Who is protected in the Russian Arctic National Park. Russian arctic national park
The Russian North is an inaccessible and poorly explored territory. However, it does not cease to attract with its splendor. The reserved lands of Karelia, Obonezhie, Vologda need protection and care. The Russian Arctic National Park is designed to preserve the natural and cultural wealth of the exclusive part of the Russian North.
Possessions of the "Russian Arctic"
In order to realize Russia's potential in the Arctic, preserve the special nature of the North and conduct scientific research in 1999, the deputies of the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly decided to organize the Russian Arctic National Park. It was planned to unite natural complexes in the Barents Sea, on Franz Josef Land and in the north of Novaya Zemlya. Ten years later, V.V. Putin ordered the establishment of the Russian Arctic National Park. The territory of the park includes many reserved islands, among which Fr. Gemskerk, about. Loshkina, about. North, Oran Islands. The total area of the "Russian Arctic" is about 1.5 million hectares: most of the water area (about 790 thousand hectares).
Sanctuary "Franz Josef Land"
One of the most in the world is Franz Josef Land, the archipelago actually adjoins the "Russian Arctic". The archipelago's reserves have been considered since 1994, when the Franz Josef Land State Nature Reserve was established. The reserve, which is protected by the "Russian Arctic", was formed to preserve the pristine nature, solve environmental problems, and reproduce resources. An important task is to protect the local fauna from human influence.
The lands of the archipelago are inhabited by polar bears, for which nature has created a favorable atmosphere for the establishment of offspring.
Walrus rookeries occupy significant areas of the reserve. On the islands of Apolonova and Stolichki, you can see rare Atlantic walruses in the rookery. Numerous here
Unique microclimate
"Russian Arctic" (the national park has a unique microclimate. The location of the park is peculiar. It is washed by two Barents and Kara seas. At the same time, the south-western part of the Barents Sea is always free of ice, the Kara Sea, on the contrary, does not freeze only in summer near estuaries This feature of nature creates an exceptional microclimate in the park, in which there is such a variety of fauna, which is not found in any other Arctic territory.
Fauna
"Russian Arctic" is a national park with very few permanent inhabitants. There are only 11 species of animals, but they are all unique. Most of them are found in the Red Data Book of Russia: Atlantic walrus and new earth deer, bowhead whale and polar bear, narwhal and minke's whale. The park plays an important role in the protection of the Kara-Barents polar bear population. Arctic foxes (on dry hills) and lemmings (near water bodies) live in the tundra zones of the park.
The Russian Arctic is an important habitat for the bowhead whale and its Svalbard population.
At the beginning of the 20th century, this rare mammal was on the verge of extinction. The population is now increasing. Marine mammals such as the bearded seal, ringed seal, Atlantic walrus, seal, and narwhal are found in coastal waters.
Avifauna
The avifauna of the park is the largest in the Russian North. Conditions on the territory are favorable for permanent habitation and seasonal nesting. There is enough food here, especially in the warm season, there are many places for nesting, there are practically no predators. The terrestrial partridge and snowy owl are terrestrial. Guillemots, polar guillemots, luriks, kittiwakes, ivory gulls, glaucous gulls and other bird species nest on the rocky shores of the islands.
With all the diversity of avifauna, representatives of different populations rarely settle together. Lyuriks inhabit coastal areas and do not leave them even for winter quarters. Guillemots, on the other hand, only nest on the shore, and spend the rest of the time at sea, like gulls and kittiwakes. Glaucous predators and skuas settle near large nesting sites of seabirds that serve them.
The Russian Arctic National Park (Arkhangelsk) is also attractive for migratory birds. They arrive from southern countries in early spring, during the mating season. All passerines, with the exception of snow buntings, are migratory. Horned lark, Lapland plantain, wheatear, and tap dance nest in dry grass and under the Duck family is also represented in the "Russian Arctic", there are 12 species of them. Together with other freshwater birds, they nest and feed on Arctic lakes and streams. In September, colonies replenished with chicks migrate to warm places.
