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Reserves of Kazakhstan

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Naurzum Reserve
located in the Kustanai region, occupies 85.6 thousand hectares. Organized in 1934 in order to protect the Naurzum pine forest - one of the southernmost pine forests in Kazakhstan, and lakes - nesting places for waterfowl. Landscapes of hilly sands with Naurzum-Karagai pine forest, feather-grass steppe plains adjacent to the forest, solonetz-saline shores and water areas of lakes Sarymoyyn, Zharkol, Aksuat, Chushkoly prevail here. There are 25 species of mammals and 150 species of birds in the reserve.

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The local fauna is characterized by the combined presence of both forest and steppe species. Among the most interesting inhabitants The reserve includes a very rare egret. Numerous water birds nest on the lakes, as well as rare ones such as the gray goose and the red-headed pochard. On lakes Aksuat, Sarymoyin and others, a huge number of waterfowl from all over the world gather to molt in summer. Northern Kazakhstan and from Western Siberia, in the fall, hundreds of thousands of them gather for feeding and rest. Scientific work conducted in the Naurzum Reserve is aimed at expanding issues related to the study of the interaction of forest, steppe and lake fauna. A special place is occupied by the tasks of restoring the pine forest, a significant part of which was destroyed by fire in 1964, and developing forests in the steppe zone.

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Marmot
Sleep-grass, the first spring flowers of the reserve
swampy lakes
Feather-grass steppes of the reserve
Boar - the owner of pine forests

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Markakol Reserve
The reserve is located in the East Kazakhstan region in the southeast of the Southern Altai, in the basin of the lake. Markakol, in an intermountain tectonic basin typical of Altai, surrounded by ridges - Kurchumsky from the north, Azu-Tau and Sorvenovsky Belok from the southeast. The lake lies at an absolute height of 1449.3 m. The highest mark is 3304.5 m (Aksu-Bas). The total area of ​​the reserve is 71,367 hectares, of which 26,917 hectares fall on land, and 44,450 hectares fall on the water area of ​​the lake. lakeside (609 ha), covering a small part of the northern coast at the mouths of the Topolevka and Dzhirenka rivers, and northern mountain-forest (20,050 ha), located on the Kurchum Range, in the upper reaches of the Topolevka, Tau-Tekeli, Tikhushka and Sorvenok rivers. In addition, 8 hectares are occupied by the territory of the central estate at the mouth of the river. Urunkhaik. A discontinuous security zone 2 km wide has been allocated around the reserve.

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The Markakol Nature Reserve was established in August 1976 to preserve the natural complexes of the Southern Altai in their natural state, including the unique alpine lake. Markakol. The main objects of protection in the reserve, except for the lake. Markakol - reference landscapes of larch, fir and spruce taiga and highlands, typical for the mountains of Southern Siberia, a unique ichthyofauna, represented by endemic subspecies of lenok, grayling, char and gudgeon, characteristic only for Markakol, a rich and diverse fauna of birds and mammals, including a number of species which have become rare and disappearing in our country. The coast of the lake in the west, north and northeast is a lakeside plain 1–2 km wide, while in the south and southeast the coast has a relatively narrow coastal strip, since the Azu-Tau ridge almost closely adjoins the lake. Characteristic are the spurs descending from the slopes of the ridges, protruding into the lake and forming peculiar capes - "pritors". The climate is typically continental, with severe snowy winters and warm, moderately humid summers. Markakol is the coldest region of Kazakhstan: minimum temperatures reach -55 "(Orlovka village). The first snowfalls are usually observed in the first ten days of October. On the lake coast, it usually falls in the first ten days of May, in the mountains - in late May - early June. Separate snowfalls fall until the second half of May, and sometimes begin in August and September.

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Aksu-Dzhabagly is the oldest reserve in Kazakhstan, as well as the first in Central Asia, which received the status of a UNESCO biosphere reserve, located in the spurs of the Western Tien Shan at an altitude of 1000 to 4280 meters above sea level. Here are the main altitudinal belts: semi-deserts are replaced by dry herbaceous steppes, Luxurious areas of upland meadows give way to dense thickets of creeping juniper forests. A motley mosaic of multicolored alpine flowers adorns the foothills of harsh peaks with dazzling snows and bluish tongues of glaciers. Aksu-Dzhabagly is the richest treasury of rare, endangered and endemic species of animals and plants. Argali and mountain goats, deer and roe deer, lynx and Snow leopards, wolves and foxes, bears and porcupines, stone martens and ermines. The world of birds is rich. Bearded vultures and vultures, griffon vultures and golden eagles soar high in the sky. Kecliks nest on the stone slopes, snowcocks can be found near the eternal snows. In a shady canopy deciduous forests the plumage of a paradise flycatcher seems to be a living flame. The sonorous sounds of the flute resemble the singing of a blue bird. Multi-colored swallowtail butterflies, rare species of sailboats, pigeons, and jaundices flicker over sunny glades. The flora of the reserve is diverse. Greig's tulips blaze with scarlet flames on the slopes. In pinkish inflorescences, the airy flowers of the Kokand morina are collected. In a hard-to-reach pit at an altitude of 3000 meters above sea level, there is another attraction of the reserve - a kind of "art gallery" consisting of many drawings carved on dark shiny stones. They depict wild and domestic animals, scenes of hunting and everyday life of ancient people. In shale deposits in the paleontological sites of Aksu-Dzhabagly, fossilized imprints of the most ancient inhabitants of the planet - plants, fish, insects and pangolins - have been preserved.

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Ridge Talasskiy Alatau
Blue river Aksu
Western part of the Talasskiy Alatau ridge
Sayram-Su River
Gorge of the Kishi-Kaindy River

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The Korgalzhinsky reserve is located in the southwestern part of the Tengiz-Kurgalzhinsky depression, located in the center of Kazakhstan. The reserve is located in the Kurgaldzhinsky district of the Akmola region, 160 km. Northeast of the city of Astana. The total area is 237,100 hectares.

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Located 130 km. southwest of Astana and occupies an area of ​​258.9 thousand hectares, including 198 thousand hectares of water area. Here is the most beautiful feather grass steppe. In general terms, the protected area is two large interconnected lakes Tengiz and Korgalzhyn. "Tengiz" in translation means "sea". The water surface area of ​​159,000 ha is 2 times the area of ​​Lake Geneva, and the mineralization of water is 5-6 times higher than the salinity of the world ocean. The flora of the reserve has about 350 species, of which 90% are herbaceous plants. local fauna representing big interest for ornithologists, there are up to 33 species of birds, 82 of which are listed in the "Red Book" of the world. Among them are the black lark, bustard-dudak, demoiselle crane, gyrfalcon, steppe kestrel. Here are the northernmost nests of pink flamingos.

