Pape Nature Reserve

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The Pape nature reserve is located in Latvia , about 15 km south of Liepāja . It covers an area of ​​57 square kilometers. The swampy Pape Lake , which dominates the area, is surrounded by dunes, moors and swamp forests . There is an information center for visitors.

flora

The landscape is dominated by wetlands and forests. The forests consist primarily of damp birch and alder break forests. Spruce and pine stands can be found at higher altitudes. On the coast there are sandy beaches with shifting dunes.

fauna

Lake Pape is an important area for migratory birds. Around 50,000 of the feathered guests arrive every autumn. They use the wetlands as a stopover on their hikes.

With the help of WWF , Heck cattle , wild horses and bison were also settled in the nature reserve. The Heck cattle are reproductions of the extinct aurochs and are intended to replace them ecologically. Similarly, the Konik horses represent a replacement for the extinct Tarpan , the European wild horse. Bison were also extinct in Latvia. The Heck cattle and wild horses were settled in 1999. The bison a few years later. In 2007 the horses had increased to over 100 animals, the Heck cattle to over 80 animals. The bison counted less than 20 at that time and slowly multiplied. Moose , roe deer , red deer , wild boar , beaver , wolves , otters and lynxes lived in the area around the lake even before the three large herbivores were settled . This means that the reserve is now home to almost complete Holocene large animal fauna. Raccoon dogs also occur as neozoa .

swell

  • Volker Hagemann: Discover Latvia . Trescher Verlag; Edition: 1st A. (July 28, 2006), pp. 274-275, ISBN 3897940647
  • E. Marris (2009): Conservation biology: Reflecting the past . Nature 462, 30-32

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Katrina ZS Schwartz: Wild horses in a 'European wilderness': imagining sustainable development in the post-Communist countryside. Cultural Geographies July 2005 vol. 12 no.3 292-320
  2. ↑ Lake Pape - Latvia ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Information from the Large Herbivore Network @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lhnet.org

Coordinates: 56 ° 12 ′ 0 ″  N , 21 ° 3 ′ 0 ″  E