Flora of the Carpathians. Ukrainian Carpathians. vegetation Lingonberry - beneficial properties, recipes

Everyone who has ever visited Transcarpathia admits that there are few places in Europe that can match it in terms of quantity and quality of green spaces. There are over 2000 plant species in Transcarpathia, of which, unfortunately, 44 species are on the verge of destruction. Actually, the forests of the region occupy an area of ​​about 500,000 hectares (45% of the territory of Transcarpathia). Among the forest species, the most represented are beech (58%), spruce (31%), oak (7%), also birch, larch, alder, hornbeam, yew, pine, ash, and maple. For the most part, they grow in the mountains on brown mountain forest and mountain archery-brown earth soils, which in the lowlands change to soddy-podzolic and brown earth-podzolic soils.

There are also many historical parks and attractions in Transcarpathia. They are located in Bolshoi Berezny - park of the 19th century, Uzhgorod - Laudon park, Podzamkovy park, Mukachevo - park with 140 exotic trees and bushes, Vinogradov - Pereni park, Carpathians - Schönborn park, Bushtino - park of the 18th century, Nevitsky - Wagner park (castle), Bolshie Lazy - Ploteni park, Drawings - park in 1848. Undoubtedly, organized parks in Transcarpathia existed in the Middle Ages, and their emergence is associated with the feudal lords Pereni, Shenborn, Dovgai, Druget, who contributed to the emergence of parks, importing from all different exotic plants from corners of the world. This is evidenced by the fact that in 1701 there were five parks around the castle in Uzhgorod: Tsvetochny, Zveriny, Lugovoy, Zhuravliny and Golubiny. In Mezhgorye, Irshava, Stuzhitsa, Plavye, centuries-old oaks still grow, in Uzhgorod there is a 500-year-old plane tree and a 300-year-old ash tree. Along with local species, the region is also decorated with numerous exotic flora.
Currently, there are over 300 species of exotic plants in Transcarpathia. From early spring to late autumn, some blooms change from others. It seems that the Carpathians are dissolving in the colors of golden and greenish forsythia bushes, the colors of Japanese quince and pink of the Niedzvetsky apple tree, bright red of the Florida apple tree and white of the Chinese apple tree, pink buds of Japanese sakura, white and reddish flowering shoots of chestnuts. And also - cypress trees, Himalayan pines, Douglas fir, evergreen buxus, common mackerel (“wig tree”), buzkolistaya catalpa (“cigar tree”), fluffy paulownia (“Adam tree”).

When talking about the exotic plants of Transcarpathia, we should remember a tree from distant China - magnolia (“cucumber tree”).
There are several types of them growing in Transcarpathia: pink Sulanzha, white Kobusta, purple Lennoe magnolia. By the way, it has been proven that a magnolia flower has a temperature inside that is greater than the ambient temperature. Try to see this for yourself by placing your hand on the flower.
The fauna is not far behind its richness of plant diversity. There are 80 species of mammals, 280 of birds, 10 of reptiles, 16 of amphibians, 60 of fish, and 100 species of mollusks.
Three quarters of all mammal species in Ukraine can be found in the Carpathians. Particularly common in Transcarpathia are the mole, fox, wolf, raccoon dog, brown bear, badger, marten, weasel, ermine, ferret, otter, wild cat, lynx, hare, squirrel, muskrat, wild boar, roe deer, and Carpathian deer.
Among the birds of Transcarpathia we should name wood grouse, black grouse, hazel grouse, pheasant, gray partridge, quail, turtle dove, pigeon, fox, twitcher, seagull, woodcock, woodpecker, owl, stork, blackbird.

Waterfowl live in the reservoirs: samga, swan, wild goose, mallard, goose, wild duck, teal, heron, and bay.
Common reptiles include the steppe tortoise, lizard, grass snake, spinner, common viper (the only poisonous snake of the Carpathians), salamander, and copperhead.