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Barsakelmes Reserve in the Kyzyl-Orda region on the island of the same name in the Aral Sea. Its area is 18.3 thousand hectares. The desert landscapes of the island are monotonous: sagebrush-salyan and khmer vegetation predominate, there are sparse thickets of saxaul forests and mounds on sand dunes. The flora of the island has 165 plant species. The animal world is rather poor in terms of species, but has a significant density. 12 species of mammals live here (kulan, gazelle, saiga, karsak, fox, wolf, sandstone gopher and others), 7 species of reptiles and 202 species of birds. Now scientific research is being carried out in the reserve to study the consequences of the drop in the level of the Aral Sea on vegetation and animal world Aral Sea.

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Almaty Reserve
The reserve was organized in May 1931, where in the basin of the river. Malaya Alma-Atinka on an area of ​​about 13,000 hectares. Already by 1935, the territory of the reserve was more than 600,000 hectares. In February 1935, the reserve was given the status of a state reserve, and over the next 5 years its area reached almost 1 million hectares. The entire Trans-Ili Alatau, the adjacent semi-desert territory up to the river. Or the deserted mountain ranges of Turaigyr, Boguty and Syugaty. The northern slope of the Trans-Ili Alatau was covered with magnificent coniferous and deciduous forests, and a huge array of saxaul forests stretched along the left bank of the Ili.

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The floristic composition included more than 1500 species. Many birds and animals lived in the protected areas; only in the Syugatinskaya valley, thousands of goitered gazelles roamed, now listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. In the post-war years, a gradual reduction in protected areas began. First, forest areas were seized, then hayfields and other lands. In September 1951, the final liquidation of the reserve took place, which shared the sad fate of many reserves in the country in those years. The question of its restoration was raised by a group of scientists and public figures Kazakhstan, and in January 1960 it was restored. The reserve is located in the central part of the Zailiysky Alatau on an area of ​​73,325 hectares, 25 km east of the capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, in the Talgar district of the Almaty region.

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Alakol Reserve was opened on April 21, 1998. The protected area includes the wetlands of the Alakol lakes, the Sasykkol water area, the islands of Araltobe and Shubartubek. Park area: 19,713 hectares. Location: on the border of Almaty and East Kazakhstan regions. The objects of nature protection and tourism are ecosystems of deltaic wetland landscapes, lake shores and islands in the intermountain basin of the center of Eurasia. It is one of the three key wetlands in Kazakhstan. The area of ​​Lake Alakol is 265,000 hectares, Lake Sasykkol - 73,600 hectares. The shores of the salt lake Alakol have a rugged relief with large islands - Sredny, Ulken-Aral-Tobe, Kishkene-Aral-Tobe, favorable for nesting of wetland birds. The sloping shores of the freshwater lake Sasykkol are covered with dense thickets of reeds. The park has a museum of nature and an arboretum, a hotel for 10 people (2 rooms for 5 people) and a dining room. At the request of customers, accommodation in a hotel in the city of Usharal is possible. On the routes, rest and meals for tourists are organized at the cordons of the reserve. Animals of the Alakol Reserve. 290 species of animals live on the territory of the reserve, including 21 species of mammals, 257 species of birds, 8 species of fish, 2 species of amphibians, 3 species of reptiles. Mammals of the Alakol Reserve - wolf, bandage, wild boar, roe deer, fox, steppe polecat, ermine, muskrat, goitered gazelle, manul, etc.

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Birds of the Alakolsky Reserve - grebe, pink pelican, curly pelican, spoonbill, gray and white herons, black stork, whooper swan, white-headed duck, quail, partridge, pheasant, crane, bustard, black-headed gull, relict gull, eagle owl, etc. The book of Kazakhstan includes the pink pelican, the curly pelican, the whooper swan, the white-headed duck, the black-bellied grouse, the eagle owl. For the protection of gull birds, back in 1971, the Relic Gull reserve was organized, where colonies of the black-headed gull and relict gull live. More than 257 species of birds live in the reserve, including the relict gull. Ornithological tours are of particular interest, during which you can see such rare and waterfowl, desert and mountain birds. Of these, 19 are rare and endangered.

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Amphibians of the Alakol Reserve - green toad and moor frog. Reptiles of the Alakol Reserve - fast foot-and-mouth disease, multi-colored foot-and-mouth disease, patterned snake. Fish of the Alakol Reserve - local species of Balkash marinka, Strauch char, Balkash perch, acclimatized roach, carp, silver carp, bream, pike perch. Balkash perch is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. Vegetation of the Alakol Reserve. There are more than 270 plant species belonging to 42 families in the reserve. In the phytoplankton composition of the lake, 156 species of varieties and forms of algae were found. Over the past 10 - 20 years, there has been a reduction in a number of populations of rare species: white water lilies, yellow egg pods, pale cattail, trefoil arrowhead, Ural licorice, bordered ephedra, marsh horsetail, hops, sea buckthorn, elecampane, creeping wheatgrass, etc. In general, protection is needed 107 plant species.

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West Altai Reserve
In Rudny Altai, where the Ivanovsky, Lineysky, Ulbinsky, Khalzun and Koksinsky ridges converge and the Belaya and Chernaya Uba, Turgusun and Barsuk rivers originate, the West Altai Reserve was created in 1992 in order to preserve the mountain forests of the region. Its area is 56.1 thousand hectares. It is located in two districts: Zyryanovsky and the administrative territory of the city of Ridder. There are a large number of small mountain lakes in the protected area. The origin of many of them is associated with glacial activity. A network of small streams is well developed here, forming numerous flowing swamps and forming the beginning of the flow of rivers. 14 small glaciers occupy an area of ​​more than 1.1 sq. km. The climatic conditions of the region are original. The territory of the reserve belongs mainly to the mountainous Altai humid, cool and partly highland Altai excessively humid cold climatic region. Harsh reserved land! There is so much snow that on the leeward slopes it reaches eight meters in places. This area is considered the wettest place in Kazakhstan. Therefore, unique communities of plants and animals, historically associated with high-latitude tundra regions, have formed here. They "came" here during the last planetary glaciations. For example, polar birches and willows grow along the tops of the ridges, and northern sedge, including cotton grass, grows in swamps. Only here are dilapidated cedars found, whose age is a thousand years. The perimeter of their trunks at the base reaches almost eight meters. These trees are the real patriarchs of the taiga forests of Altai and Siberia!

