Kopački rit Nature Park
| Kopački rit Nature Park | |||
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| Location: | Osijek-Baranja , Croatia | ||
| Specialty: | diverse flora and fauna | ||
| Next city: | Osijek | ||
| Surface: | 177 km² | ||
| Visitors: | unknown | ||
| Address: |
www.kopacki-rit.com Šandora Petefija 5 HR-31 000 Bilje |
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The Kopački rit Nature Park is located in eastern Croatia near the city of Osijek , not far from the mouth of the Drava . This area also includes several river arms and lakes near the Danube . It is one of the largest and most important preserved wetlands in Europe. The area borders on the Hungarian national park Duna-Dráva and part of a nature reserve in Serbia . Kopački rit is a wetland biotope that stretches over three countries.
General data and protection
- 1967: Part of the area was placed under protection: “Narodne novine” 45/67. (1967. PZ br. 228.)
- The area of the protected area is 23,230 ha, 7,700 ha of which is a specific zoological reserve. This reserve is under strict protection.
- 1989: the area complies with the "Important Bird Habitats" (IBA) requirements: A1, A4i, A4iii, B1iii, B2, C1, C2, C4, C6, N.
- 1993: the wetland belongs to the Ramsar Convention .
- 1999: the Kopački rit Nature Park was nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List .
- 2008: an important part of the Natura 2000 network.
- Neighboring settlements : Bilje , Kopačevo , Podunavlje , Vardarac , Grabovac , Suza , Zlatna Greda , Batina .
The area
At this point the Drava flows into the Danube. In the event of major floods, large areas are flooded by water, creating important living and, above all, breeding areas for many fish species. The floods make the area one of the most important breeding areas for fish in Europe. The appearance of the area changes depending on the dynamics of the floods.
- Height above sea level: 78–86 m.
- The climate falls between Central European and Pannonian-continental. According to the Köppen classification: Cfwbx. The average data from the measurements from Osijek and Brestovac-Bilje are calculated, so the annual average temperature is 10.7 ° C, the summer average temperature 21.6 ° C, the January average temperature −1.4 ° C.
- Precipitation: 649 mm / year.
- Soil: swamp soil , dust, clay, peat, fine sand. From a hydro-morphological point of view, sediment and deposits from the Pleistocene and Holocene. The Pleistocene limestone gravel (glina, silt) is characteristic of the Danube section. Seismotectonically it is a very active area.
- The hydrological network has the following parts: Hulovo as a natural canal, Čonakut, Novi canal, Renovo or Pusta fok, Nađhat, Vemeljski and Dunavas natural canals as well as the Kopačko, Bijelo and Sakadaško ponds.
vegetation
Along the Danube are white willow alluvial forests ( Galio-Salicetum albae, Salici-Populetum nigrae ) and swamps. The softwood forests at the mouth of the Drava represent the core area of the specially protected reserve. To the north at Tikveš Castle are hardwood forests ( Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris, Carpino betuli-Quercetum roboris ). Ash and white elm forests ( Fraxino-Ulmetum laevis ) have three variants:
- 1. Ulmeto-Fraxinetum typicum , prov. Jov. 1968.,
- 2. Ulmeto-Fraxinetum quercetosum , prov. Jov. 1968.,
- 3. Ulmeto-Fraxinetum populetosum , prov. Jov. 1968.
Other characteristic plant communities : tall sedge (Magnocaricetum), reeds ( Phraghitetum communus ), also " Scirpetum lacustris ", " Scirpes lacustris ", " Typha latifolia ", " Roripa amphibia ", " Nymphaeo-nupharetum "; with white water lily ( Nymphaea albae ) and pond rose ( Nuhar luteum ) and aquatic plant communities; " Lemno-Spirodeletum polyrhizae ", " Spirodelo-Salvinietum ", " Riccietum fluitantis ", " Lemno-Utricularietum ", " Lemnetum Trisulcae ", " Wolffietum arhizae ", " Lemno-Azolletum ", " Potamogetonetum grucamineogeton ", " Potamogetonetum grucamineogeton " " Potamogetonetum Graminei ", " Hottonietum palustris ", " Nymphoidetum peltatae ", " Trapetum natantis ", " Potameto-Ranunculetum circinati ", " Nymphoido-Hippuridetum ", " Eleocharetum acicularis ", " Nanocyperion ", " Scirpo-Phragmetetum ", " Caricetum elatae ”,“ Caricetum vesicariae ”,“ Caricetum gracilis ”.
Nitrofil-frekvente plant communities; " Lolio-Plantaginetum ", " Sclerochloo-Polygonetum avicularis ", " Descurainietum sophiae ", " Echio-Melilotetum ", " Polygono-Bidentetum ", " Ranunculetum scelerati ", " Alopecuretum aequalis ".
There are more than 40 plant communities in the Kopački rit Nature Park.
In Croatia only here the Laxmann's cattail ( Typha laxmannii Lepech.) And the sedge sedge ( Carex bohemica Schreb.) Occur .
Wildlife
Thanks to the prevailing special morphological and hydrological conditions, a very diverse flora has developed, and this contains an equally diverse fauna.