Almost half of all types of freshwater fish in Ukraine are found in the rivers of Transcarpathia: brook and rainbow trout, Danube salmon, grayling, andruga, small chap, umbra, babets, hirchak, podust, Hungarian lamprey, moray eel, chub, catfish, pike, tench, ruffe, goitka, crucian carp, perch, bream.

Transcarpathia- a land of amazingly rich nature. There are over 2,300 vascular plants in the region, which makes up more than 60 percent of the flora of Ukraine.
As in other mountainous areas, the law of vertical distribution of vegetation is manifested here. In the lowlands there are islands of once widespread oak forests of common oak. In the foothills there grows sessile oak and, less commonly, Daleschamp and Burgundy oak. Only 7.9 percent of the total forest area is occupied by oak forests. In some places there are small areas of hornbeam. Most of the lowland and foothills are motley meadows, cultivated fields, orchards and vineyards.

Of particular interest in the foothills is the Black Mountain near the city of Vinogradov, where feather grass, keleria, fescue and other rare plants of the steppe flora are preserved. Many tourists will remember this for the rest of their lives. Valley of Narcissus in the vicinity of the city of Khust. Narcissus angustifolia is found in Ukraine only in Transcarpathia. The Valley of Daffodils is especially picturesque at the end of May during flowering.

The gentle slopes of the Carpathians are occupied mainly by beech- about 59 percent of the total forest area. Above the beech forests, especially in the northeastern part of the region, stretches a belt of dark coniferous forests of common spruce and white fir - more than 32 percent of the total forest area. European cedar and Polish larch grow in rare islands. Among the natural forests there are virgin forests. Far beyond the region, beech forests are known in the Ugolka and Shirokiy Meadow tracts of the Tyachevsky district. Like fairy-tale giants, beech trees stand here about 40 m high and more than 1 m in diameter. Over 1000 specimens of yew berry have been preserved in Uholka. Cossack juniper was recently discovered here. Both of these plants are tertiary relicts.
Among coniferous forests, the virgin forest under Mount Goverla in the Rakhiv region is unique, where spruce and fir trees are found more than 50 m high and up to 1.8 m in diameter.
Endemic species of the Carpathians grow in the forests - Hungarian lilac, Carpathian currant, Carpathian buttercup, Filyarsky lungwort and many others.
Above the forests lie wide expanses of mountain meadows. A unique landscape in the meadows is formed by thickets of elfin trees - mountain pine, green alder, and Siberian juniper.

These thickets are also called crooked forests, since their creeping shoots are strongly intertwined and are almost impenetrable.
The poponins of Transcarpathia are covered with white grass, fescue, bluegrass and other grasses. The meadows present an incomparable picture during the flowering of Bluebells, Rhododendrons, Narcissus, Arnica, and Gentians. On the highest cliffs you can find very rare plants, including the fabulous Edelweiss flower, which the local population calls Silk Braid.
There are very few edelweiss left in the Carpathians, and they are protected in every possible way from complete destruction. The plant is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine as an endangered species. Destruction of edelweiss is punishable by a fine.

The flora of Transcarpathia includes about 300 species of medicinal plants, of which almost 100 are used in scientific and the rest in folk medicine. Among them, the most valuable are belladonna, scopolia, arnica montana, lily of the valley, male fern, reddish hellebore, Rhodiola rosea...
The settlements of the region are surrounded by greenery. Among the ornamental plants decorating the streets, gardens and parks of cities and villages, there are about 400 exotic species - from Southern Europe, North America, Central and Eastern Asia. Boxwood, thuja, douglasia, Japanese sophora, vinegar tree, black walnut, ailanthus, cherry laurel, evergreen barberries, Japanese cherries (sakura) and apple trees have acclimatized well in Transcarpathia. One of the most common ornamental trees is pyramidal poplar.

The region's fauna is interesting and diverse. On mountain trails, a traveler can meet a slender European roe deer, an agile Carpathian squirrel, a giant golden eagle or a bright salamander. In forest clearings, especially in spring, birds sing loudly. The mountain streams are home to trout, grayling and Danube salmon.
Among the 80 species of mammals, the most valuable are deer, roe deer, wild boar, brown bear, pine and stone marten, mink, river otter, ermine and others. Fox, hare, lynx, dark ferret, badger, weasel are common everywhere, and the raccoon dog is acclimatized.