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Ustyurt Reserve
The Ustyurt State Reserve is located in the west of Kazakhstan, in the Yeralievsky district of the Mangystau region. The territory of the reserve occupies a part of the western chink of the Ustyurt plateau, a narrow causal strip of the plateau itself and a vast lowering of Konderlisor. The absolute height is from 50 to 3000 m. The total area of ​​the reserve is 223,300 ha. The idea of ​​creating a reserve on Ustyurt arose in 1960 - 1970 in connection with the development of the desert spaces of Western Kazakhstan that began in these years. The reserve was organized on July 12, 1984. The purpose of the establishment of the reserve is to preserve in its natural state the natural complex of the northern deserts of the Ustyurt Plateau, including a number of rare species of fauna and flora. In the reserve, studies have begun on the inventory of flora and fauna. These works should lay the foundation for further long-term observations of the decline of the modern development of Ustyurt ecosystems and anthropogenic impact on them. Academician L. S. Berg (1952) attributed the Ustyurt plateau to the subzone of the northern Tertiary plateaus of the desert zone of the Turan lowland. Most of this plateau is covered with vegetation, transitional from the subzone of the northern (sagebrush-saltwort) deserts to the subzone of the southern (ephemeral-sagebrush) deserts. In physical and geographical terms, Ustyurt is an independent district of the Mangyshlak-Ustyurt province of the northern desert subzone. The territory of the reserve is located on the Western chink (the steep edge of the Ustyurt plateau), at the junction of the Ustyurt and Mangyshlak districts. Aeolian landforms, clayey flat spaces, vast dry depressions, dry channels of ancient and modern temporary watercourses are widespread here. On the surface, in depressions, Quaternary deposits are widely developed, and on the plateau - Tertiary and Cretaceous deposits, mainly marine.

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The sights of Ustyurt are archaeological monuments. In ancient times, ancient caravan routes passed through the plateau, such as the road of the Khorezm Shahs, which connected Khiva with the lower reaches of the Emba and the Volga. Along it were the ancient city of Shahr-i-Wazir, the caravanserai of Beleuli and the fortress of Allan. Ancient cemeteries with majestic mausoleums-mazars are scattered all over the plateau. Some of them have already been studied by archaeologists, but many are still waiting for their researchers. There are also older monuments. About 60 Neolithic sites are known in Ustyurt. There are especially many of them in the western and southwestern chinks - in the Manat region and the vicinity of the Karynzharyk depression. There are also on the territory of the reserve itself.

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Karatau State Nature Reserve
Karatau State Nature Reserve is the youngest among the reserves of the republic. It was established by a special Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 240 dated March 1, 2004. The history of its creation is long and complex - about 30 years. Since the 70s of the last century, many Kazakh botanists, M.S., have written about the need to protect the unique endemic flora of Karatau. Baytenov, V.P. Goloskokov, N.Kh. Karmysheva and others. In 1975 Academician B.A. Bykov, chairman of the commission "Scientific foundations of conservation in Kazakhstan", put forward a proposal to organize the Karatau Reserve. In 1982, together with the zoologist E.I. Strautman first published a brief justification for the need to preserve the elevated part of the ridge with an area of ​​140 thousand hectares with a rich accumulation of endemic plants and rare animal species.

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The climate in the Karatau nature reserve is continental, arid. Medium annual temperature air fluctuates between 8-12°C. Most cold month January ( average temperature-5°С), the hottest is July (+25-27°С). In mid-May, showers with heavy thunderstorms are not uncommon in the mountains of the reserve. In winter, the weather is most often clear and calm. The average wind speed does not exceed 3-4 m/sec. The snow cover is shallow - up to 20-30 cm. It usually sets in the last days of November, collapses at the end of February. forbs, and on riverine terraces - floodplain forest-meadow soils.

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Flora in the Karatausky nature reserve. The dominant mountain sagebrush is an endemic species - Karatav sagebrush. This semi-shrub with graceful grayish-green thinly dissected leaves and a narrow paniculate inflorescence is characterized by high lignification of numerous stems. Fescue dominates in the steppes, feather grasses often participate - Caucasian and Karatav. Phryganoids, or upland xerophytes, are a special type of vegetation characteristic of dry rocky habitats. Their composition is dominated by perennial thorny herbs, shrubs and shrubs. For the most part, these are endemic species of acantolimon, lepidolophs, cusinia, Regel's rafidophyton, etc. The presence of such phryganoid elements in the steppes and Karatav-sagebrush patches gives a special unique look to the vegetation of the reserve.

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The rare plant communities of the reserve include tugai forests. These narrow strips of gallery forest along riverbeds are very attractive with openwork foliage of relic Sogdian ash and delicate bluish crowns of low willows. Occasionally in their composition there are Turkestan hawthorn, mulberry, Sievers apple tree and Semenov maple. Maple, like ash, is a living fragment of ancient tertiary forests. On the dry bottoms of the gorges and in the lower parts of the slopes, communities of Schrenk's meadowsweet are found in separate patches ranging from 0.01 to 0.5 ha. This completely unusual shrub from the Rosaceae family is a representative of a monotypic (single-species) genus, preserved since the Paleogene era (more than 30 million years ago) only in two isolated points of Kazakhstan - the Betpakdala desert and the Karatau mountains. In the valleys of the Bayaldyr and Kantagi rivers, the most powerful specimens were noted, up to 2.5 m high and up to 15 cm thick trunk. Their crown is up to 3 m in diameter, and the number of flowering branches often exceeds 500-800. During the flowering period in mid-June, these bushes seem to be dressed in a cloud of delicate pale pinkish lace, enlivened by the incessant hum of bees and wasps.

It was organized in 1931, on June 30. The main goal of creating the reserve is to preserve rare, unique natural complexes, flora and fauna of the reserve in their natural state.

General information, climate and rivers of the Naurzum State Natural Reserve

Georgaficheky Naurzum Reserve is divided into three sections: Naurzum(139,714 ha), Tersek(12,947 ha) and Sypsyn(38,720 ha). The plots are located at a distance of 9-14 km from each other.
Naurzum- This is a flat table-stepped place, which consists of several geomorphological levels (120-125 m above sea level).

Protected areas are characterized by the presence of sharply continental climate. It is characterized by high amplitudes of summer and winter temperatures. The average air temperature for the year reaches 2.4 °C, and the average frost-free period is 131 days a year. In winter, there is little cloudiness and severe frosts. The soil completely thaws only by the end of April. In general, this area is characterized by sharp changes in the amount of seasonal and annual precipitation.

Located on a latitudinal watershed in the middle of river basins Turgayi Tobol. Temporary streams that have a seasonal flow and a latitudinal direction are the main representatives of the river network. Large rivers in the eastern direction: Naurzum-Karasu and Dana-Bike. Another river flows from the southwest - Ulken-karaelga.

Flora of the Naurzum State Natural Reserve

In total, 687 species are found in the reserve higher plants. The pine forests of Naurzum are relic. Five species are endemic (astragalus, Kustanai astragalus, Kyrgyz birch) and the same number of species are relict (feather grass, white water lily, whose brilliant, Schober's saltpeter).

