V.V. Alekhin (1882 - 1946)
Vasily Vasilievich Alekhin was born on January 17, 1882 in the city of Kursk in the family of a Kharkov merchant who traded in furs. Nephew V.V. Alekhina, Spangler Igor Evgenievich suggests that the surname Alekhins was formed from the phrase Ali Khan. In one of the small towns near Kursk, a horse fair was held in the spring, where Tatars came to sell horses and buy furs, sugar and other goods. One of them came with his son and stayed in the hut, where the owners' daughter was growing up. The children played together, and when they grew up, they got married and stayed to live near Kursk. This version is confirmed by the black, like a raven's wing, hair color of all six sisters of Vasily Vasilyevich, as well as the nose with a hump and the shape of the eyes of his father's two brothers, about whom Viktor Shklovsky wrote in his book "On Tolstoy" that the Tolstoyan brothers M.V. and A.V. Alekhins interfered with L. Tolstoy's work. In this statement, V. Shklovsky made a number of inaccuracies, which were refuted by our relatives, recalls I.E. Spangler. Later, two brothers of Father V.V. Alekhine made a significant contribution to the development of science and culture in our country.
The large Alekhin family, with seven children, experienced all the hardships of a low-income life. The Alekhins lived below average income, their own one-story house burned down and after that the family lived in a small outbuilding in Kursk on Mirnaya Street, at house number 8. Alekhin's father with great difficulty managed to give the children a higher education: two sisters became doctors, two - teachers, one of them became a soil chemist (the mother of a nephew) and from the fifth grade of the Kursk gymnasium was a tutor for unsuccessful merchant daughters for a fee. It can be said about the parents, children and relatives of the Alekhins that they come from the people, energetic and capable people who received higher education.
From childhood, Vasily was drawn to the natural world. At the age of eight, walking in his father's large garden, he wrote down in his notebook the names of the plants around him. And at the age of 13 he was presented with a book by P.F. Mayevsky "Flora of Central Russia", 1895 edition, intended mainly for students of Moscow State University. Since then, he became interested in collecting and identifying plants under the guidance of his uncle Alexei Vasilyevich Alekhin, who was a student of Alexander Mizger - famous connoisseur Kursk flora.
Vasily Vasilyevich, having graduated from the Kursk classical gymnasium with a gold medal in 1901, at the age of 19 entered Moscow University to study botany in the natural department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. His student, Doctor of Biological Sciences G.I. Dokhman, arriving at the reserve, said that while still a student, having arrived one day on vacation, Alekhin went to the city market and saw peasants selling hay from wagons. (According to another version: the peasants brought a cartload of hay to the yard of his house in Kursk.) Looking closely, he was amazed at the species richness of the mowed grasses. After questioning the peasants, he learned that there are steppe expanses near Kursk, on which this wealth grows. Alekhine often set out on foot early in the morning, alone or with friends, to the Streltsy steppe, wandered through it and, tired, but satisfied with the results, returned to Kursk in the evening.
After graduating in 1907 from the natural department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Alekhin was left at the department by Professor M.I. Golenkin to prepare for a professorship. At one time V.V. Alekhine became interested in breeding new varieties of roses. His friends joked about this, that Vasily was waiting life path, dotted with roses. But the passion for the steppes turned out to be stronger and in 1909 the first article by V.V. Alekhine "Essay on vegetation and its consecutive shift on the site of the Streltsy steppe near Kursk ", and in 1910 the second -" Cossack steppe Kursk district in connection with the surrounding vegetation. Thus, the Streltsy and Cossack steppes were opened to science.
In 1914, Alekhin passed his master's exams and became a Privatdozent at Moscow University. He taught at many universities in Moscow. Often came to Kursk.