Bats (21 species) and rodents (22 species) are numerous and diverse, among them the rare snow vole, which lives on the highest mountains. There are also hamsters, gophers, muskrats, and dormouse. There are many insectivores: hedgehog, mole, shrews, shrews, shrews, and in the mountains - the alpine shrew, which is found nowhere else in Ukraine does not occur. Fallow deer, mouflons, and wild rabbits acclimatize successfully.
About 200 species of birds live in Transcarpathian forests and copses, fields, settlements and reservoirs. More than half of them can be seen in the region only during nesting, about one third are sedentary, the rest belong to migrants, vagrants and those arriving here for the winter.
Often the transparent blue of the sky is cut through by fast pigeons (pigeons and pigeons), in oak forests you can hear the characteristic cooing of the common dove, and in populated areas - of the ringed dove. Wetlands and reservoirs are inhabited by coots, lapwings, waders, woodcocks, mallards, teals, and white storks. The black stork nests in mountain forests, but is rarely seen.

Many birds of prey- falcons, eagles, hawks, owls, among them rare ones - the short-tailed owl, the honey beetle, the golden eagle, the eagle owl, the great owl and the great owl. The Carpathian Great Tawny Owl is quite common. Among other birds, there are various woodpeckers (golden, Carpathian, middle, Syrian, three-toed, gray-haired, green, etc.), cuckoos, hoopoes, swifts, kingfishers, nightjars, dippers, blackbirds, warblers, dunnocks, tits, buntings, wagtails, gray partridges, pheasants, wood grouse, black grouse, hazel grouse, quail.
During the spring-autumn period, geese, turukhtan, gulls and other birds often stop to rest in the area. Waxwings are found here only in winter.
Every year, about 10 thousand pheasants are artificially bred in Transcarpathia - incubated and raised. Some of them are released into local areas, the rest are resettled in many regions of Ukraine.

Among the reptiles (10 species) and amphibians (15 species) there are the Aesculapian snake, copperhead, water and common snakes, and the common viper (not numerous, lives in the mountains and meadows, its bite is dangerous for humans and domestic animals). Lizards (snapping, green, viviparous, spindle), as well as the marsh turtle, are also common. Numerous: salamander (lives in humid forests), newts (Carpathian, Alpine, common crested), yellow-bellied and red-bellied toads, spadefoot, frogs (snap, sharp-faced, grass, pond) and toads.

Of the fish (60 species), the most interesting are salmon (brook and rainbow trout, grayling, tadwort, or Danube salmon). Among sturgeons, sterlet is rarely found, and among cod fish, burbot. Most other fish belong to the families of carp, perch, catfish, goby, and loach. In wetlands Umber is very rare. In the lowland and foothill areas there are ponds in which carp, grass carp, silver carp, and crucian carp are bred. There are more than 10 trout nurseries in the mountainous regions; in some farms, char (papya) has been successfully acclimatized.
Rare, endangered and endemic animal species of the Carpathian fauna are strictly protected. Many of them are listed in the Red Book. Such a record is one of the forms of animal conservation. This means that they cannot be disturbed, touched, collected, collected, entangled, kept in captivity, destroyed, or worsened by any activity in their living conditions.

Among the protected- many species of beetles, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals common in the Transcarpathian region.