The swamp-forest flora includes nettle and common hop, as well as rare boreal species in these parts: two-stamen sedge, swamp white-skin, and slender cotton grass. Pliocene species are represented by five-starred willow, ash-gray willow, cinquefoil, loosestrife loosestrife.

For the southern forests, two species are characteristic - clematis orientalis, sucker-fruited. In the south of the range, the following species can be found: common juniper, ostrich-opera matteucia, alpine aster, Altai aster. Rare for this region are green strawberries, Altai hawthorn, meadow timothy grass, pale flax, perennial flax.

5 species are placed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan: round-leaved sundew, Kyrgyz birch, Schrenk tulip, thin-legged stiff-leaved, Mugodzhar headwort.

Fauna of the Naurzum State Natural Reserve

Animal world Naurzum Reserve varied. The avifauna is represented by 282 species. In the zonal steppes, the field pipit, the field and white-winged larks, the common wheatear, and the black lark are often found. Near the lakes and in depressions with meadow plants, black-headed coinage, shrike shrike, and quail are common.

In the forests you can see the great spotted woodpecker and black grouse, as well as the forest pipit, oriole, black swift, etc. There are 28 species of birds of prey in the reserve: falcons, eagles, harriers, hawks.

The lakes of Naurzum are places of numerous nesting of wetland and waterfowl: red-headed pochard, coot, cracked teal, mallard. In total, 44 species of rare birds are found: 36 of them are placed in Red Book of Kazakhstan, and 23 - to the International.

AT Naurzum Reserve 44 species of mammals have been recorded, and 42 species are permanent residents. These are roe deer, elk, marmot, wild boar, fox, wolf, ermine, lynx, weasel, badger and others.

Also in the reserve there are reptiles: agile lizard, steppe viper, and amphibians: spadefoot, green toad. Fish are represented by 10 species, including lake minnow, golden and silver carp, pike. AT last years dace, carp and peled settled in many reservoirs of this area.

Zoning

The territory of the Naurzum Reserve consists of three sections located at a distance of 9 to 14 km from each other:
Naurzum includes systems of fresh and salt lakes with surrounding flood grass meadows and halophyte communities, as well as the unique Naurzum pine forest, which is located on large-hilly and ridge-hilly eolian sands, the Akkansai steppe river, various types of steppes (forb-sand-feather grass, shrub-forb-grass- red feather grass, fescue-feather grass, complex), slopes of the eastern side of the hollow with peg birch and aspen forests and plateau areas.
Sypsyn represents small-leaved prickly forests, dry meadows, forb-sand-feather grass, forb-sand-feather-grass-red feather-grass steppes, small marshy lakes and halophyte communities in the floodplain of the Naurzum-Karasu River.
Tersek includes the pine forest of the same name, slope variants of zonal fescue-feather grass steppes, shrub-forb-red feather grass, fescue-feather grass steppes and halophyte communities and their complexes in the Dana-Bike river valley.

The total area is 191,381 hectares, consisting of three sites - Naurzum (139,714 hectares), Tersek (12,947 hectares) and Sypsyn (38,720 hectares), united and surrounded by a protected zone with total area 116,726.5 ha. The reserve is located on the territory of the Naurzum and Auliekol districts of the Kostanay region, 190 km south of Kostanay.

As part of the plans for the first five-year plan, it was necessary to organize a large steppe reserve in the Asian part of the USSR. Professor I. I. Sprygin, a specialist in plant cover, proposed the area of ​​Naurzum. In 1929, a scientific expedition confirmed the correctness of the choice of territory, and in 1930 a group of scientists led by Professor F. F. Schillinger identified areas for organizing the Naurzum Reserve on them.

On June 30, 1931, according to the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR No. 826, the borders of the Naruzumsky, as well as the Pechero-Ilychsky and Caucasian reserves were officially approved, according to which the reserve initially included vast areas of virgin steppes, lake systems, aspen-birch and pine forests on the area 250 thousand hectares. In 1936, the eastern sections were withdrawn from the reserve instead of the vast western section on a plateau with fescue-feather grass steppes and a small forest area Belkaragai. Within these boundaries, the area of ​​the reserve increased to 320 thousand hectares, it consisted of two large sections and existed in this form until the reorganization of the reserve system in 1951.

In 1951, the Naurzum Reserve was liquidated, and the Naurzum Forestry was organized on its basis. In 1959, at the suggestion of scientific organizations, a resolution was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR “On the restoration of the Naurzum state reserve”, but it was restored only in 1966 in the form of four plots with an area of ​​85,000 hectares, which included forests and the Naurzum lake system.

In 1976, 2000 hectares of feather grass steppes with a marmot colony were added to the Tersek protected area. In the years 1999-2004 was carried out new stage expansion and arrangement of the boundaries of the reserve. According to the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 26, 2004 No. 79, its territory increased by 103,687 hectares.

In 2008, the Naurzum and Korgalzhyn reserves as part of the object "Saryarka - Steppes and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan" were included in the list world heritage UNESCO.

The area of ​​Naurzum is characterized by a flat table-stepped relief, consisting of several geomorphological levels from the surface of the plateau with elevations of 250-320 m to the flat plains of the wide (30-50 km) bottom of the Turgai hollow, with maximum elevations of 120-125 m above sea level. The denudation-accumulative sandy loamy plains of the plateau were subjected to intense erosion processes in the Holocene, the material removed formed in the central part of the Turgai hollow, dune-hilly eolian sands separating the system of lakes Sary-Moin, Zharkol and the Aksuat system. The lake beds are worked out in the Upper Pleistocene polygenetic deposits that fill a through hollow.

Geology

Geostructurally, the North Turgai province corresponds to the Turgai epihercynian trough. The elevations of the Paleozoic top range from 100 to 120-150 m and more, and the thickness of the sedimentary cover on average does not exceed a few hundred meters, gradually increasing from the western and eastern sides of the trough to its axial zone. The sedimentary stratum sharply increases in the buried grabens of the basement, similar, for example, to Naurzum, where Meso-Cenozoic sections reach a thickness of 500-700 m or more. The platform cover of the Turgai trough is composed of continental and marine sediments from the Triassic to the Neogene and Pleistocene inclusive. A particularly important marker horizon, which is fixed throughout the entire territory of the trough, is the sediments of the last marine transgression of the Paleogene - the saline horizons of the Chegan Formation (Upper Eocene - Lower Oligocene). Above them, exclusively continental layers occur, represented by sandy-clayey sediments of the Oligocene and Miocene, which participate in the formation of the table-step relief of the plateau. Quaternary deposits in the interfluves are thin, rarely exceeding 5 - 7 m. Only in the Turgai hollow their thickness increases to several tens of meters.