In the memoirs of I.E. Spangler Alekhine appears before us as he was in life. “When I was 7 years old,” my nephew writes, “I remember how Uncle Vasya put me on a gig, and together we went to the steppe. On the way, my uncle stopped the horses several times, got down and looked at the plants, sometimes crawling under bushes or into a ditch to do this. The walks continued until lunch and were very interesting for me. After the evacuation from Petrograd, in the autumn of 1918, my parents lived for several weeks in Uncle Vasya's apartment on Kalyaevskaya Street. There I met his only son, Yuri, who was 2-3 years younger than me. In the 1920s, our family was several times near Moscow in Golitsino, where the family of V.V. Alyokhina rented two rooms for the summer. Everything was huge for me there, and they ate, and porcini mushrooms with a hat like plates. And Uncle Vasya was interested in plants - huge ferns, he was very fond of being in nature. In subsequent years, our families in Moscow lived close and often visited each other for birthdays and holidays. It seems to me that Vasily Vasilyevich was not very fond of these feasts, since he considered all this a waste of time. He was usually silent, rarely smiling. Uncle Vasya and I had common interests - philately, we exchanged stamps, while he always gave more than he took. Uncle Vasya had thick, magnificent albums of stamps. He carefully washed the stamps, like little children, then took them with tweezers and carefully pasted them, his herbariums were also neat. This was his rest - relaxation. In Uncle Vasya's room there were more than ten bookcases with a collection of butterflies hanging in glazed boxes. I slept on Uncle Vasya's leather sofa while we lived there. There, on the couch, I was allowed to fight with his son Yura. In 1924, I visited a performance by Natalia Sats at a children's theater in Moscow on Gorky Street. I liked the performance so much that I managed to persuade Uncle Vasya to go to the theater again with me and his son Yura. I was afraid that suddenly he would not like the play, but with great pleasure, for the first time I saw and heard that he knew how to laugh, and how!”
From the memoirs of his nephew, we see a correct person, passionate about his work, devoid of arrogance. Vasily Vasilyevich has always been monogamous - both in the family, and in life, and at work. His wife Nadezhda Grigorievna was a biology teacher. When Alekhine needed to read an English book on botany, the couple studied English language translated and prepared the book for publication. He had The only son Yuri, who tragically died after the war and was buried in Kursk at the military cemetery. Here is a short poem about V.V. Alekhin, written by his nephew I.E. Spangler
Focused on work 
Restrained in communication, - silent;
In science, scrupulously accurate,
In everyday life, he is exemplary, patient.
He loved family, work, reserve
He gave them all his strength.
There was a magician in his work
And he taught at Moscow State University.
Even in difficult years civil war V.V. Alekhin did not interrupt botanical research in our steppes. In one of his reports, he writes: “Field work in 1919 continued for three summer months... almost continuous rains and showers ... The civil war spread to the territory of the province, as the offensive of General Denikin began ... all summer I had to work under guns, often in the literal sense of the word "(Alekhin, 1924).
After the end of the Civil War in 1923, Alekhin organized the Department of Geobotany at Moscow State University and was appointed its head.
Together with Voronezh botanists, Vasily Vasilyevich initiated the creation of a steppe reserve. On the basis of the collected materials, on February 10, 1935, by the decision of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Central Black Earth state reserve, which was immediately named after Professor V.V. Alekhine. The structure of the reserve included the Streletskaya, Cossack and Yamskaya steppes with adjacent areas of preserved oak forests (Alekhin, 1940). Later, Vasily Vasilyevich came to the Kursk steppes more than once, continuing in-depth studies of flora and vegetation.
Alekhin's classical works on the Kursk steppes were included in all textbooks of botanical geography and became known throughout the world. He led many geobotanical expeditions to various regions of the country; he owns more than a hundred publications in the field of geobotany; he compiled the first review of the vegetation of the USSR; he is the author of the textbook "Geography of Plants" for higher educational institutions. Founded by Alekhin V.V. The Moscow geobotanical school has always attached great importance to the study of the succession of plant communities and still preserves these traditions.
Immediately, as soon as the guns of the battles of the Great Patriotic War, Alekhine is actively starting to restore the Central Black Earth Reserve. In the summer of 1945, V.V. Alekhine last time came to the reserve, visited interesting and favorite places. One of his last technical reports (Alekhin, 1945) is filled with deep bitterness, from which we learn that all three new buildings of the reserve were destroyed during the war. At the same time, he draws up a reasoned opinion and contributes to the adoption of a decision by the Kursk Regional Executive Committee on joining 300 hectares of the old fallow to the Cossack site.
G.I. Dokhman (1960) wrote: “Restrained in Moscow, sometimes a stern-looking professor, who, by the way, was afraid of students, changed in the steppe: he was witty, rejoiced at every find and a well-written description.” His poetic perception of the steppe V.V. Alekhin expressed in a poem he wrote in 1946 - last year his life:
Here is the steppe!
