Astrakhansky Reserve is one of the first large nature conservation sites created in Russia. Back in 1912, a group of scientists, defenders of wildlife, established several wildlife sanctuaries, where hunting was prohibited all year round, and in 1919 the Astrakhansky Reserve was founded. One of its organizers and later director was Vladimir Alekseevich Khlebnikov, a Russian ornithological scientist.
- Highlights
- General information
- Plant life
Animal life - This is interesting
- Reserve regime
- How to get there
- Where to stay
Highlights
A boat or small boat will come in handy for a walk around the reserve: the main part of the reserve is made up of wetlands. The entire Astrakhansky Reserve consists of three sections: Damchiksky, located in the western part of the Volga Delta, Trekhizbinsky, occupying the central part, and Obzhorovsky, belonging to the eastern part of the delta.
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If you travel along the upper part of the reserve, you can get into the realm of large channels and islands. If you go downstream, you will see many small lakes and willow thickets along the banks. Even lower down, you will find floodplain meadows, which, however, make up no more than 5% of the entire territory of the reserve. The main areas are occupied by marshy meadows.
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General information
- Full name: Astrakhansky State Natural Biosphere Reserve.
- IUCN Category: Ia (strict nature reserve).
- Date of foundation: April 11, 1919. .
- Region: Astrakhan Oblast, Kamyzyaksky, Volodarsky and Ikryaninsky districts.
- Area: 62423 hectares .
- Relief: plain.
- Climate: moderately continental. .
- Website: http://astrakhanzapoved.ru/. .
- Email: abnr@bk.ru.
Plant life
The plant world of the Astrakhansky Reserve includes 314 species of vascular plants, which belong to 64 families. In general, the vegetation is represented by four complexes: forest, shrub, meadow and aquatic. The main tree species of the Reserve are white willow and tricyclic willow (Salix alba and S. triandra). Among shrubs Tamarix ramosissima and Amorfa fruticosa are widespread. Along the banks of the Volga River, bushes of blueberry (Rubus caesius) grow abundantly.
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Meadows in the Astrakhansky Reserve are swampy, true and steppe. Each of them is characterized by its own representatives of plant life. Vegetation of marshy meadows is represented mainly by reed (Phragmites australis), reed (Scirpus) and cattail (Typha angustifolia). Creeping wheatgrass (Agropyron repens), reed canary grass (Phalaroides arundinacea), stolonifera (Agrostis stolonifera) and many other plants are common in the reserve.
.Representatives of aquatic plants occupy about 7 hectares of the total area of the reserve. These are such species as pure-white lily (Numfaea Candida), yellow lily (Nufar luteum), shield-leaved nymphoides (Nymphoides peltata), knotweed (Potamogeton nodosus).
.Animal life
There are 256 species of birds and 60 species of fish in the Astrakhansky Reserve. It is possible to see an otter or a field mouse (Apodemus agrarius). Wild boar (Sus scrofa) and wolf (Canis lupus) are typical.
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The bird world of the reserve is very rich. Not without reason local places are called a bird hotel. According to scientists’ calculations, 256 species of birds live here, 76 of which are rare. The white crane or Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus) is the brightest attraction of the reserve. This is one of the rarest birds on our planet: there are no more than 3000 of them left on the whole Earth.
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But another white bird you will surely have time to see. This is the lesser white heron (Egretta garzetta). Here on the shores it arranges colonies together with other species of herons, cormorants, caraway, spoonbills.
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The waters of the Astrakhansky Reserve are inhabited by a large number of fish. Interestingly, even such ancient giants as beluga (Huso huso) and starred sturgeon (Acipenser stel-latus) are found here. The most numerous family is represented by carp, especially carp (Cyprinus carpio). From the wild carp breeders have obtained a cultural form – carp, which is easy to breed in captivity.
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About 50 species of fish living in the waters of the reserve are commercial. These are roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus), pike (Esox lucius), common perch (Perca fluviatilis), longfin needlefish (Syngnathus typhle), bream (Abra mis brama) and many others.
.The world of insects of the Astrakhansky Reserve is also diverse. Their number is approximately 1250 species. In the steppe in June-August one can meet an interesting spider Argiope lobata (Argiope lobata).
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This is interesting
One of the wonders of the Astrakhansky Reserve is lotus (Nelumbo). Its thickets occupy about 3000 hectares. It is interesting that in ancient times some peoples inhabiting North America used to eat lotus fruits – bones resembling plums. Another wonder of the reserve is the chilim, or water nut. This unique plant can reach 5 meters in length. Its main feature is the fruit, which looks like a bull’s head.
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Reserve’s regime
Hunting and fishing are prohibited on the territory of the reserve. You can visit it by prior arrangement with the administration.
How to get there
Damchiksky section of the Astrakhansky Reserve (travel by water from the pier in Astrakhan – 4-5 hours; by car – 2-3 hours; there are two ferry crossings) is located at a distance of 80-120 km from Astrakhan.
.Where to stay
You can stay at the base “Zakharovskaya”, which is located on the border of the reserve on the bank of the Buyansky Canal.
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