyu the blue ribbon butterfly was observed.

Fish in the reserve are represented by 16 species. Minnows and loaches from the loach family are inhabitants of the shallow waters of Lake Teletskoye and the mouth areas of its tributaries. Migratory char, or Dolly Varden, is also found in the upper reaches of Chu-lyshman and in some high-mountain lakes. Pike and perch are common in Lake Teletskoye and live in the Kamginsky and Kyginsky bays, in the lakes and oxbow lakes at the mouth of the Chulyshman. They spawn in May-June in floods, laying eggs on last year’s flooded grass. The only freshwater representative of the cod family, burbot, prefers water bodies with clean cold water. Lake Teletskoye can be considered an ideal place for its habitat. Burbot stays near the bottom, climbing under snags and stones. There are known cases of its capture from depths of more than 100 m.

In the Altai, shirokolobki or gobies are called Siberian and variegated sculpins, which are found along the entire coast of Lake Teletskoye at shallow depths. These small fish serve as food for burbot, and themselves feed on invertebrates. It is possible that rainbow trout may spread into Lake Teletskoye. It was released in the 1970s into the high-mountain lakes of Eastern Altai, including Lake Ezhlyu-Kol, connected to Lake Teletskoye on the river. Little Chile.

Grayling should be recognized as the most common fish species in the reserve's reservoirs. Salmon species include taimen, lenok, whitefish and Pravdina. The largest fish in the reserve - taimen - lives in Lake Teletskoye. Its spawning takes place in early spring in the lower reaches of Chulyshman. In June, spawned fish descend into the lake along with schools of dace migrating along the protected shore following the muddy spring water of the river. Lenok, or locally called usk, is relatively rare in Lake Teletskoye and in the lower reaches of its tributaries; Teletsky whitefish, on the contrary, is a very numerous inhabitant. Endemic to Lake Teletskoye, the whitefish Pravdina is the smallest representative of salmon. Its size does not exceed 13-14 cm, and its weight barely reaches 20 g. The carp family is represented by 4 species - dace, bream, minnow and osman. The Ottoman is especially interesting. The species range is small and includes South-Eastern Altai, Tuva, North-Western Mongolia and Mongolian Gobi. In the reserve, Ottomans are found in the high-mountain lakes of the Julukul depression. These fish have an elongated body with small scales; the average weight is 200-300 g, although individual specimens can reach a length of 60 cm and a weight of 2-2.5 kg. By autumn, they accumulate in wintering pits, where up to 200 fish can fit in a volume of 50 - 100 liters. Located between large boulders in the coastal part of the reservoirs and covered on top with peat and moss, these pits serve as a reliable refuge from fish-eating birds, mainly from cormorants.

In November, at the mouth of Chulyshman, in shallow waters, large schools of small fish are visible through thin, transparent ice, like through the glass of an aquarium. This is a Taurus dace. If you startle a fish, it rushes in all directions, rushing to the shallowest places, where it has to move between the ice and the bottom on its side. Exactly the same

Altai State Nature Reserve

The Altai State Nature Reserve is a unique specially protected natural area of Russia, a UNESCO world cultural and natural heritage site, which includes part of the water area - the pearl of the Altai Mountains, the “little Baikal” of Western Siberia. It occupies one of the first places among Russian nature reserves in terms of biological diversity.

Occupied area: 881,238 hectares, including the water area of Lake Teletskoye - 11,757 hectares. Main ecosystems: Siberian taiga, lakes, taiga midlands and lowlands, subalpine and alpine midmountains and highlands, tundra-steppe highlands, tundra midmountains and highlands, glacial-nival highlands.

Location: The reserve is located in the northeastern part of the Altai Republic, on the territory of the Turachak and Ulagansky districts. The central estate of the reserve is located in the village of Yailyu, the main office is in the city of Gorno-Altaisk, the capital of the Altai Republic.

The main goal of creating the reserve is to preserve the most valuable and rare beauty of Lake Teletskoye, its landscapes, protect cedar forests, save the most important hunting and commercial animals that were on the verge of extinction - sable, elk, deer and others, as well as constant stationary study of the nature of the region as a whole. The Altai Nature Reserve also ensures the preservation and study of the natural course of natural processes and phenomena, the genetic fund of flora and fauna, individual species and communities of plants and animals, typical and unique ecological systems.

According to geomorphological zoning, the entire territory of the reserve belongs to the Altai province of the country “Mountains of Southern Siberia”. Along the boundaries of the reserve there are high ridges: in the north - Abakansky (2890 m above sea level), in the south - Chikhacheva (3021 m above sea level), in the East - Shapshalsky (3507 m above sea level), with in the west, the territory is limited by the river valleys, Karakem and Lake Teletskoye.