You are sung many times
Dressed in glory.
A feather grass where you can't look into the distance,
The wind spreads like old ...
Around curly oak forests ...
Well, what do you need better, right!
And in this reserve is mine
I invite everyone with me...
On the evening of April 3, 1946, Vasily Vasilyevich passed away. It turned out that he was very high pressure, but he did not tell his relatives about it and was not treated. Buried V.V. Alekhine at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Literature
1. Alekhin V.V. Essay on vegetation and its successive change in the area of the Streletskaya steppe near Kursk // Tr. St. Petersburg general. Naturalists, dep. botany. 1909. Vol. 40, no. 1. 112 p.
2. Alekhin V.V. Cossack steppe of the Kursk district in connection with the surrounding vegetation // Tr. St. Petersburg general. Naturalists, dep. botany. 1910. Vol. 41, no. 3. S. 271-317.
3. Alekhin V.V. Zonal and extrazonal vegetation of the Kursk province in connection with the division of the province into natural areas // Eurasian Soil Science. 1924. No. 1-2. pp. 98-130.
4. Alekhin V.V. Central Chernozem Reserve - its organization and modern territory // Tr. 1. M., 1940. S. 3-7.
5. Alekhin V.V. Report on a business trip to the Central Chernozem Reserve in the summer of 1945 // Typescript, 1945. 6 p.
6. Dokhman G.I. Vasily Vasilievich Alekhin (1882-1946) // Tr. Center-Chernozem. Reserve. - Kursk, 1960, no. 6. S. 5-19.
7. Spangler I.E. Memories of Alekhine V.V. // Manuscript. 3 s.
The article was prepared on the basis of materials provided by Valentina Petrovna Soshnina, Deputy Director for Environmental Education of the Central Chernozem State Biosphere Reserve. V.V. Alekhina
Central Black Earth State Natural Biosphere Reserve named after Professor V.V. Alekhin - state nature reserve located on the territory Kursk region.
The boundaries of the reserve have changed several times. The reserve is located in the southwestern part of the Central Russian Upland within the middle zone of the forest-steppe zone, on the territory of the Medvensky, Manturovsky, Gorshechensky districts of the Kursk region. Area - 5287.4 hectares. Number of clusters: 6 (Streletsky plot with an area of 2046 ha, Kazatsky plot with an area of 1638 ha, Barkalovka (2 plots) - 368 ha, Bukreevy Barmy (2 plots) - 259 ha, Zorinsky - 495.1, Psel River floodplain (2 plots) - 481.3 ha.
Story
The territory of the current Kursk region at the end of the first - beginning of the second millennium was occupied by vast expanses of steppe with ravines and gullies, overgrown with forests. Huge herds of tarpans, aurochs, saigas, and wild asses grazed here. An uncountable number of small rodents and marmots lived. Such large birds as bustards and little bustards nested. Being on the border of the "Wild Field" and the Slavic settlements, the forest-steppe, apparently experienced a double pressure, both from the nomadic peoples and from the princely squads, the settled Severyan population of the Semya. In the 16th century, the main occupation of the inhabitants of Kursk, which defended the southern borders of the Russian state, was agriculture. The raids of the Crimean Tatars required a more reliable cover of the southern border. The government began to attract local and alien people to the service, they accepted Don and Zaporozhye free Cossacks. Streltsy and gunners were sent here. On June 1, 1626, according to the letter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the steppes near Kursk were transferred to servicemen - Cossacks and archers of the Kursk fortress exclusively for grazing and haymaking. Thus, the protected, never plowed steppe was preserved.