The territory of the reserve belongs to the Kazakhstan dry-steppe province of dark chestnut and chestnut soils. However, it is characterized by a significant diversity of soil cover, which is expressed in the difference in soil texture, degree of moisture and salinity. On the flat watersheds surrounding the Turgai hollow, dark chestnut loamy and heavy loamy soils were formed with a wide distribution of solonetz soils in combination with solonchak solonetzes. In most of the modern territory of the reserve, belonging to the geomorphological level of denudation-accumulative sandy loamy plains, dark chestnut sandy and sandy loamy soils are represented. Soddy-pine forest soils are developed under forest vegetation in Naurzum pine forest. In the Turgai hollow around the lakes of the Sarymoin and Aksuat systems, meadow-chestnut and meadow soils in combination with solonchaks predominate.

The climate is sharply continental, characterized by high amplitudes of winter and summer temperatures. The average temperature in January is minus 17-18°C, the absolute minimum is minus 45.7°C, the average temperature in July is 24.2°C, the absolute maximum is 41.6°C. The average annual air temperature is 2.4 °C, the average annual frost-free period in the Naurzum region is 131 days (the minimum duration is 103 days, the maximum is 154 days). winter months characterized by low cloudiness, cooling of the surface layer of air and severe frosts. Precipitation winter period extremely scarce. A stable snow cover is established at the end of November and is destroyed at the end of March. There are on average 19 days with a snowstorm at the latitude of Naurzum. severe frosts and low snow cover, freezing of the soil goes to a depth of more than 1 m. Complete thawing of the soil usually occurs in the last ten days of April. AT warm time year, the anticyclonic regime weakens. Air masses from the Atlantic and cyclones from the north penetrate beyond the Urals. At the same time, the mountains of the Urals prevent the direct influence of moist air masses of Atlantic origin, and often there is an influx of continental tropical air from the south - from Central Asia, accompanied by the establishment of especially hot and dry weather, as well as advection of warm air masses from Turan. The duration of sunshine in the steppes of Asia is 2000-2400 hours per year. The region is characterized by sharp fluctuations in the amount of precipitation by season and year. The average annual precipitation is 233 mm, of which 30-40% falls on summer months. Average annual relative humidity air 70%, but 38-90 days, and sometimes more than 100 days, it decreases to 30% or less.

Hydrography

The Naurzum Nature Reserve is located on the latitudinal watershed between the basins of the Tobol in the north and the Turgai in the south. The river network is represented here only by temporary streams that have a seasonal - spring flow and, mainly, a latitudinal direction - from the slopes of the plateau to the Turgai hollow. The largest rivers of the eastern direction: Dana-Bike and Naurzum-Karasu, 58 and 85 km long, have pronounced basins and valleys worked out in the upper reaches. During the spring flood, the channels of these rivers are filled with water, which, reaching the lakes, spreads widely in the pre-estuary part, forming shallow estuaries. In the lower reaches in their channels, permanent reaches up to 1 km long and up to 20-25 m wide are preserved. Another river-watercourse Ulken-karaelga flows from the southwest. In the middle and lower reaches, all of them are characterized by a slight slope and a relatively small incision of channels, and near the lake basins they completely flatten out in extensive depressions.

The steeper slopes of the eastern plateau are much better drained. Every 10-12 km they are cut through by short 10-15 km sais of the rivers Moin, Akkansai, Kurkuutal and others. In the upper reaches and at the exit to the hollow, they are incised channels with a chain of barrels or small reaches. The pre-estuary areas, near the lake basins, are very weakly incised, sometimes marked only by a strip of shrubs or completely flattened out, and during the flood the water spills in a wide front over the lowered sections of the steppe, the so-called bidayaks.

In the Turgai hollow, a large number of lakes are scattered, having the character of flat saucer-shaped basins with depths rarely exceeding 2.5 - 3 m. All of them are endorheic, of sor-deflationary origin with a continental-lake regime. Largest lakes of the reserve - the system of fresh lakes Aksuat and fresh and salt lakes of the Sarymoin system - in the years of filling, they reach a mirror area of ​​220 square meters. km and 126 sq. km, respectively. Like most endorheic lakes in arid and subarid regions, they have perennial watering cycles that follow climatic cycles of moisture. Periods of high and medium filling are replaced by a decrease in the water level, sometimes until the water bodies completely dry out, and after a while a new filling. Such a natural mechanism stops and reverses the processes of salinization of lake basins, silting or overgrowing with rigid surface vegetation.

The main sources of water supply for the territory are precipitation and groundwater.

Vegetable world The reserve includes 687 species of higher plants, which is exceptionally large for steppe zone. The pine forests of the Naurzum pine forest are relict, since they have been preserved in a slightly altered form from the Tertiary or the beginning Quaternary period. Among them are 5 endemic species common in the Aral-Caspian and Upper Tobolsk floristic regions (Kyrgyz birch, Nina's astragalus, Kustanai astragalus, Kazakh thyme, long-fruited toadflax), as well as 5 types of relict: thin-legged hard-leaved, feathery feather grass, whose shiny, water lily white, Schober's saltpeter. In the flora, the presence of elements of both the northern boreal and southern flora is observed. Of the ancient elements of the marsh-forest flora, the following were found: marsh telipteris, stinging nettle, common hop, bittersweet nightshade; boreal species rare for Northern Kazakhstan: winter horsetail, two-stamen sedge, slender cotton grass, swamp belozor, bird cherry. A number of Pliocene species include ash-gray willow, five-starred willow, cinquefoil, meadowsweet, loosestrife, common skullcap, European zebra. Two species are characteristic of the southern tugai forests: the gooseberry and the clematis orientalis. On the southern border of the area are: matteuktsiya ostrich, common juniper, stone currant, alpine aster, Altai aster. Wild relatives of cultivated plants include 44 species, including 6 rare for this region: meadow timothy, Altai hawthorn, green strawberry, lupine clover, perennial flax, pale-colored flax, goose-fruited. The Red Book of Kazakhstan includes 5 species: Kyrgyz birch, round-leaved sundew, Mugodzhar headwort, Schrenk tulip, thin-legged hard-leaved. In total, 125 species or 18% of the flora require special protection.