The Altai Nature Reserve is located in the center of the Altai-Sayan mountainous country. A vast territory with mountains, coniferous forests, alpine meadows and mountain tundras, wild rivers and lakes stretches for 230 kilometers. The territory of the reserve gradually rises in the south-east direction.

Everywhere in the mountains there are springs and streams with clean, tasty and cold water. Common on watershed plateaus alpine lakes. The largest of them is more than 10 kilometers long; it is located at the source of Chulyshman, at an altitude of 2200 meters.

Lake Dzhulukol is a unique reservoir of the Altai Nature Reserve, a habitat, nesting place for various representatives of the bird world, a spawning place for the most valuable fish species of the Altai Mountains. All the high-mountain lakes of the Altai Nature Reserve (occupying a total area of 15 thousand km2) are very beautiful, with emerald-blue transparent water and picturesque shores.

Flora

The most common tree species in the Altai Nature Reserve are: cedar, fir, larch, spruce, pine, birch.

In general, the rich and diverse flora of the reserve includes 1,500 species of higher vascular plants, 111 species of fungi and 272 species of lichens. There are 668 species of algae known in the reserve; seven species of lichens are included in the Red Book of Russia: laboratory pulmonata, laboratory reticulate, stykta fringed, etc.

The species composition of plants and animals is interesting for its diversity. The complex terrain with altitudes up to 3500 m, various climatic and natural-historical conditions create a significant diversity of vegetation cover of the Altai Nature Reserve. Of the 1,500 species of vascular plants known in the reserve, there are relicts and endemics.

A significant area of the Altai Nature Reserve is located at the junction of the mountain systems of Altai, Sayan, and Tuva; the complexity of natural-historical development and biogeographical boundaries, the diversity of natural conditions determine the exceptional richness of the animal world of the reserve.

Fauna

Sable is one of the main species living in the Altai taiga. The distribution of sable across the territory is closely related to the distribution of pine, the nuts of which occupy a significant place in its diet, regardless of the abundance of other food, primarily small mammals.

Among the ungulates live the deer, Siberian goat, reindeer, mountain sheep, Siberian roe deer and musk deer. Maral, a large mountain taiga deer, is the most numerous species. Like many other deer (for example, sika deer, which also lives on the territory of the reserve), it sheds its antlers every spring. New ones grow to replace them. Young horns, cartilaginous, filled with blood and covered with velvety skin, are called antlers; they are of great value as medicinal raw materials.

The Siberian musk deer is common in the forest. It does not have horns, but it has strongly developed fangs on the upper gum, reaching a length of 10-12 cm. This graceful deer lives in inaccessible rocks and in the near-Teletsky taiga. The musk gland of male musk deer can be used to make high-quality perfume.

In the mountain ranges you can find the Siberian mountain goat. Altai mountain sheep (argali) live in the southern part of the reserve and in the adjacent territory. There are only a few dozen of them left as a result of predatory extermination in the adjacent territory. This species, like the snow leopard (irbis), is listed in the Red Book.

About 35 years ago, a wild boar entered the reserve from Tuva. Currently, it has spread quite widely throughout the territory, successfully reproducing and increasing its numbers. From large predators- bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine.

The bear is distributed throughout the Altai Mountains. This large animal is distinguished by exceptional mobility and speed when running. The bear is omnivorous and by the time it enters its den it gains a large amount of fat, which is considered medicinal. In spring, bears can be seen on the southern slopes of the mountains covered with fresh greenery, where they, having left their den, graze in the mornings and evenings, eating young shoots, mainly bear bunches.

In summer, along the shores of Lake Teletskoye you can see numerous waterfalls of extraordinary beauty, carrying their waters into the lake. Most of the waterfalls are inaccessible to visitors, with the exception of the main waterfall of Lake Teletskoye - “Korbu”, which annually attracts several tens of thousands of tourists at its foot during the summer season. At the visitor center of the Altai Nature Reserve "Altai Ail" in the village of Yailyu you can get acquainted with the traditional culture of the indigenous small people of the Tubalars.

Structure of the reserve

Currently, the Altai Nature Reserve has four departments:

Science Department;
- environmental education department;
- security department;
- economic department.

The security department performs one of the most important functions reserve. For control and protection, the territory of the Altai Nature Reserve is divided into 4 forest districts: Yaylinskoye (the most visited), Belinskoye (the largest), Chodrinskoye (the most inaccessible), Yazulinskoye (the most remote) forest districts.