"... In the summer of 7124 June, on the 1st day of the Sovereign, Tsareva, and the Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of All Russia, a letter attributed to the clerk Mikhail Danilov and on the investigation of the voivode Ivan Vasilyevich Volynsky gave an extract to the Kursk archers on their land, which was given to them as a city. .." "... yes, they were given to the archers in the Kursk district in the suburban camp across the river for the Family to hay Petrina Dubrov, and near that Petrina Dubrov, between nine oaks, and now there are seven oaks. from the midnight side from the mixed lands to the river to Mlodat and up Mlodat ... and along the wild field and along the oak forests of the streltsy hay mowing, according to the estimate of hay, six thousand kopecks ... "
Central State Archive of Ancient Acts fund 1317 inventory 2 No. 10 sheet 47, sheet 10
According to Professor V.V. Alekhin in the last 300-400 years, meadow-steppe vegetation in the modern territory of the reserve was formed under the influence of mowing and grazing, and in some cases on the site of forest areas. In the Streletskaya steppe, early spring grazing, haymaking and autumn grazing on the aftermath (grass regrown after mowing) alternated. Periodically, harrowing was used, during which the moss cover was torn off, sods of cereals were broken. Burning was used to improve pastures. These Kursk steppes were first seen like this in 1907 by V.V. Alekhin, being a final year student at Moscow University.
In 1909, the first article by V.V. Alekhin "Essay on vegetation and its successive change in the Streltsy steppe near Kursk", and in 1910 - "The Cossack steppe of the Kursk district in connection with the surrounding vegetation", where he visited a year later.
In 1925, Professor V. N. Khitrovo in the book “Vegetation Oryol province. The nature of the Oryol Territory" (the territory of the reserve used to be part of this province) wrote: "Looking at these last remnants of the colorful harmony of the region, an unfortunate thought arises: can we ... not leave for ourselves, but plow up the last remnants of the steppe vegetation, and children ours will only read from books about the former beauty of our land, available for enjoyment to every one. ”In the same 1925, professor at Moscow University V.V. Kursk. The decision to establish the Central Black Earth Reserve was made 10 years later.
Central Black Earth State Reserve named after prof. Alekhin was created on February 10, 1935 on the territory of Kursk and Belgorod regions Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. The total area was set as "about 4536 ha". In the resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee dated February 10, 1935, on the organization of the CCR, the following tasks were outlined: natural conditions northern steppes, for the study of steppe biocenoses, the processes of formation of chernozem, the relationship between forest and steppe. Influence of the forest in the fight against drought, scientific substantiation of the most profitable use of the natural conditions of the steppes of the northern and middle strip of the European part of the USSR for agriculture and forestry.
The buffer zone of the reserve was formed by the decision of the Executive Committee of the Kursk Regional Council of People's Deputies No. 380 dated July 2, 1971. In 1988, it was reapproved and expanded by 3 km (Decision of the Executive Committee of the Kursk Regional Council of People's Deputies No. 294 of November 17, 1988). Currently, the total area of the buffer zone is 28,662 hectares (according to the Regulations on the federal state institution "Central Chernozem State Natural biosphere reserve them. V.V. Alekhin”, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia No. 530 dated 10.06.2003).
The reserve was awarded a diploma of the Council of Europe.
Activity
The Central Black Earth Reserve became one of the first biosphere reserves in the USSR (1978). The reserve studies the natural course of processes in natural complexes meadow-steppe virgin lands, forest-steppe oak forests and their contact zone on the Russian Plain, as well as the influence of the anthropogenic factor on these complexes, measures are being developed that contribute to the conservation and restoration of indigenous biogeocenoses ( natural communities). One of the objects of protection and study is chernozem. Its humus horizon of a lumpy-granular structure, penetrated in the upper part by grass rhizomes, reaches 90 cm. Typical chernozems that have not been plowed are now extremely rare. These are benchmarks that can be used for comparison when studying the effects of modern agriculture on soils. Since 1975, the reserve has been used to develop technologies for capturing natural objects from space.
Flora and fauna
Connected in vegetation character traits northern or meadow steppes and oak forests. Animal world also has features inherent in snowy natural zones - it presents both typically forest and typically steppe forms.
1287 species of vascular plants are registered on the territory of the reserve, including adventive (adventive) herbaceous plants and woody introduced species. Among them are 86 rare species, and some of them are threatened with extinction, so their protection is of particular importance. Relics (“living fossils”, as B. M. Kozo-Polyansky said back in 1931) are considered to be such species as: Kozo-Polyansky’s breakwater, multi-veined volodushka, upland wolfberry, Podolskaya shiverekia, Zavadsky’s dendrantema. They have broken ranges, parts of which lie in the mountains of the Urals, Siberia or Western Europe. On the territory of the sections of the reserve created in 1969 - Barkalovka and Bukreevy Barmy - relict vegetation occupies about 25 hectares. The most prominent role is played by the evergreen shrub of the wolfberry upland. In May, during its lush flowering, the slopes acquire a pink hue, and a pleasant aroma reminiscent of lilacs is in the air. Islands of steppe vegetation with all the diversity life forms, the complexity of the structure, the specifics of seasonal processes are priceless. The main components of the steppe communities include almost 140 plant species! About 200 species of macromycete mushrooms grow in the reserve, which are visible to the naked eye.