Of the beetles, this is the alpine longhorned beetle. Of the butterflies - parnosius (Apollo) and the death's head hawk moth. Among the amphibians there are very rare, not found anywhere in Ukraine, Carpathian and Alpine newts, the quick (Balkan) frog. Of the reptiles, the non-venomous Aesculapian snake is subject to protection. It is she who is depicted on the famous symbol of healing.
Among the protected birds are the Central European eagle owl, the European rough owl, the western sparrow owl, the European sokop falcon, the southern European golden eagle (2-3 birds live in Transcarpathia), the European dwarf eagle, the red kite, the short-tailed snake and many others, periodically visiting the Central Asian bearded vulture - lamb, griffon vulture, white-tailed eagle, imperial eagle, steppe eagle and black vulture. Also protected are the black stork, the stilt, the curlew and the alpine accentor - a small, sparrow-sized, colorful bird that uses the peaks of Goverla, Petros, Svydovetsky ridge and other massifs for nesting.
The Red Data Books include the insectivorous alpine shrew, small shrew, many species of bats, the Central European forest cat, the steppe ferret (Pannonian variety) and others.
In recent years, much has been done to protect and increase the number of animals listed in the Red Book. Special reserves “Stuzhitsa”, “Falcon Rocks”, “Pinavai”, “Rososhny”, “Sinevirsky”, “Popadya”, “Kedrin”, “Gorgany”, “Chertov”, “Svidovets”, “Kevelev”, “Dubova” were created ", in which animals are found relatively often and have all the conditions for living.

More than 435 representatives of the animal world live in the Carpathians thanks to the wealth of coniferous forests. Among them: red deer, roe deer, marsh turtle, European eel. By the way, the Carpathians have become home to animals that are characteristic of the Mediterranean region - the spotted salamander and the green frog, as well as for animals whose homeland is the Siberian taiga - wood grouse and black grouse.

In the Carpathians there are endemic animals that cannot be found anywhere else on planet Earth. These include the Carpathian newt and squirrel. Representatives of the steppe and alpine fauna easily find a common language and share territory with everyone: the alpine newt and the snow vole.

In the Carpathian forests there are about 74 species of mammals (this is a third of the total number of our smaller brothers in Ukraine); in addition, here you can find representatives of the main classes of animals, and these are birds, fish, amphibians and insects. The most common species of mammals in the Ukrainian Carpathians are bats. From the hollows of trees and from the corners of caves, the small and large pigworts, bats, rabbits and night bats look at the world of God.

Animals have intensified in the wooded areas of the Ukrainian mountains in the form of a “mosaic”, that is, they can be found starting from the plain of the foothills (altitude 200 meters) and to the place where the alpine bushes begin (1600-1850 meters). However, such species of animals as shrews, shrews, ground squirrels, muskrats and hamsters, as a rule, do not climb to high altitudes, which cannot be said about representatives of the alpine fauna: alpine shrews and snow vole, which quite often like to “walk” at 2000-meter altitudes .

It should be said that a certain specific feature of the fauna of the Ukrainian part of the Carpathians is that you can find a large number of wild pigs here. By the way, previously these mammals could be found throughout the entire territory of Ukrainian lands, now - in dense forested areas where many beech trees grow.

Among the inhabitants of the Carpathian mountains we also encounter small species of rodents. For example, the Carpathian squirrel is a bright representative of its species: in winter its habitat is beech forest, and in summer it is in the foothills.

The brown hare is something that the Carpathian forest also boasts of. There are also animals in our Carpathians that cause harm: rats, field mice, house mice, forest mice and yellow-necked mice. Of course, the wooded area is also inhabited by a large number of insect-like creatures.

Animals such as the shrew, brown tooth and hedgehog are animal doctors, because they heal the local flora by eating pests, however, there are also a large number of animals that, by digging the earth, cause harm to it.

Who else can you meet in these places? The fox is the thunderstorm of all mouse-like animals; it can be found in areas in front of the mountains and at the top. Badger also helps by regulating and not leading to an increase in the number of dangerous insects and rodents. By the way, in the Carpathian forests there are a lot of different small predators, representatives of mustelids. In coniferous plantings and in ponds you can find ferrets, otters and minks, which really like such places.

By the way, it is better to avoid gorges and thickets, because the lairs of dangerous predators - wolves - are often located here. In the Carpathians there are forest inhabitants whose populations are protected by law: brown bear, lynx and wild cats. Unfortunately, in recent years the number of roe deer and red deer has decreased significantly, so hunting them is strictly prohibited. By the way, recently in the Ukrainian part of the Carpathians you can find a raccoon dog, whose homeland is the Ussuri region, China and Japan, which suggests that people who are not indifferent to nature are deciding to acclimatize new species alien to this territory.