The fauna of the reserve is very diverse and has not been fully studied to date. The richest avifauna. The avifauna includes 282 species, including 158 nesting ones. In the zonal steppes, the most typical are field and white-winged larks, black larks, field pipits, common wheatears, little bustards, steppe harriers, gyrfalcons, demoiselle cranes, and steppe eagles. For wet areas near lake basins, sors and in depressions with meadow vegetation and thickets steppe shrubs typical are the yellow wagtail, the black-headed coin, the warbler, the shrike, the quail, the gray partridge, the meadow harrier, and the curlew. Grouse, great spotted woodpecker, oriole, wood pigeon, common dove, great tit, white tit, common redstart, forest pipit, black swift and others live in forest areas. The detachment of predators (28 species) is very widely represented, 18 of them nest: eagles - golden eagle, imperial eagle and steppe eagle; harrier - steppe, meadow and swamp; falcons - Saker Falcon, Hobby Falcon, Merlin, Common and Steppe Kestrels and Falcons; white-tailed eagle, common buzzard, long-legged buzzard, black kite, sparrow hawk and goshawk.

Since ancient times, the Naurzum lakes served as a transit point on the way of the movement of many species of birds that wintered in Iran, India, and Central Asia along the Turgai migratory route further north, to nesting sites. During the years of filling, Naurzum lakes are a mass nesting area for waterfowl and wetland birds. Depending on the state of watering, the number varies within very large limits. Optimal conditions for nesting are created in the second or third year after watering - with the formation of extensive floods and shallow waters, the development of coastal vegetation. The most numerous are the coot, red-headed pochard, gray duck, pintail, mallard, teal-cod, shoveler. Mass nesting species are grebes, mostly large and gray-cheeked, in a smaller number - black-necked. Among the gulls are numerous lake, silver, gray and small. The following terns are common for nesting: river, white-winged, black, as well as waders: curlew, great godwit, avocet, stilt, lapwing, herbalist, handbill, steppe tirkushka, occasionally there are oystercatcher, small plover. Gray herons, great egrets, great bitterns, and spinning tops nest among the ankles. Since 1974, during the years of high watering, great cormorants nest. In 1981-1996 there was a massive invasion southern species, the great egret began to nest, since 1981 - curly, and since 1984 - pink pelicans. Rare birds are represented by 44 species: 36 are included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, 23 - in the International.

Of the 44 species of mammals registered in the reserve, 42 species live permanently (one - the saiga came during the summer migrations until 1994, the pine marten was recorded twice). Of the valuable hunting and commercial species, elk, roe deer, wild boar and marmot are common; the group of predators includes the wolf, fox, corsac, lynx, steppe polecat, ermine, weasel; badgers are numerous in forests and near lakes. In the steppes, the dominant group is rodents: the steppe marmot, sandstone ground squirrel, large ground squirrel, small ground squirrel, hamster, steppe mouse, voles, hamsters, as well as: eared hedgehog, jerboas, brown hare, predators - steppe polecat, corsac, common fox, wolf. Elk, Siberian roe deer, lynx, common squirrel, common hedgehog, hare hare, badger, ermine, weasel are widespread, pine marten and raccoon dog are noted. On the shores of fresh lakes, small rodents are numerous: wood mouse, narrow-skulled vole, housekeeper vole, there are baby mice, shrews; in the years of ""juice watering" on the lakes, water voles and muskrats are common. Of the desert species, in the very south, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bSula and Kulagol lakes, the Aral fat-tailed jerboa was noted. In terms of the number of species, mammals represent 24.7% of the entire theriofauna of Kazakhstan.

Reptiles and amphibians are represented by 6 species: 3 species of reptiles (steppe viper, agile lizard and multi-colored foot-and-mouth disease) and 3 species of amphibians (sharp-faced frog, spadefoot and green toad).

The fish fauna includes 10 species. The most common and numerous are golden and silver carp well adapted to cyclical fluctuations in the watering of lakes, in some lakes there is a lake minnow. Tench, perch, pike, and roach also live in the rivers. In years of high watering, these species also enter lakes. For the last 20 years, carp, dace and peled have been introduced in many reservoirs of the region, including those created on watercourses, which were noted in the lakes of the reserve after large floods.

Purpose of creation

conservation and study in the natural state and development of natural processes, typical and unique ecological systems, biological diversity and genetic fund of flora and fauna.

Location and area

The total area of ​​the reserve is 191381 ha. It includes three large areas - Naurzum (139,714 ha), Tersek (12,947 ha) and Sypsyn (38,720 ha), united and surrounded by a protected zone with a total area of ​​116,726.5 ha. Administratively, the reserve is part of the Naurzum and Auliekol districts of the Kostanay region.

Climate

The climate in the Naurzum Reserve is continental with sharp contrasts in winter and summer temperatures. The average January temperature is 17°C with an absolute minimum of 45.7°C, the average July temperature is +24.2°C with an absolute maximum of +41.6°C. The average annual air temperature is +2.4°С, the frost-free period in the Naurzum region is 131 days. The winter months are characterized by low cloudiness, cooling of the surface air layer and severe frosts. Atmospheric precipitation in winter is extremely scarce. The snow cover is established at the end of November and collapses at the end of March. The region is characterized by sharp fluctuations in the amount of precipitation by season and year. The average annual precipitation is 233 mm, of which 30-40% falls in the summer months.

Flora

The flora of the reserve includes 687 species of higher plants. Boreal elements and southern forms (biyurgun, clematis, chingil and others) are found in the reserve far from the boundaries of their ranges, forming unusual combinations. Thus, the thickets of the oleaster along the shore of Lake Maly Aksuat evoke associations with the tugai of southern rivers, but the pines of the Naurzum pine forest are immediately visible, along the shores of salt lakes in the forest there are tamarisk, saltpeter, clematis. Chingil was found not far from the southern edge of the forest. Swampy birch forests in the Naurzum forest near the salt lake Katantal and on the slopes of the Eastern Plateau with a riot of ferns, horsetails, bird cherry and hawthorn are on the other side of the contrast. Petrophytic types of vegetation with Cossack juniper, locally distributed in Tersek, are peculiar. The most colorful in spring are steppe communities on sandy and loamy soils with a large participation of backache, which in some places forms a continuous carpet of yellow, less often purple flowers of different shades. In early May, the Schrenk tulip becomes the decoration of the steppes. At the same time, along the edges of the forest and the steppe lowlands, low almond bushes are covered with a soft pink color. At the end of May-beginning of June, pinnate feather grass is earing. Its silvery waves under the onslaught of the wind resemble a restless sea. Of the total composition of the flora, at least 20 are rare species of various categories. 5 of them are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan: thin-legged hard-leaved, Schrenk's tulip, Kyrgyz birch, round-leaved sundew and Mugodzhar headwort. Another 6 species are recommended for inclusion in the second edition of the Red Book. These are feathery feather grass, tulips - Bieberstein and drooping, Fisher's birdman, Volga Adonis, yellowish backache. Several Kazakhstani species are interesting: astragalus - Nina and Kustanai, Kazakh thyme, long-fruited toadflax.