An interesting invertebrate is the Kopach river mussel ( Unio tumidus kopaciensis ), a larger subspecies of the river mussel endemic in the nature park . They are not only a source of food for many birds, but are also used by the bitterling ( Rhodeus sericeus amarus ) to lay eggs and as a cradle for its offspring.
insects
The insect world of the nature park is rich, but so far little explored. In addition to the well-known stag beetle ( Lucanus cervus ), 85 other beetle species , more than 40 dragonfly species , 35 butterflies, 60 moths, 21 mosquito species and more than 30 horsefly species live there . The larvae of the dragonflies (Anisoptera) develop in the streams, rivers and lakes. For this reason, they can be seen near fresh water. There are more than 70 species in all of Croatia. They are differently colored from each other, often seen in very intense colors.
fishes
So far, 44 species of fish have been identified in the nature park, especially gable , pike , carp , river catfish and pikeperch .
Amphibians and reptiles
You have added 11 amphibians and 10 reptiles . It is an optimal habitat for amphibians, with a mosaic of water and arid areas for reproduction and wintering. The European pond turtle ( Emys orbicularis ) is also very common.
Birds
The nature park is primarily known for its rich bird life. There are 296 species of birds in the area (2009). Over 40 pairs of white-tailed eagles ( Haliaeetus albicilla ) breed , 18–20 pairs of black storks ( Ciconia nigra ), 4–5 pairs of saker falcons ( Falco cherrug ). 40 pairs of little egrets ( Egretta garzetta ), 100 pairs of gray geese ( Anser anser ), over 100 pairs of bog ducks ( Aythya nyroca ), around 900 pairs of gray herons ( Ardea cinerea ). For the migratory birds , the Kopatscher Aue is a very important place to rest, hibernate and / or feed. During the bird migration it is not uncommon to see over 30–35 thousand geese birds (Anseriformes) in one place, and an army of over a thousand spoonbills ( Platalea leucorodia ). The now widespread cormorants ( Phalacrocorax carbo ) have a colony of over 1500 nests in the zoological reserve. The lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus ) is also found in large quantities. Not only the purple heron ( Ardea purpurea ), great egret ( Egretta alba ) or the little egret ( Egretta garzetta ) feel at home in the nature park. The night herons ( Nycticorax nycticorax ) also abound with 400 breeding pairs. The corncrake ( Crex crex ) also breeds here and the brown ibis ( Plegadis falcinellus ) has already shown breeding attempts. The black-headed gulls ( Larus ridibundus ), white-bearded terns ( Chlidonias hybrida ), black terns ( Chlidonias nigra ) and common terns ( Sterna hirundo ) can be seen again and again.
- The bird migration line developed by the IUCN , which also goes through the Fertő-Hanság National Park , also runs over the following areas and is one of the " biodiversity hotspots ":
- Duna-Dráva National Park in Hungary
- Kopački rit Nature Park in Croatia
- Gornje Podunavlje in Serbia (Upper section of the Danube)
The realization of a complex and effective nature protection that extends beyond national borders would make the area into Europe's unique wetland treasure.
Mammals
Once there were 55 mammal species in the area, more than 50% of the mammal species in Croatia. Today the European ground squirrel ( Spermophilus citellus ), the house rat ( Rattus rattus ) or the wolf ( Canis lupus ) can be removed from the list. The golden jackal ( Canis aureus ) and the European beaver ( Castor fiber ) can now be found again after a while.
From the protection list of the IUCN there are 10 species (20.41%); among others the ciliated bat ( Myotis emarginatus ), the pond bat ( Myotis dasycneme ) or the otter ( Lutra lutra ). In addition, the great horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ), the squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris ), the harvest mouse ( Micromys minutus ), the common dormouse ( Muscardinus avellanarius ) or the dormouse ( Glis glis ) can often be observed.
There are 12 species of bats. The lesser whiskered bat ( Myotis mystacinus ) are the rarest .
The wildcat ( Felis silvestris ) occurs in good genetic quality. One can still encounter the badger ( Meles meles ), the stone marten ( Martes foina ), the pine marten ( Martes martes ), the polecat ( Mustela putorius ), the weasel ( Mustela nivalis ) and the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ).
The Kopatscher Aue is not only famous for its bird life. The red deer population ( Cervus elaphus ) is also of high quality. It is interesting that the antlers are very diverse, presumably because they come here from large districts to feed and mate. The wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) is the largest omnivore in the nature park.
The muskrat ( Ondatra zibethicus ) occurs in the canals and beaver rats ( Myocastor coypus ) have also been seen near the fish ponds. The latter may have originally been refugees from a zoo.
literature
- Kopački rit: pregled istraživanja i bibiliografija; Melita Mihaljević i suradnici po područjima: Darko Getz, Zdenko Tadić, Branka Živanović, Dragica Gucunski, Jasenka Topić, Irma Kalinović, Jozsef Mikuska. Zagreb - Osijek: Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, Zavod za znanstveni rad u Osijeku, 1999, ISBN 953-154-343-7
- KOPAČKI RIT, PARK PRIRODE - ekološki turistički vodič (2003): BARBAT, ZAGREB
- GLASNIK, Javne ustanove “Park Prirode Kopački Rit”, broj 1, 2005/2006.
- NIKOLIĆ, T. & TOPIĆ J. (2005): Crvena knjiga vaskularne flore Hrvatske. Ministarstvo Kulture, Državni zavod za zaštitu prirode, Zagreb, siječanj.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ante Tadić: Prekomeran lov školjaka i njihova zaštita (PDF, 920 KB). 1956, accessed September 11, 2016 .
