Primeval forests of Komi
Coordinates: 65 ° 4 ′ 0 ″ N , 60 ° 9 ′ 0 ″ E
| Primeval forests of Komi | |
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UNESCO world heritage 
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| Primeval forests of Komi |
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| National territory: |
 Russia
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| Type: | nature |
| Criteria : | vii, ix |
| Reference No .: | 719 |
| UNESCO region : | Europe and North America |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 1995 (session 19) |
The primeval forests of Komi ( Russian Девственные леса Коми ) are located in the Northern Ural Mountains in the Russian Republic of Komi . They are the largest contiguous primeval forest area in Europe and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995 .
geography
The primeval forests of Komi extend over an area of 32,800 km² on the western slope of the northern Ural Mountains, in the northeast of the Komi Republic. The area runs over the plains of the taiga in the west and then rises to the east towards the Urals. The flat land in the west of the area is about 100 meters above sea level. In it there are swamps and river plains . To the east the terrain becomes undulating and merges into the foothills of the Urals. To the south of this area lies the Pechora-Ilytsch nature reserve , a wooded flat plain covered with sand and clay that was created by glacier flows. The foothills are crossed by the rivers Ilych , Shchugor and Podtscherje , which have their source in the Urals and which flow into the Pechora to the east . In the karst landscape of the foothills, created by the leaching of limestone, there are numerous underground caves, craters, stone columns and, at times, water-bearing river beds . The eastern border of the primeval forests are the mountain ranges of the Urals, in which with the 1895 meter high Narodnaya is the highest elevation of the area.
history
At the 19th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Berlin in 1995, the primeval forests were given UNESCO World Heritage status. The area declared a world natural heritage includes the Pechora-Ilych nature reserve (721.3 km²), which was founded in 1930 and declared a biosphere reserve in 1984, the Jugyd Wa National Park created in 1994 (18,917 km²) and a 660 km² buffer zone.
Despite the recognition as the status of the world natural heritage, the government of the Komi Republic has been making efforts to use the gold-rich areas of the area since the 1990s. In 2010, a shift in the boundaries of Jugyd Wa National Park opened up areas for the construction of an above-ground gold mine.
Flora and fauna
The largest part of the primeval forests is covered by boreal coniferous forest, which stretches from the swamp and floodplain landscapes in the flatlands to the foothills of the Urals. The coniferous forests consist mainly of Scots pine and Siberian larch , which grows mainly at higher altitudes. Norway spruces , Siberian firs and pines also thrive in the valleys . At higher altitudes, the boreal coniferous forest is replaced by the subalpine vegetation level , with grassland and mountain tundra. The primeval forests of Komi are the only European area where the Siberian pine can be found.
The primeval forests are a habitat and retreat for numerous partly endangered or protected animal species, such as the otter , the wolf , the European beaver , the Eurasian lynx , the wolverine and the sable . Well-known mammal species include elk , mountain hares , pine marten , European flying squirrels , squirrels and brown bears . In addition to the beaver, the muskrat was also resettled in the nature reserve. Among the 204 known species of birds are black woodpecker , red grouse , nutcracker , three-toed woodpecker , blue tail , black grouse and capercaillie and some waterfowl species (including Goldeneye , Common Merganser , bean goose and wigeon ). Almost all rivers in the primeval forests are used as spawning grounds for salmon . In addition to salmon, grayling and Coregonus species are among the 16 known fish species in the area.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Virgin Komi Forests on the official website of UNESCO (English); Reviewed on February 8, 2012
- ↑ a b c page no longer available , search in web archives: Report of the United Nations Environment Program / World Conservation Monitoring Center (English; PDF; 114 kB); Reviewed on February 8, 2012.
- ↑ Decision - 35COM 7B.25 - Virgin Komi Forests (Russian Federation) (N 719) (English); Reviewed on February 8, 2012
Heritage: Historic Center of Saint Petersburg (1990) | Churches of Kizhi Pogost on the island of Kizhi in Lake Onega (1990) | Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow (1990) | Architectural monuments of Novgorod and the surrounding area (1990) | Historical and cultural monuments on the Solovetsky Islands on the White Sea (1992) | White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal (1992) | Fortified Monastery of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius in Sergiev Posad (1993) | Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye (1994) | Kazan Kremlin (2000) | Ferapontow Monastery (2000) | Curonian Spit (2000) | Citadel, old town and fortifications of Derbent (2003) | Novodevichy Monastery (2004) | Yaroslavl Old Town (2005) | Struve Arch (2005) | Historical center and archaeological sites of Bolgar (2014) | Assumption Cathedral of the island city of Svyazhsk (2017) | Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture (2019)
Natural Heritage: Komi Primeval Forests (1995) | Lake Baikal (1996) | Volcanic region of Kamchatka with the Klyuchevskoy Nature Park (1996) | Golden Mountains of the Altai in Southern Siberia (1998) | Western Caucasus (1999) | Central Sichote-Alin Nature Reserve (2001) | Uws Nuur Basin (2003) | Wrangel Island Nature Reserve (2004) | Putorana Mountains (2010) | Lenafelsen Nature Park (2012) | Daurian Landscapes (2017)