There are 50 species of mammals in the reserve. 226 species of birds are registered on the territory of the reserve, which is about 80% of all birds of the Kursk region, of which more than 90 species nest on the territory of the reserve. In the fauna of the reserve there are 35 species of fish, 10 - amphibians, 5 - reptiles, 191 species of spiders: 96 in the steppe, 105 in the forest and on the edges, more than 4 thousand species of insects.
The roe deer is a native inhabitant of the forest-steppe, found today, unfortunately, only in relatively few areas of this natural area. In addition to roe deer, speckled ground squirrel, common mole rat (sometimes often found in the steppes), hare, fox, badger, pine and stone martens, etc. are typical for the fauna of the reserve. violate the natural balance and have to be regulated. They do the same with the wolf, which has found reliable shelters in the protected forests.
But birds are welcome inhabitants of the reserve. Where else can one observe such an accumulation of gray partridge and quail, crowded agriculture in other places! Swifts, swallows, golden bee-eaters flicker in the air, arriving here to feed from tens of kilometers. The trills of the famous Kursk nightingales in June days are heard from every copse, from every curtain of bushes. And the steppe fills with the singing of larks. Quite frequent encounters with kites, steppe harriers, common buzzards, hawks convince us that the world of raptors is not yet completely impoverished. Here is a rare predator honey buzzard crossing the open space between two forest tracts...
Prepared by the primary school teacher MBOU "Field Lyceum" Shestopalova T.S. year 2014
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Sections of the reserve Streletsky section Cossack section Bukreeva Barmy Barkalovka Zorinsky section Floodplain Psla Here is the steppe! You have been glorified many times, Dressed in former glory. Feather grass, where you can’t look into the distance, Spreads like old wind in the wind ... Curly oak forests are all around ... Well, you better need it, right! And to this reserve of mine I invite everyone with me ... Professor V.V. Alekhine
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Streltsy area Cossack area Bukreeva Barma area Barkalovka area Zorinsky area Psla floodplain area
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All six sections of the Central Chernozem Reserve are located within the middle zone of the forest-steppe, where natural natural (primary) communities in the conditions of flat watershed surfaces, called plakors, are meadow steppes and broad-leaved forests mainly of English oak. A much smaller area on certain landforms is occupied by other types of plant communities (true and steppe meadows, petrophytic steppes, wetland vegetation, thickets of shrubs, small-leaved forests, etc.). According to the data for the entire period of flora studies, in the modern territory of the Central Chernozem Reserve (5287.4 ha), until the end of 2010, 1287 species of vascular plants were noted (published and typewritten materials), including adventitious (adventive) herbaceous plants and woody introduced species.
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Mushrooms
The kingdom of mushrooms in the Central Black Earth Reserve has about a thousand species. 12 species of mushrooms living in the CCR are poisonous and can cause not only poisoning, but also death. First of all, this group should include the deadly poisonous pale grebe. Mushrooms entered human life not only as a source of tasty food, but also as natural healers under the most various diseases. More than 40 species of mushrooms with medicinal properties live in the CCR. The use of red fly agaric for rheumatism, neuralgia, tuberculosis, atherosclerosis, vasospasms and epilepsy is well known. False mushrooms were used as a laxative and emetic, and even cholera was treated with pale grebe. 2 species of mushrooms of the reserve are listed in the Red Book of Russia: branched tinder fungus or ram mushroom /Polyporusumbellatus/ is found in the Streltsy area, its fruiting body can reach more than 10 kg of weight and varnished tinder fungus /Ganodermalucidum/, which is registered only in the Streletsky and Cossack areas.