Fauna

The variety of landscapes determines the diversity of the animal world. 351 species of vertebrates have been recorded on the territory of the reserve: 44 species of animals, 290 species of birds, 3 species of reptiles and amphibians, 11 species of fish. Interpenetration of northern and southern forms is manifested in the fauna. The teleutka squirrel and the European jerboa live in the Naurzum pine forest, hares - forest hare and steppe hare, large common hedgehog and small steppe species - eared hedgehog. The basis of the fauna of mammals are rodents: voles, mice, hamsters (common, Eversman, Dzungarian), ground squirrels (large, small and yellow) and steppe marmot. Predators are numerous: weasel, ermine, steppe polecat, badger, corsac, fox, wolf. Of the jerboas, in addition to the emaranka, a large earthen hare is common, and in the southern part of the reserve, the Aral thick-tailed jerboa is rare. The largest representatives of mammals are elk, roe deer and wild boar. The bird fauna includes 155 nesting species, 135 of them are migratory, vagrant or wintering. Rare birds 44 species: 36 are included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, 23 - in the Red Book International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Naurzum is unique in the diversity of birds of prey - 28 species, 19 of which are nesting. Only in Naurzum, four species of eagles nest in one territory at once: golden eagle, imperial eagle, white-tailed eagle and steppe eagle. The nesting groups of Imperial Eagles have up to 40 pairs, eagles - 18-20, saker falcons - 16-20, golden eagles - 3-4 pairs. The background forest species are the common kestrel and the red-footed falcon, the hobby is common, the merlin and the black kite are not uncommon. Of the other birds in the protected forests, magpies, black grouses, gray partridges, eared owls, great spotted woodpeckers, common doves, wood pigeons, and orioles are common. In the steppes, in addition to numerous larks and pipits, the little bustard has again become common, the curlew, demoiselle crane, and sociable lapwing nest. The fauna of water-marsh birds includes species RO. The reserve has 12 large lakes ranging from 300 to 22 thousand hectares. Depending on the level of filling, the fauna of the lakes also changes. In high-water years, when the abundance of fish attracts fish-eating birds, colonies of pink and curly pelicans, cormorants, black-headed gulls and gulls of gulls are formed. Coots, gray geese nest in the mass, different kinds ducks, grebes, gulls, terns, swans - mute and whooper, and on shallow and brackish lakes - sandpipers. In July and August, gray geese, swans and ducks gather for fattening and molting. Naurzum lakes are located in the center of one of the largest passage corridors and provide rest for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl during the migration period. Among the migrants are rare species of global importance: red-breasted goose and lesser white-fronted goose. Naurzum lakes are a key area on the flyway of the rare white Siberian Cranes. The invertebrate fauna in Northern Turgai includes both typical steppe species and species characteristic of adjacent zones (forest, semi-desert, and desert), as well as intrazonal communities (coastal, solonchak, and aquatic).

Naurzum Reserve
IUCN Category - Ia (Strict Nature Reserve)
basic information
Square	191 381 ha
Foundation date	Error: Please fill in the date in the format DD.MM.YYYY/MM.YYYY/YYYY
Managing organization	Committee for Forestry and Hunting
Location
51°29′ N. sh. 64°18′ E d. HGIOL
Country

Naurzum State Nature Reserve(kaz. Nauryzym memlekettik tabigi korygy) was opened by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR No. 826 of June 30, 1931. In 1951 the reserve was closed, but again restored in 1966. The purpose of the functioning of the reserve is to preserve in the natural state typical, rare and unique natural complexes, flora and fauna of the steppe zone of Northern Kazakhstan, their monitoring and study.

Zoning

The territory of the Naurzum Reserve consists of three sections located at a distance of 9 to 14 km from each other:

The total area is 191,381 ha, consisting of three sites - Naurzum (139,714 ha), Tersek (12,947 ha) and Sypsyn (38,720 ha), united and surrounded by a protected zone with a total area of ​​116,726.5 ha. The reserve is located on the territory of the Naurzum and Auliekol districts of the Kostanay region, 190 km south of Kostanay.

Story

Relief

The Naurzum region is characterized by a flat table-step relief, consisting of several geomorphological levels from the surface of the plateau with elevations of 250-320 m to the flat plains of the wide (30-50 km) bottom of the Turgai hollow, with maximum elevations of 120-125 m above sea level. The denudation-accumulative sandy loamy plains of the plateau were subjected to intense erosion processes in the Holocene, the material removed formed in the central part of the Turgai hollow, dune-hilly eolian sands separating the system of lakes Sary-Moin, Zharkol and the Aksuat system. The lake beds are worked out in the Upper Pleistocene polygenetic deposits, which fill a through hollow.

Geology

Geostructurally, the North Turgai province corresponds to the Turgai epihercynian trough. The elevations of the Paleozoic top range from 100 to 120-150 m and more, and the thickness of the sedimentary cover on average does not exceed a few hundred meters, gradually increasing from the western and eastern sides of the trough to its axial zone. The sedimentary stratum sharply increases in the buried grabens of the basement, similar, for example, to Naurzum, where Meso-Cenozoic sections reach a thickness of 500-700 m or more. The platform cover of the Turgai trough is composed of continental and marine sediments from the Triassic to the Neogene and Pleistocene inclusive. A particularly important marker horizon, which is fixed throughout the entire territory of the trough, is the sediments of the last marine transgression of the Paleogene - the saline horizons of the Chegan Formation (Upper Eocene - Lower Oligocene). Above them, exclusively continental layers occur, represented by sandy-clayey sediments of the Oligocene and Miocene, which are involved in the formation of the table-step relief of the plateau. Quaternary deposits in the interfluves are thin, rarely exceeding 5 - 7 m. Only in the Turgai hollow, their thickness increases to several tens of meters.

Soils

The territory of the reserve belongs to the Kazakhstan dry-steppe province of dark chestnut and chestnut soils. However, it is characterized by a significant diversity of soil cover, which is expressed in the difference in soil texture, degree of moisture and salinity. On the flat watersheds surrounding the Turgai hollow, dark chestnut loamy and heavy loamy soils were formed with a wide distribution of solonetz soils in combination with solonchak solonetzes. In most of the modern territory of the reserve, belonging to the geomorphological level of denudation-accumulative sandy loamy plains, dark chestnut sandy and sandy loamy soils are represented. Soddy-pine forest soils are developed under forest vegetation in Naurzum pine forest. In the Turgai hollow around the lakes of the Sarymoin and Aksuat systems, meadow-chestnut and meadow soils in combination with solonchaks predominate.