The territory of the reserve is inspected along certain routes, all observations are recorded in a special Diary, and if poaching is detected, inspectors draw up protocols. The protocols become the basis for administrative liability or are transferred to the police department for initiating criminal liability. Patrol groups of the reserve's security department work together with the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Okhotnadzor of the Altai Republic (in 2007 agreements on interaction and cooperation were signed with them).

The main task of the scientific department is to study the natural course of processes in the natural complexes of the Altai Nature Reserve. One of the main results of the activities of the department’s employees is the yearbook “Chronicle of Nature,” containing a complete set of observations of all processes in nature; has been carried out in the Altai Nature Reserve since 1940.
The scientific department conducts research in various areas, including jointly with research institutes.
Today, in the Altai Nature Reserve, the scientific department is conducting work on studying musk deer, snow leopard, argali, reptiles, and monitoring biodiversity in specially protected natural areas.

The environmental education department of the reserve is designed to form among broad sections of Russian society an understanding of the problems of nature conservation and environmental safety, and the role of the reserve in solving these problems. As part of this task, the department conducts various events with the population and visitors to the reserve.

Children's clubs of Friends of the Altai Reserve have been created and work in support of the reserve, and it was decided to unite all supporters of the Altai Reserve and the conservation of the wildlife of the Altai Mountains in a common movement - "Trace of the Bear" . Another important area of environmental education work is constant coverage of the activities of the Altai Nature Reserve in the media, posting information on Internet sites, and producing video and radio reports.

History of the creation of the Reserve

In 1958, on May 24, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR gave Order No. 2943-r, among a number of reserves, to restore the Altai Nature Reserve, with an area of 914,777 hectares. In the summer of 1961, the Altai Nature Reserve was again disbanded.

In 1965-1967 The scientific community of Siberia and mainly the Siberian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Altai department of the Geographical Society of the USSR, the Altai Regional Society for Nature Conservation raises the question of the feasibility of organizing the Altai Nature Reserve within the territorial framework of the previously existing Altai Nature Reserve.

In 1967, on March 24, the Executive Committee of the Altai Regional Council of Workers' Deputies made a decision on the organization of the Altai Nature Reserve, which states that in order to preserve the unique natural complex of Lake Teletskoye and the Priteletsk taiga, as well as taking into account the petitions of the regional society for nature conservation and the Main Directorate of Hunting and nature reserves under the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, the Executive Committee of the regional Council of Workers' Deputies decided to organize the Altai State Nature Reserve and ask the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR to resolve the issue of organizing the Altai state reserve. In the same year, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR decided to organize the Altai State Nature Reserve.

Altai Nature Reserve on the Internet

Currently, there are more and more people who learn news from the Internet and actively communicate in its virtual space. One of the goals of environmental education activities of reserves and national parks is to ensure support for conservation ideas among broad sections of the population. And in this, Internet resources and modern Internet technologies can be a good help.

In 2008, the first own Internet site of the Altai Nature Reserve began operating. The reserve currently has two websites:

The most complete and reliable information about the Altai Biosphere Reserve and its activities is posted here. Any Internet user by visiting these sites will be able to find answers to the main questions about the specially protected natural area.

Since 2009, the work of communities and blogs of the Altai Nature Reserve began in the virtual space. The first to be created was the Internet community of Friends of the Altai Nature Reserve - "Trace of the Bear"- represents and unites friends, like-minded people, supporters of the Altai Nature Reserve, allows people living thousands of kilometers away from each other to communicate on common topics.

The photo website of the Altai Nature Reserve contains photo reports that are not included in the photo section of the official website, talks about various interesting and unusual events that occurred in the reserve.

Blog of the Altai Nature Reserve in Livejournal “Zapoved’ Without Borders”. The blog is constantly posting latest news reserve and various interesting facts about the world protected nature, people working in the reserve and much more.
The Internet community "Yaylu-Reserve Village" was created specifically to post information about the life of the central estate of the Altai Nature Reserve - the village. Yailyu. These blogs allow anyone to read and comment on the news and ask questions.

Recently, the reserve's pages have appeared on FACEBOOK, "Vkonrakte.ru", and on Twitter. Located on YouTube video blog of the Altai Nature Reserve .

News from the Altai Nature Reserve can also be read in Internet communities:

WWF , ecotourism in Altai , Greenpeace Russia, community of protected areas of Russia

Multi-day routes:

Pos. Yailyu - Minor pass, 40 km;

Cordon Karatash - village. Yailyu, 30 km;

Cordon Kokshi - Korbu ridge, 12 km;

Cordon Chelyush - Lake Kholodnoye, 12 km;

Cordon Chiri - Lake Chiri, 15 km.

