The Nenetsky Nature Reserve is located on the Russian inversion peninsula in the Barents Sea. The only European flat arctic and subarctic tundra in Europe, on which snow cover lasts 231 days a year, remained intact.
This is the habitat of rare animals and birds (white-headed loon, bowhead whale, etc.), plants grow here, many of which are included in the Red Book. Due to the remoteness of its territory from large industrial enterprises, the reserve represents the standard of pristine beauty of the northern tundra.
About the history of the discovery
The need to create such a reserve in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug of Russia was caused by several reasons: the increased anthropogenic impact of exploration work of companies developing oil and gas fields; increased overgrazing of domestic deer; pollution of territories as a result of production activities.
All these factors led to the deepest changes in the natural ecosystem - the destruction and complete destruction of the soil and vegetation cover, the intensification of negative and undesirable geomorphological processes, the change in the structure and reduction of deer pastures, and the disruption of the hydrological regime over vast areas. In this regard, in December 1997, by the Decree of the Russian Government, the only reserve at that time was organized. Later it became known as the "State Nature Reserve" Nenets "."
And the Nenetsky Nature Reserve in 2010 was attached to it.
Location
The territory allotted for the Nenetsky Reserve represents the standard of the European northern part of Russia. It fully meets the objectives and goals of the environmental facility.
The whole territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle and washed by the waters of the Pechersk and Barents Seas. The reserve mainland is located on the northeastern part of the Malozemelskaya tundra, occupies the Russkiy Zavorot peninsula, a 20-kilometer wide strip of land along the Zakharyin Coast, part of the delta (estuary) of the r. Pechory and river deltas East Nerut. The territory also includes the islands of Zeleny, Lovetsky, Kashin, Zelenyy Mury and part of the Barents Sea (southeast), etc.
The water area is more than half the area of the reserve. These are the Korovinskaya and Bolvanskaya Bay, the water area along the Zakharyin Coast (10 km wide), the entire water zone (2 km) of the Russian Zavorot Peninsula and the Nenetsky Reserve, etc., is divided into 4 sections: Ostrovnoy, Bolvansky, delta r. Pechora and Zakharyin Beach.
The types of transport that can reach the reserve from the city of Naryan-Mar (100 km): snowmobiles (in winter), motor boats (in summer).
About climate
The climate in the subarctic marine reserve. In winter, the air temperature drops to -46 0 C. During the year, the amplitude of average monthly temperatures is about 29 0 C. February is the coldest month, and July is the warmest.
As noted above, snow cover is preserved here most of the time of the year, and the northern parts of the reserve are covered with snow up to 40 centimeters thick on average. The number of days with snowstorms is approximately 112. In the coldest periods of the year, southwestern and southern winds prevail in these places, and in the warmer winds of the northern rumbas.
Relief of the Nenets Reserve
The territory of the reserve has a flat relief. Almost universally, the lowland extends very marshy with numerous channels and lakes of various sizes. Types of swamps: tuberous-urea, ridge-urea, finely hummocky.
Sea terraces are traced on the northern part of the land, and as you move south, the level of the area rises slightly. The terraces of the Nenets Reserve have a flat surface, swampy with spans and small lakes.
Flora
Typical and arctic tundra are represented in the vegetation cover of the Nenets Nature Reserve, where moss and lichen communities predominate.
According to the species composition, the following types of vegetation communities are distinguished here: shrubby (willows, erniks and rosemary), shrubby, lichen and moss tundra, swamps, willows and small grass meadows (cereals and grasses).
The vascular plants of the reserve include 339 species and subspecies (they belong to 56 families). The richest flora is observed in the lower delta of the river. Pechora. Found here more than 200 species. 32 varieties from all growing vascular plants in the reserve are listed in the Red Book: Ugra poppy, Rhodiola rosea, Alpine papaver, Eightfold dryad, Cassiope tetrahedral and many others.
Fauna
The animals constantly live in the Nenets Reserve: fox, white fox, ermine, elk, Ob and hoofed lemmings, wolverine, and white hare. Often you can find a polar bear on the Russian Zavorot peninsula and on the islands of the Barents Sea (southeastern part).
Marine mammals - pinnipeds and cetaceans live in the protected waters. Rare are gray and harp seals, baleen whale, and numerous are walrus, white whale, seal, sea hare.
Where else can you see such a variety of animals that are in the Nenets Reserve? It has become a reliable habitat for such living creatures as the Atlantic walrus, a huge bowhead whale, a tundra swan, a white-headed loon, etc.
The migration path (East Atlantic) of many species of birds passes through the reserve. The reserve territory is an important source of reproduction of bird populations (waterfowl and near-water). In the summer period, their greatest species diversity is observed due to lamellar-billed (bluefish, white-fronted goose, goose-billed goose, eider-comb, etc.) and waders. Silver gulls nest in floodplain places, and large colonies of Arctic tern - on sand spits. Owls, partridges, a peregrine falcon, a white-tailed eagle, a bantam buzzard, a gyrfalcon, derbnik, etc. also live here.
The following waterfowl are today a symbol of the scientific and protective activities of the Nenets Reserve: two species of northern small geese (white-chested geese and piscule) and a tundra (aka small) swan.
Among the fish, the whitefish complex is of primary importance in these places: peled, chir, whitefish, omul and vendace. Also, a salmon migration path passes through a part of the Pechersk Sea (southeast).
Tours
The reserve offers fascinating tourist programs for its visitors: observation of rather rare species of birds (amateur ornithology), an extreme type of recreation in the winter among the snows and in the summer among the picturesque landscapes. Here you can also participate in environmental excursions.
On the islands of the Nenetsky Arctic Reserve, one can find many historical and cultural monuments related to the development of the culture of the Nenets people (shrines with various attributes of sacrifice - idols, polar bear skulls, deer horns, bones of sacrificial animals, etc.).
Since 2000, two monitoring stations and parking lots for tourists have been organized in the reserve.
