Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve

Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve
Russian:Печоро-Илычский заповедник
IUCN categoryIa (strict nature reserve)
Pechora-Ilych Zapovednik
Location of Reserve
Location	Komi Republic
Coordinates	62°34′30″N58°15′30″E
Area	721,300hectares(1,782,371acres;2,785sq mi)
Established	1930(1930)
Governing body	Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Russia)

Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve(Russian:Печоро-Илычский заповедник,Pechoro-Ilychsky zapovednik) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in theKomi Republic,Russia.It currently occupies 7,213 square kilometers and forms the core of theWorld Heritage SiteVirgin Komi Forests.

Topography

The nature reserve is located in the south-eastern corner of theKomi Republic(Troitsko-Pechorsky District), on the western slopes of theUral Mountainsand the adjacent foothills and lowlands. The area is drained by the upper course of thePechora Riverand itstributarytheIlych,from whose names the name of the reserve is derived.

History

The idea of the creation of a nature reserve in the upper Pechora, as asablezakaznik(sanctuary), was proposed in 1915 by S. T. Nat, the Chief Forester ofVologdaGuberniya,in his article inLesnoy Zhurnal(Forest Journal). The nature reserve was created on May 4, 1930, originally occupying 11,350 square kilometers. The borders of the reserve were set on July 30, 1931.

Originally, the reserve's main office was built in the village ofUst-Ilych,at the fall of the Ilych into the Pechora. Access to that location being extremely difficult, the main office was moved in 1935 to the village ofYaksha,further upstream on the Pechora, but closer to theKama Riverbasin, via which the area communicated with the outside world in those days.

In 1951 the reserve was greatly reduced in size, to a mere 930 km²;its area became non-contiguous, with a small lowland section near Yaksha being separated from the highland part. In 1959 the area of the reserve was increased to its current size (7,213 km²), but it still remains non-contiguous. To better protect the reserve, in 1973 a buffer area of 324 km²(similar in status to anational forestin the United States) was created outside of the reserve; the size of the buffer area size was increased in 1984 by additional 330 km².

Since 1986 reserve has been listed byUNESCOas one of thebiosphere reservesof theWorld Network of Biosphere Reserves.In 1995 the forest area including the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve and its northern neighbor, theYugyd Va National Park,were recognized byUNESCOas aWorld Heritage Site,under the nameVirgin Komi Forests.

Ecoregion and climate

Pechora-Ilych is in theUrals montane tundra and taigaecoregion, a region that covers the main ridge of theUral Mountains(both sides) - a 2,000 km (north-south) by 300 km (west-east) region. The region is on the divide between European and Asian ecoregions, and also the meeting point of tundra and taiga.

The climate of Pechora-Ilych isHumid continental climate, cool summer(Köppen climate classificationSubarctic climate(Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1-3 months above 10 °C (50.0 °F)) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below −3 °C (26.6 °F)).

Landscape and vegetation

Upper Pechora River and Bear Stone Mountain; Pechora-Ilych Reserve

Russian geographer A.A. Korchagin divided the area of the reserve into five natural regions:

• The Pechora lowlands:pineforests, pine forestedswamps,andmossswamps.There are few spruce forests in that area. This region includes theGusinoe Bolota(Goose Swamp), a peatbogthat occupies around 3 km²,with the peat deposits some 5–6 meters deep.
• The piedmont (foothills) region, dominated by forests of shade-loving species:Siberian spruce,Siberian pine,andSiberian fir.There are abundant forested swamps there, but hardly any moss swamps.
• The Upper Ilych lowland: this region is surrounded by the Urals highlands and mountains and has particularly severe climate. The slow-growing forest there is classified asboreal taiga.
• The Ural Mountains, the area that is the least studied but has the greatest variety of landscapes. It includes the piedmont forest belt (fir and spruce), up to 300–350 meters in elevation. Above it, up to 600 m elevation, is the subalpine forest belt, where firs and spruces are gradually replaced with birch forests and subalpine meadows. The tree line is at 550–650 m elevation, although there are occasional firs at the elevations as high as 800 m or even higher. Above the tree line,alpine meadowsand thentundraare found.
• The valleys of the Pechora, Ilych, and their tributaries.

Wildlife

Moose,beavers,squirrels,pine martensare abundant in the reserve.Sablesare known to live in the piedmont forest region of the reserve. The wildreindeerhave almost disappeared after the loss of the pine forest section of the reserve in 1951, and consequenthabitat destruction.