Slide 7
Polypore lacquered Dubovik common Judas ear Veselka common Common boletus Chlorosplenium blue-green
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Steppe vegetation The steppe is the main value for which the reserve was created. The steppes presented on its territory belong to the northern, or meadow. The Central Black Earth Reserve includes the largest of them - the Streletskaya (730 ha) and Cossack (720 ha) steppes. Relic vegetation ("Country of Living Fossils") Of particular value is the vegetation of the southeast of the Kursk region (the upper reaches of the Oskol River basin), where peculiar calcephytic-petrophytic steppes are located, located on slopes and hills with close underlayment of Cretaceous deposits. For their protection, in 1969, sections of the Barkalovka Reserve and Bukreevy Barmy were organized here. The plant communities growing in these habitats are known as "lowered alps". They are stable over time, are characterized by a dense herbage of small average height, a noticeable participation of shrubs and semi-shrubs, a rich floristic composition and a significant concentration of rare species.
Slide 9
Meadow vegetation Meadows are usually divided into floodplain and continental (located on watershed spaces). Their vegetation is represented by rather poor communities with a predominance of trivial meadow or weed-meadow species, among which couch grass, narrow-leaved and marsh bluegrass, yarrow and common dandelion predominate. Bog and aquatic vegetation On the territory of the Central Chernozem Reserve, the bog type of vegetation has a relatively small distribution. In the areas of Barkalovka, Zorinsky, Poyma Psla, grassy swamps are represented, occupying a total of about 260 hectares. Floodplain grass bogs are mainly widespread: reed, mannic, sedge, cattail. The most abundant in these communities are cereals (common reed, large manna, graying reed grass, marsh bluegrass), sedges (sharp, soddy, swollen, fox, coastal, false sucrose, vesiculate, etc.), cattails (narrow-leaved and broad-leaved), river horsetail, forbs. Forest vegetation The forests of the reserve are located in the southwestern part of the Central Russian Upland within the central strip of the forest-steppe zone and are part of the Kursk forest-steppe district. Due to the increased human colonization of the forest-steppe landscape, they are represented by separate forest tracts or larger tracts, and, as a rule, are surrounded by agricultural land.
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Rare species plants At present, 13 species of vascular plants from the Red Book are known to grow on the territory of the Central Chernozem Reserve Russian Federation(2008), which is 65% of the "Red Book Russian species”, reliably noted in the Kursk region. Basically, these are species located near the borders of their range: in the north - thin-leaved peony, Zalessky's feather grass, the most beautiful, pubescent and pinnate, leafless iris (iris); in the south - lozel's elk forest; as well as species with a fragmented range - a real lady's slipper, Russian and chess hazel grouses, upland wolfberry (Yulia's wolfberry), Alaunian cotoneaster and Kozo-Polyansky's prolomnik
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Lady's slipper real Cotoneaster Alaunian Hazel grouse chess Peony thin-leaved Prolomnik Kozo-Polyansky backache Feather pinnate
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Animals The combination of steppe spaces and forests, fertile soils, highly productive vegetation with an optimal regime of heat and moisture create the most favorable conditions for the existence in the forest-steppe of many species of animals of different ecologies. The group of invertebrates is the most numerous. Insects Steppe insects account for 4 to 16% of species. About a thousand species of beetles have been identified. Representatives of all the main families of this order are found in abundance: ground beetles, beetles, dark beetles, click beetles, soft beetles, weevils, barbels, etc. Ground beetles are the best studied in the reserve. There are especially many wild single bees and bumblebees. About 20 species of bumblebees live on the territory of the Streltsy site alone. The world of predatory insects is extremely diverse. There are many predators among centipedes, bugs, ants, wasps, some flies.