Cultural and historical heritage
National Park "Russian Arctic" is a place with a special historical and cultural heritage. Here are concentrated objects that have a connection with the history of the discovery of the Arctic. It is known that in the 11-12 centuries, fishing was carried out on the territory of the park, there was a hunt for walruses for their tusks, for polar foxes for their exceptional fur, for birds with rare feathers. The first European navigator to reach Novaya Zemlya was the Englishman Hugh Willoughby. His ship set out in 1553 to look for the northern passage from Europe to China. Reaching the south of Novaya Zemlya and making a stop at the mouth of the Varzina River, the entire crew died under mysterious circumstances, possibly from carbon monoxide. The famous Dutch navigator Willim Barents reached Novaya Zemlya at the end of the 16th century. He sailed near the northern coast of Novaya Zemlya, wintered on the island with the crew. On the way back, the navigator became fatally ill with scurvy. The crew returned home with valuable scientific observations.
The first Russian navigator who set out for Novaya Zemlya was Fyodor Rozmyslov. He spent about a year on the expedition, during which he made notes, described the territory and its features, carried out meteorological observations and geodetic works. His crew reached the mouth of the Matochkin Shara and had to return to Arkhangelsk. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Novaya Zemlya archipelago began to be visited more often, especially by Russian researchers. In 1909, Vladimir Rusanov, a Russian sailor, made the first reliable cartographic description of Novaya Zemlya. In Soviet times, various studies were carried out on the territory of the present park.
Ecotourism is currently developing here.
Everyone can visit the Russian Arctic National Park. Photos and videos can be taken from cruisers sailing from Murmansk and during numerous berths on the shores of the islands.
It is known that Novgorodians went to Novaya Zemlya, a group of islands located between the Kara and Barents Seas, in the XI-XII centuries. Willem Barents bypassed the Severny Island from its northern part and spent the winter on its eastern shores in 1596. And already today, on June 15, 2009, was organized national park "Russian Arctic".
The national park is one of the youngest protected areas in the Russian Federation. December 2010 park "Russian Arctic" replenished with a state nature reserve of federal significance Franz Josef Land- the most northern land area of Eurasia.
General information, relief and climate of the Russian Arctic National Park
National Park "Russian Arctic" often referred to as "Pearl of the Arctic"... Its territory, in general, is 14,260 square kilometers, which is equal to 6,320 square kilometers of land and 7,940 square kilometers of the territorial waters of the Russian Federation. Ice of continental origin covers more than 85% of the islands' surface.The park is dominated by polar-arctic climate, which is characterized by temperatures close to zero or negative values of the annual radiation balance. Summers are cold and short, lasting from June to August. Winter, on the other hand, is harsh and long: it starts in mid-October and ends in March.
The national park is located in the Arkhangelsk region. There are no permanent residents in the protected area.
National Park "Russian Arctic" and its vegetation
The protected area is home to unique, virtually untouched ecosystems. The flora is represented by some species lichens, mosses as well as a small number of flowering plants.National Park "Russian Arctic" and its fauna
The animal world is rich and varied. The Arctic waters are inhabited throughout the year bowhead whale and narwhal... Large flocks of birds nest on steep and high promontories, thus forming bird colonies. These are mainly eiders and guillemots.
There are very rich rookeries of Arctic mammals on Novaya Zemlya: Arctic foxes, walruses, harp seals and seals. One of the most important breeding and habitats is located there. polar bear, which belongs to the marine Kara-Barents population. This animal belongs to specially protected species of animals and is listed in the Russian Red Book.
Targets and goals
the main objective National Park "Russian Arctic"- to preserve the cultural, historical and natural heritage of the Western sector of the Russian Arctic. In addition to the reservation functions typical for any national park, "Russian Arctic" the task of clearing the territory is urgent.
The national park is rapidly expanding ecological tourism... The park is also designed to provide an ecological balance in a significant Arctic territory.
Location: Russia, Arkhangelsk region, part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the Franz Josef Land archipelago.
Square: 1.5 million hectares
Specialization: conservation and study of rare species of animals and natural objects and complexes.
Russian Arctic is one of the youngest national parks in Russia. It manages the state nature reserve of federal significance “Franz Josef Land”, formed on April 23, 1994, with an area of more than 7 million hectares, of which 80% is the sea area.
The national park is actively involved in environmental protection - this is also elimination of accumulated environmental damage in the Arctic and the preservation of such rare animal species as polar bear... All these projects have been supported by the Russian Geographical Society since 2010.
For example, in April 2013, with the grant support of the Russian Geographical Society, scientists began the program “Investigation of the role of the Franz Josef Land reserve in the conservation of populations of rare species of marine mammals and polar bears”. Until September, the staff of the Russian Arctic National Park studied the islands of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, which are a kind of “last refuge” for animals displaced from everywhere by civilization and exposed to climate change.