Climate

The climate is sharply continental, characterized by high amplitudes of winter and summer temperatures. The average temperature in January is minus 17-18°C, the absolute minimum is minus 45.7°C, the average temperature in July is 24.2°C, the absolute maximum is 41.6°C. The average annual air temperature is 2.4 °C, the average annual frost-free period in the Naurzum region is 131 days (the minimum duration is 103 days, the maximum is 154 days). The winter months are characterized by low cloudiness, cooling of the surface air layer and severe frosts. Atmospheric precipitation in winter is extremely scarce. A stable snow cover is established at the end of November and collapses at the end of March. There are an average of 19 days with a snowstorm at the latitude of Naurzum. Due to severe frosts and low snow cover, soil freezing goes to a depth of more than 1 m. Complete thawing of the soil usually occurs in the last ten days of April. In the warm season, the anticyclonic regime weakens. Air masses from the Atlantic and cyclones from the north penetrate beyond the Urals. At the same time, the mountains of the Urals prevent the direct influence of moist air masses of Atlantic origin, and often there is an influx of continental tropical air from the south - from Central Asia, accompanied by the establishment of especially hot and dry weather, as well as advection of warm air masses from Turan. The duration of sunshine in the steppes of Asia is 2000-2400 hours per year. The region is characterized by sharp fluctuations in the amount of precipitation by season and year. The average annual precipitation is 233 mm, of which 30-40% falls in the summer months. The average annual relative air humidity is 70%, but for 38-90 days, and sometimes more than 100 days, it decreases to 30% or less.

Hydrography

The Naurzum Nature Reserve is located on the latitudinal watershed between the basins of the Tobol in the north and the Turgai in the south. The river network is represented here only by temporary streams that have a seasonal - spring flow and, mainly, a latitudinal direction - from the slopes of the plateau to the Turgai hollow. The largest rivers of the eastern direction: Dana-Bike and Naurzum-Karasu, 58 and 85 km long, have pronounced basins and valleys worked out in the upper reaches. During the spring flood, the channels of these rivers are filled with water, which, reaching the lakes, spreads widely in the pre-estuary part, forming shallow estuaries. In the lower reaches in their channels, permanent reaches up to 1 km long and up to 20-25 m wide are preserved. Another river-watercourse Ulken-karaelga flows from the southwest. In the middle and lower reaches, all of them are characterized by a slight slope and a relatively small incision of channels, and near the lake basins they completely flatten out in extensive depressions.

The steeper slopes of the eastern plateau are much better drained. Every 10-12 km they are cut through by short 10-15 km sais of the rivers Moin, Akkansai, Kurkuutal and others. In the upper reaches and at the exit to the hollow, they are incised channels with a chain of barrels or small reaches. The pre-estuary areas, near the lake basins, are very weakly incised, sometimes marked only by a strip of shrubs or completely flattened out, and during the flood the water spills in a wide front over the lowered sections of the steppe, the so-called bidayaks.

In the Turgai hollow, a large number of lakes are scattered, having the character of flat saucer-shaped basins with depths rarely exceeding 2.5 - 3 m. All of them are endorheic, of sor-deflationary origin with a continental-lake regime. The largest lakes of the reserve - the system of fresh lakes Aksuat and fresh and salt lakes of the Sarymoin system - in the years of filling reach a mirror area of ​​220 km² and 126 km², respectively. Like most endorheic lakes in arid and subarid regions, they have perennial watering cycles that follow climatic cycles of moisture. Periods of high and medium filling are replaced by a decrease in the water level, sometimes until the water bodies completely dry out, and after a while a new filling. Such a natural mechanism stops and reverses the processes of salinization of lake basins, silting or overgrowing with rigid surface vegetation.

The main sources of water supply for the territory are precipitation and groundwater.

Flora

The flora of the reserve includes 687 species of higher plants, which is exceptionally large for the steppe zone. The pine forests of the Naurzum pine forest are relict, since they have been preserved in a little changed form from the Tertiary or the beginning of the Quaternary period. Among them are 5 endemic species common in the Aral-Caspian and Upper Tobolsk floristic regions (birch Kyrgyz, Nina's astragalus, Kustanai astragalus, Kazakh thyme, long-fruited toadflax), as well as 5 types of relict: thin-legged hard-leaved, feather grass, feathery, whose shiny, water lily white, saltpeter Schobert. In the flora, the presence of elements of both the northern boreal and southern flora is observed. Of the ancient elements of the swamp-forest flora, the following were found: telipteris marsh, nettle dioecious, hop ordinary, bittersweet nightshade; boreal species rare for Northern Kazakhstan: winter horsetail, two-stamen sedge, slender cottongrass, belozor marsh, bird cherry ordinary. A number of Pliocene species include ash-gray willow, five-starred willow, cinquefoil, meadowsweet, loosestrife, common skullcap, European zyuznik. Two species are characteristic of the southern tugai forests: the goose-fruited and clematis eastern. On the southern border of the range there are: ostrich-opera matteuktion, common juniper, stone currant, aster-alpine, Altai aster. Wild relatives of cultivated plants include 44 species, including 6 rare for this region: timothy grass, meadow hawthorn, Altai hawthorn, green strawberry, lupine clover, flax, perennial, pale-colored flax, sharp-fruited sucker. The Red Book of Kazakhstan includes 5 species: Kyrgyz birch, round-leaved sundew, Mugodzhar headwort, Schrenk tulip, and thin-legged hard-leaved. In total, 125 species or 18% of the flora require special protection.

Fauna

The fauna of the reserve is very diverse and has not been fully studied to date. The richest avifauna. The avifauna includes 282 species, including 158 nesting species. In the zonal steppes, the most typical are field and white-winged larks, black lark, field pipit, common wheatear, little bustard, steppe harrier, lapwing, demoiselle crane, steppe eagle. For moist areas near lake basins, sors and in depressions with meadow vegetation and thickets of steppe shrubs, the yellow wagtail, black-headed chaser, warbler, shrike shrike, quail, gray partridge, meadow harrier, curlew are typical. The forest areas are inhabited by black grouse, large spotted woodpecker, oriole, wood pigeon, common dove, great tit, white tit, common redstart, forest pipit, black swift and others. The detachment of predators (28 species) is very widely represented, of which 18 nest: eagles - golden eagle, imperial eagle and steppe eagle; luni - steppe, meadow and swamp; falcons - Saker Falcon, Hobby Falcon, Merlin, Common and Steppe Kestrel and Falcon; white-tailed eagle, common buzzard, long-legged buzzard, black kite, sparrow hawk and goshawk.

Since ancient times, the Naurzum lakes have served as a transit point on the way of the movement of many species of birds that wintered in Iran, India, and Central Asia along the Turgai migratory route further north, to nesting sites. During the years of filling, Naurzum lakes are a mass nesting area for waterfowl and wetland birds. Depending on the state of watering, the number varies within very large limits. Optimal conditions for nesting are created in the second or third year after watering - with the formation of extensive floods and shallow waters, the development of coastal vegetation. Most numerous