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Stag beetle Bug-soldier Bronzovka Swallowtail Peacock eye
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Spiders In the Streltsy steppe, according to our calculations, 191 species of spiders live: 96 in the steppe, 105 in the forest and on the edges. The most notable of these are perhaps the orb-weaving spiders of the Araneidae family. Their large wheel-shaped webs can often be found in grass, trees and shrubs. The largest of them is the Brünnich spider, or wasp spider, so named because of the yellow-black striped pattern of the abdomen. Amphibians 10 species of amphibians live on the territory of the reserve. These are almost all representatives of the amphibian fauna of the Kursk region, with the exception of the common frog and the common tree frog. Reptiles There are 5 species of reptiles on the territory of the Central Black Earth Reserve (fast and viviparous lizards, spindleworm, common snake and steppe viper), which makes up 50% of the reptile fauna of the Kursk region. large group vertebrate animals of the reserve. According to the latest data, there are 226 species of birds in the fauna of the CCR and its buffer zone, which is about 80% of all birds in the Kursk region, of which more than 90 species nest in the reserve. Mammals Fifty species of mammals have been recorded in the relatively small area of the Central Chernozem Reserve. 4 species are noted in the Central Chernozem Reserve bats, which make up the order Bats. There are 13 species in the CCR predatory mammals. The largest of them is the wolf
For 78 years, the Alekhine Central Black Earth Reserve has existed on the territory of the Kursk region. Together with the Voronezh botanists, Professor Vasily Alekhin became the initiator of the creation of the steppe reserve. On the basis of the collected materials in 1935, by the decision of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Central Black Earth State Reserve was established.
Today the total area of the reserve is 5287.4 hectares. It consists of six sections: Kazatsky, Bukreevy Barmy, Barkalovka, Zorinsky, Psla floodplain and Streletsky. The latter will be discussed further.
The fact is that in the immediate vicinity, namely, 30 km from the Streltsy site, there is the Kursk nuclear power plant, which, according to many, can threaten environmental safety in the region. However, the station staff are convinced otherwise. In order to dispel this myth, the Kursk NPP organized an off-site tour, where the guests could see for themselves the falsity of this judgment.
The Streltsy section is the largest among the others. It is located 10 km south of Kursk and stretches in a narrow ribbon for almost 8 km, having 3 small forest tracts in its western part: Dubroshina, Solovyatnik and Dedov Vesely, and in the eastern part - Petrin forest.
By the way, according to the director of the reserve Andrey Vlasov, forests cover 40% of the territory. A little more area, namely - 42.4%, is occupied by steppes and meadows. Deputy director of the reserve Valentina Soshnina A guided tour was held, from which the guests learned a lot of interesting things.
It all started with a visit to the museum, which stores information about the history of the reserve. So, according to Valentina Soshnina, the areas of the reserve can be defined as meadow steppes. “In summer, feather grass blooms here, so we can definitely say that these are not just meadows. By those steppe flowers that are collected within the reserve, one can also study history, ”said Valentina Petrovna.
Several times a year the steppe changes its color. The field can be seen in white, yellow, red, pink, blue, and, of course, silver. This means that the feather grass has blossomed. In total, 4 species of feather grass grow on the territory of the reserve, but only one species can be seen with the naked eye. “We sent the feather grass seeds to the Kulikovo field, where they want to reconstruct their former beauty,” the guide proudly notes, “but there, experts want the feather grass to bloom all summer, and this is very difficult to achieve, since this plant blooms in early June.”
By the way, if you do not take care of the steppe, do not mow it in time, then the field will overgrow in 2-3 years. That is why the employees of the reserve have to work with their sleeves rolled up.
There are other modes of conservation in the reserve: pasture, where domestic cattle; unmowed, which in our conditions is overgrown with tree and shrub vegetation, and pyrogenic, when a section of the steppe is burned out.
In total, 860 species of various herbs, shrubs and trees grow in a relatively small area of the reserve, seven species of plants are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. This is a thin-leaved peony, leafless iris, Russian and chess grouse, feather grass, pubescent and beautiful.
There is also a local attraction in the steppe - a stone woman, which is already about 1000 years old. Once upon a time, the Polovtsy lived in these places, who erected similar monuments from red granite and limestone. They were put on three occasions: when someone from the aristocracy died; at crossroads; used as a deity. However, later all the stone women in the reserve were destroyed. This monument was presented to the reserve by Ukrainian colleagues. By the way, it is believed that the stone woman has a strong energy. From time to time, psychics come to the reserve and see the radiation emanating from the monument. Tourists came up with their own legend. It is believed that if you rub a woman, then the cherished desire will surely come true.
The combination of open steppe spaces and forests in a complex terrain, rich soils, highly productive vegetation and optimal heat and moisture conditions contribute to the diversity of the animal world: about 200 species of spiders, more than 4,000 species of insects (of which 850 species of butterflies), amphibians - 7 species, reptiles - 5 species, birds - 189 species, mammals - 40 species.