The large predators includebrown bears,wolves,andwolverines.Tenmustelidspecies make the reserve their home, from the largest, thewolverine,to theleast weasel,as well as theermine,theAmericanandEuropean mink,thepine marten,thesable,and theSiberian weasel.

Research work

Over the years, scientific research in many areas of biology and ecology was conducted in the reserve. Topics of research ranged fromantstosquirrelstofish.Themoosewas a particularly important topic of research in the reserve.

Moose domestication experiments

Themoose(Alces alces) has long been an object of research at the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve.

In the late 1940s, the management of the reserve encountered the problem of unsustainable growth of the moose population. By the early 1950s, pastures in the reserve started to be exhausted. To handle the problem, in 1956 a moose hunting enterprise (лосепромысловое хозяйство) was instituted. The enterprise was affiliated with the reserve, but located outside of its territory. It has been economically successful. Between 1956 and 1968, 1000 moose were taken, providing 200 tons of meat. At the same time, hunting operations allowed the collection of valuable statistics on the biology of the Pechora moose population.

Besides moose hunting, in 1949 the reserve staff created the facility they referred to as a "moose farm" (лосеферма,loseferma) to study the feasibility of moose domestication. The first director of this project wasYevgeny Knorre.After he moved to theVolga-Kama Nature Reservein 1962, his student M. V. Kozhukhov became the director.

The main objectives of the farm were to learn more about moose biology and to use this knowledge to develop suitable food rations for the moose and techniques for caring for them; to study the feasibility of raising a farm-bred population; and to explore the possibilities of the use of the moose in the national economy.

Three moose in the corral, March 2012

Over the first 40-plus years of the project, six generations of moose were raised on the farm, with some 30–35 animals at the farm in any given year. About 15 moose calves were raised at the farm in a good spring. The total number of the animals raised over the year is said to have exceeded 500.

The farm's adult moose would spend most of the time browsing in the forest; however, a pregnant moose cow would always come back to the farm to give birth. Then, during thelactationperiod of three to five months, the moose cow would come to the farm several times a day, at the same hours, to be milked. The milk production of a moose is small compared to adairy cow:over the lactation season, a total of 300–500 liters (75–125 gallons) of milk is obtained from a moose. However, the milk has a high (12–14%) fat content, and is rich in vitamins and micronutrient elements; it is said to have medicinal properties.

A farm-raised moose can live as long as 18 years, although few reached that age because of the depredations of wolves, bears, and poachers on the free-ranging population.

Among the potential productive uses of the moose, the milk production was found the most promising. However, riding a moose and using it to pull asleighwere tried at the farm as well.

Over the years, a number of research articles dealing with thephysiology,ethology,andecologyof the moose were published by the biologists from the reserve, as well as from the research institutes inSyktyvkarandMoscow(e.g. )

Knorre's and his associates' moose domestication work at Pechora Ilych, as well as somewhat similarMuskoxDomestication Project at theUniversity of Alaska'sInstitute of Northern Agricultural Research,also provided valuable insights in the general theory of animal domestication.

The facility, located in the remote Northern Urals taiga, was never meant to turn a profit, and found itself in a difficult situation after the government funding cutbacks of the early 1990s. According to a recent trip report, the moose farm operations have been greatly reduced; the remaining buildings are in a poor conditions, and only a few animals remain. A Moscow teacher visiting in 2003 reported that there were only five left.However, moose domestication experiments in Russia continue at the more favorably locatedKostroma Moose Farm.

See also

• List of Russian Nature Reserves (class 1a 'zapovedniks')
• WikiCommons gallery: Manpupuner rock formations

Sources

• moose-farm.ru(in English)
• Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve(in Russian)
• Pechora-Ilych National Biosphere Nature Reserve(in Russian)
• D.V. Zhitnev (Д.В.Житенев), M.M. Serebryanny (М.М.Серебрянный) "Research Activities in Pechora Ilych Nature Reserve. World's First Experimental Moose Farm". (Научная деятельность в Печоро-Илычском заповеднике. Первая в мире опытная лосеферма)(1988)(in Russian)
• Pechora Ilych Reserve "moose farm", a recent trip report(in Russian)
• T.Lecomte, "La réintroduction de l'Elan (Alces alces) dans les zones humides: Un projet dans le cadre du développement durable des zones humides éfavorisées"(Nov-1998)(in French)
• E.P. Knorre. "Change in the behavior of moose with age during the domestication",Le Naturaliste Canadien,volume 101 (1974), No. 1-2, p. 371-377.(in English)