The Altai State Natural Biosphere Reserve, founded in April 1932, has an area of 8812.38 km 2, which is 9.4% of the territory of the entire Altai Republic.

The location of the central estate of the reserve (territory of the Turachak and Ulagansky districts, northeast of the Altai Mountains) is the village of Yailyu, the main office is the administrative center of the Altai Republic, Gorno-Altaisk. The reserve is part of the Golden Mountains of Altai site, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Territory

The reserve is located in the central part of the Altai-Sayan mountainous country, its borders are outlined by the high ridges of the Altai Mountains, the northern - the Torot ridge, the southern - the spurs of the Chikhachev ridge (3021 m), the north-eastern - the Abakan ridge (2890 m), the eastern - the Shapshal ridge ( 3507 m). The western limits of the reserve run along the Chulyshman River and the right bank and 22 thousand hectares of Lake Teletskoye, this is the pearl of the Altai Mountains or the “little Baikal” of Western Siberia.

The main goal of creating this environmental facility was to preserve the biodiversity of the flora and fauna of the shores and waters of Lake Teletskoye, its natural landscapes, to protect and restore cedar forests, populations of rare animals (sable, elk, deer) and endemic plants, for carrying out research work in ecological, biological and environmental sphere.

Animals of the reserve

Abundant and varied vegetation contributes to the creation favorable conditions life for large quantity various animals: more than 66 species of mammals, 3 species of reptiles, 6 species of amphibians, 19 species of fish, such as taimen, whitefish, grayling, dace, perch, char, sculpin, teletska sprat.

The population has been restored here valuable representative of the marten family - sable, among the predators in the reserve there are numerous animals such as bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines, badgers, otters, and ermine is often found. 8 species of artiodactyls live here: red deer, musk deer, elk, mountain sheep, Siberian roe deer, ibex, reindeer, wild boar. Numerous squirrels jump from branch to branch; in the forests near Lake Teletskoye there live several species of rare representatives of bats: Whiskered bat, Brandt's bat, Brown long-eared bat, Rufous noctule, etc., listed in the Red Book of Altai and living exclusively in local landscapes.

Species diversity of avifauna

The reserve is home to 343 species of birds. Nutcrackers live in the forests; they eat pine nuts and also bury them in the ground as a reserve, thereby increasing the number of new, young seedlings. The motley hazel grouse lives here; it is practically invisible due to its camouflage, ruffed plumage.

Gray partridges and quails flutter in the valley of the Chulyshman River. Migratory birds (various species of waders) fly to the protected lakes, 16 species of ducks nest, for example, in the lakes and swamps of the Chulyshman Highlands there are nests of the small teal duck. The rare bird Altai Ular lives on the Shapshalsky ridge.

Flora

The reserve occupies a huge territory, in which there is room for both mountains and coniferous forests, And alpine meadows, and mountain tundra, and stormy rivers, and clear alpine lakes, all this splendor stretches for 230 km, gradually increasing in its southeast. The most common tree species in the reserve are Siberian cedars, fir, larch, spruce, pine and dwarf birch. The reserve can be proud of its high-mountain cedar forests, because the trunk diameter of these ancient 300-400-year-old trees can reach two meters.

The flora is rich and diverse, these are higher vascular plants (1500 species), fungi (136 species), lichens (272 species), algae (668 species). Highways there are none here, grass grows under the trees giant size in impenetrable thickets of raspberries, currants, mountain ash, viburnum and bird cherry. On the rocky slopes of the mountains grow wild gooseberry bushes and evergreen shrubs - Daurian rhodendron or maral. More than 20 species of relict plants grow here: European hoofweed, woodruff, crowberry, and circe.

Red Book flora and fauna of the reserve

Among the 1.5 thousand species of vascular plants of the reserve, 22 are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, 49 in the Red Book of Altai. Plants of the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation: feather grass, feather grass, 3 species of lady's slipper, Altai rhubarb, Chuysky hornwort, Siberian toothwort, Altai drupe, etc.

Among the 68 mammals of the reserve, 2 species are listed in the International Red Book - snow leopard and Altai mountain sheep, in the Red Book of the Russian Federation - reindeer (forest subspecies - Rangifer tarandus), rare species of insects - Rhymnus blueberry, Apollo vulgaris, Erebia Kinderman, Mnemosyne.

Among 343 species of birds, 22 are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation: spoonbill, black stork, common flamingo, bar-headed goose, steppe eagle, white-tailed eagle, etc., 12 species in the IUCN (International Red Book) - Dalmatian pelican, white-eyed pochard, steppe harrier, imperial eagle, long-tailed eagle, white-tailed eagle, bustard, black vulture, steppe kestrel, etc.