The common mole rat gives particular trouble to the staff of the reserve. This animal can be found on almost every suburban area. He takes the tubers of plants to his hole, thereby annoying the gardeners. “We tried to fight him, but nothing worked out for us,” Valentina Petrovna throws up her hands. But a family of mole rats is able to stock up to seven bags of potatoes, roots and bulbs for the winter.
There are steppe vipers, meadow harriers, mice, weasels and many other animals on the territory of the Streltsy area. In general, the seminar "Influence of the Kursk NPP on the ecology of the region" proved that the plant does not harm the surrounding flora and fauna.
In addition, since 2007, the Central Black Earth Reserve has been working to study the biological diversity of flora and fauna on the territory of the coastal protection and dividing strip of the nuclear power plant's cooling pond.
Studies of the avifauna of the KuNPP cooling pond have shown that more than 100 species of birds, 230 species of vascular plants have been found on its territory and the adjacent sanitary protection zone. Also, there are five species of plants listed in the Red Book of the Kursk region. Mycological studies have identified about 50 species of fungi.
The regime existing on the territory of the dividing strip of the reservoir-cooler of KuNPP and favorable ecological situation provide complete safety and peace to all its inhabitants.
Central Federal District, Kursk region
4 years ago, specialists from the Central Chernozem Reserve named after Alekhin began work on the return of the steppe marmot, or marmot, to historical territory. Animals have taken root and for the 2nd year they give offspring.
Yulia Matveeva: “More than 100 years ago, in late XIX century, on the territory of the modern reserve, the marmot drove the marmot. Ecologists have calculated that there were at least 2.5 thousand individuals here. Historical marmots helped to make such calculations - they have survived to this day.
On the Streltsy section of the reserve, the former dwellings of animals can be found at every step. A steppe without a marmot is like a river without fish, environmentalists say. It is these animals that form a specific ecosystem, so it was decided to restore the population exterminated by our ancestors.” Andrey Vlasov, director of the Central Chernozem Reserve. V.V. Alekhine.
Andrey Vlasov: “Last year, offspring appeared for the first time, 1 brood produced 5 young marmots, this year the same brood produced 4 young marmots. And besides this, 3 or 4 broods also produced young ones. Therefore, we now have 30-35 animals on the territory of the reserve.”
These shots were taken with camera traps. Animals frolic or do housework, but one groundhog is always on the alert: you never know what kind of uninvited guest will come to the dwelling, a magpie or a fox. The redhead is not averse to feasting on a young bobak. But the animals themselves feed on juicy green plants. They help them gain weight and survive hibernation.
Andrey Vlasov: “This is an ejection of the earth, which is clearly visible from a rather distant distance. The depth of this hole is about 2.5 meters. Here, in this hole, lives a brood.”
The most prolific family lives in the 14th hole. In total, there are about 20 marmots in the reserve, however, not all of them are inhabited. And this is another brood that suddenly appeared in the reserve. Hamsters ordinary, listed, by the way, in the Red Book of the region, were caught in traps by residents of the Dmitrievsky district. Ecologists took the animals, cured them and conducted research on which genotype, Russian or European, they belong to. Soon the brothers will go free. Olga Vlasova, zoologist-herpetologist of the Central Chernozem Reserve. V.V. Alekhine.
Olga Vlasova: “They were very small, unhappy, because they were caught in a trap, one even had an open fracture of the paw. But in about 3 weeks we healed everything for them, even this fracture, and then healed - he generally dragged his paw behind him.
There are practically no water bodies in the Streltsy steppe, but the green toad, which is resistant to drought, has settled here. But the favorite of ecologists is the steppe viper. You can meet this less and less. By the way, this is the most cold-resistant species - the snake appears to bask in the sun when there is still snow in the steppe.
Andrey Vlasov: “It is listed in the Red Book of the Kursk Region, in Appendix No. 3 of the Red Book of the Russian Federation. Quite a wonderful view due to the fact that it is purely steppe. We have very few steppe species preserved.
Small in territory, and even divided into 6 sections, the Alekhine Reserve is rich not only in vegetation. 52 species of mammals, 227 species of birds, as well as amphibians, reptiles, insects. There are about 200 species of spiders alone. All of them meet dawns, breathe steppe grasses, live in harmony, because they are protected by man.
Julia Matveeva