Diet for a polar bear
During spring and summer stages of the expedition Scientists conducted research on Alexandra Land, Graham Bell Island, the White, Barents and Kara Seas from ships and helicopters and covered more than 400 kilometers on snowmobiles to collect data on walruses, cetaceans and the largest land-based predator, the polar bear.
Today, the number of polar bears does not exceed 20-25 thousand individuals worldwide. The shrinking ice cover of the Arctic seas and the changing age structure of sea ice are forcing polar bears to spend more time on the coast and on the islands; probably, there is a redistribution of animals within the range. Remaining on the coast for a long time, polar bears are deprived of access to their main food source - seals that live on the sea ice (ringed seal and sea hare). Hungry predators can often go out to people, conducting conflict situations, than they expose themselves to danger. To preserve this species, the Russian Geographical Society has been supporting since 2010 project "Polar Bear" , the purpose of which is the preservation and study of these predators in the Russian Arctic, the development of non-invasive methods for collecting biological material (discarded guard hairs, excrement) for genetic studies of the structure of populations of the species in Russia.
The summer of 2013 in the Arctic was very different from the average long-term statistics - the amount of ice decreased markedly. Such changes cannot but affect the inhabitants of the region. During the expedition, scientists did not see a single sea ice floe. And since the life of local seals - seals and bearded seals - is closely connected with the ice, it is not surprising that these animals have never met the researchers. At the same time, seals are the basis of the polar bear's diet. With their departure, the predators began to be met at bird colonies, where they tried to pick out luriks from under the stones, and at walrus rookeries. What is noteworthy, the scientists saw the largest number of bears - 11 individuals - on one of the islands in the walrus rookery.
Whales in the hole
The spring and summer expeditions to Franz Josef Land helped to identify new areas of concentration of the rare Svalbard population of bowhead whales listed in the International Red Book, which in itself is a scientific achievement.
In the waters of the archipelago, whales inhabit the whole year round. It is in the waters of the reserve and in the immediate vicinity that the only known stable summer feeding areas for bowhead whales are noted, and their regular wintering grounds are located in the openings. Monitoring work of the Russian Artika National Park, carried out in recent years, including with the grant support of the Russian Geographical Society, has convincingly shown that the water area of Franz Josef Land is a key habitat for bowhead whales, which must be preserved to preserve these animals.
Expedition results
Despite the small amount of ice and the short spring field season, scientists assess the results of the work as good. Among other things, the researchers mapped the distribution of marine mammals and polar bears in the Franz Josef Land Sanctuary. Scientists have collected a lot of material about pinnipeds, in particular walruses - this is new information on their biology and distribution in the archipelago. For example, for the first time, data have been collected that most fully cover the entire summer population of the Atlantic walrus in Franz Josef Land, and information has been obtained on the interannual variability in the number of animals in rookeries. The material collected on the population genetic characteristics of Atlantic walruses̆ can play an important role in understanding the conservation status of the group living in the reserve.
During the spring-summer season of 2013, scientists have developed methodological approaches, tested new technical means, such as small aircraft for observations in the Arctic, purchased equipment for monitoring the animal population. Thanks to all this, the researchers intend to continue to carry out the work begun.
Among the results of the work, it is worth highlighting the fact that the research carried out partly formed the basis for the proposal to transfer the reserve "Franz Josef Land" to the status of a national park. The proposal to change the category is due to the fact that the nature reserve regime complicates the management of this specially protected natural area, especially the protection of its natural complexes.
However, the conversion of the reserve to the category of a national park can significantly reduce the area of the protected area. Currently, according to the documents, the area of the reserve is 4.2 million hectares. However, in reality, it occupies 2.5 times more territory: in 2006, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute carried out a mathematical calculation based on the coordinates of the corner points, according to the results of which the area of the reserve exceeded 11 million hectares. The sea area of Franz Josef Land is 9.407 million hectares, which is 3.5 times more than 2.591 million hectares declared in the documents.
Scientists see the solution to the problem in the creation of a marine protection zone, which should cover important habitats of marine mammals and polar bears, as well as the most important areas of the marine ecosystem for these animals, for example, dry ice holes.
Work continues
This year, the employees of the Russian Arctic National Park continue the work begun and have already carried out fieldwork in Alexandra Land and Franz Josef Land monitoring the fauna of wormwood, populations of marine mammals and polar bears. It is planned to continue work on studying the population genetic structure of the Atlantic walrus herd, monitoring the polar bear population using genetic methods, and monitoring walrus rookeries using remote sensing.