The vegetation of the Carpathians is rich, varied and colorful. The pride and adornment of the mountains are forests. The Ukrainian Carpathians are the only area of ​​distribution of Central European forests on the territory of Ukraine. Here you can find bright sunny oak forests, shady bushes, and dark majestic spruce forests. It is no coincidence that the Eastern Carpathians are called Wooded, and the southeastern part of the mountains is called Bukovina. Rich and Carpathian meadows. Their emerald stripes penetrate the mountain system from the plains to the peaks with their famous valleys. The species composition of the vegetation is extremely diverse. About two thousand species of higher plants grow here. The flora consists mainly of Central European deciduous forest species, which make up about 35% of the total flora. These are forest beech, or common beech, common hornbeam, common and sessile oak, heart-leaved linden, maple, ash; from herbs: perennial coppice, spotted arum, large astrantia, spring white flower, etc. A significant role in the flora (about 30%) is played by taiga Euro-Siberian forms, for example, Norway spruce, mountain spruce, white spruce, Siberian juniper, etc. Noticeable influence of elements of the arctic-alpine high-mountain flora (18%) - herbaceous and blunt-leaved willow, eight-petaled dryad, viviparous bitterling, hairy sedge, daffodil anemone, alpine hawkweed. Silvery stars of alpine edelweiss bloom on inaccessible rocky cliffs. There are representatives of the steppe flora: feather grass, or hairy feather grass, fescue...

All main classes of animals are widely represented in the Carpathians: mammals (mamalofauna), birds (avifauna), reptiles (herpetofauna), amphibians (amphibians), fish (ichthyofauna), insects (entomofauna). Among the 80 species of mammals, the most valuable are deer, roe deer, wild boar, brown bear, pine and stone marten, mink, river otter, ermine and others. The fox and hare are common everywhere, and there are also lynx, dark ferret, badger, weasel, and an acclimatized raccoon dog. Bats (21 species) and rodents (22 species) are numerous and diverse, among them the rare snow vole, which lives on the highest mountains. There are also hamsters, gophers, muskrats, and dormouse. There are many insectivores: hedgehog, mole, shrew, shrew, shrew, and in the mountains - the alpine shrew, which is not found anywhere else in Ukraine. Fallow deer, mouflons, and wild rabbits acclimatize successfully. About 200 species of birds live in Transcarpathian forests and copses, fields, settlements and reservoirs. More than half of them can be seen in the region only during nesting, about one third are sedentary, the rest belong to migrants, vagrants and those arriving here for the winter. Often the transparent blue of the sky is cut through by fast pigeons (pigeons and pigeons), in oak forests you can hear the characteristic cooing of the common dove, and in populated areas - of the ringed dove. Wetlands and reservoirs are inhabited by coots, lapwings, waders, woodcocks, mallards, teals, and white storks. The black stork nests in the mountain...

Even with a cursory acquaintance with What is striking is not only the beauty of the green cover, but also, above all, its great diversity and originality.

As we see, in Carpathian mountains more than half of the representatives of the entire flora of Ukraine are concentrated. How can we explain such richness and diversity of the flora of the Carpathians? First, their favorable geographical position, the great diversity of the environment due to the complex terrain and massiveness of the mountains, various types of soils and underlying rocks, and moderate climatic conditions. It is not without reason that botanists call the Carpathians the green treasure of Central Europe. For thousands of years, it has contributed to the enrichment of nearby and distant lowland landscapes with plant forms.

Let's get acquainted, at least briefly, with the life of plants in a strict mountain environment. As the altitude increases, the temperature decreases and the growing season shortens. Daily temperature fluctuations in the mountains are much greater than on the plains, and therefore heat is radiated more intensely from the soil, and the nights are always cold. But the temperature fluctuations between the summer and winter months are less here, as in the lowland regions. Thanks to this, beech, fir, sycamore and other tree species of the mild Atlantic climate grow successfully in the Carpathians.

The higher you go in the mountains, the lower the carbon dioxide content in the air, from which plants take carbon in the process of assimilation. At the same time, the amount of ultraviolet rays increases. Anyone who has been to the mountains can see how quickly you can tan even on winter days. Ultraviolet rays have a harmful effect on growth substances - auxins, destroy them and thereby inhibit cell division. Therefore, most highland plants are characterized by dwarf growth. It is also due to the effects of low temperatures and constant winds.

On rocky slopes, it is difficult for plants to obtain moisture from the soil. Therefore, their root system is widely branched. Thick covering tissue on the leaves ensures economical consumption of moisture. Here is a young rough thing that grows on limestone. Once picked, it can remain alive for several months. To protect against evaporation, the leaves of mountain plants are densely covered with hairs.

What will happen if these plants are planted on the plain? Alpine milkweed (edelweiss) can also be grown on the plains. But its stems were already lengthening, the leaves were without their characteristic silky sheen, and this symbol of the highlands would lose its charm.
Traveling along mountain paths, one cannot help but admire the bright yellow arnica, golden wind hawks, sky-blue gentians, fiery red carnations, and many other flowers. Not a single artist has yet managed to reproduce the entire gamut of their colors on his canvas. It is caused by a special coloring substance - anthocyanins, the accumulation of which in cells is promoted by low temperature.

There is a lot of snow in the mountains. It protects green seedlings from freezing. Its loose blanket warms evergreens - fern, blechnum spicata, lingonberry, cranberry, dropsy, dryad. Creeping pine and alder are also hidden under it. The cell sap of mountain plants contains a lot of sugar. This also protects them from the harmful effects of low temperatures. Snow in the mountains lingers for quite a long time. Some plants have adapted to this and grow even under its cover. These are species such as Heifel saffron, white flint and others. And how do spruce, cedar and larch grow high in the mountains, whose trunks are open to the winds both in summer and winter? How do they provide themselves with moisture in frozen soil conditions?

These plants also have a number of adaptations to help them survive. Larch sheds its needles in the winter and thus protects itself from cold winds. The stomata in the needles of spruce and cedar close. This reduces evaporation, but does not always save. And often on the border of the forest you can see trees with ancestral crowns. Harsh winds dry out the windward part of the crown in winter.

Trees in the highlands have an extensive root system, strong, low trunks, and their branches descend very low. At an altitude of 1400 - 1500 meters, century-old spruce trees barely reach 10-15 meters, at an altitude of 1600 meters - no more than three or four. Spruce can grow even higher only under the cover of snow.

Rare plants that live only in a limited area and are absent in other places are called endemic. Endemics, of course, are rich, isolated islands and mountainous countries. For example, 6,683 plants are known in the Balkans, of which 1,000 are endemic. About 240 endemic species are known in the Carpathian mountain system, which constitutes 6.5 percent of the entire Carpathian flora.

The richest endemics are the southern Romanian Carpathians. In the Ukrainian Carpathians, 86 Trans-Carpathian endemics are known, including 18 East Carpathian ones. Lungwort Filyarsky is a resident of Chornohora, Svydovtsa and Gorgan, Astragalus Krajina is known from the peaks of the Twins, the Eastern Carpathian delphinium grows on the rocks of the Chivchyn mountains, and the Hungarian lilac is preserved in the upper reaches of the Latoritsa, Uzha, Riki and Stryi rivers. So, meeting a rare plant is an outstanding and joyful event.

It is difficult to overestimate the scientific and economic significance of the Carpathian endemics, which are found nowhere else in the world. The disappearance of such a species is a great loss for the flora, because humans will never be able to reproduce it. Therefore, it is quite understandable that constant attention is paid to the individual protection of rare plants. This is why nature reserves and nature reserves are created.

Mountain regions are also noted for their greater abundance of relict plants, that is, those that have been preserved from past geological eras. If you are interested in the cost of a water well, then contact us.

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