- Ubsunur Hollow Biosphere Reserve
Ubsunur Hollow Biosphere Preserve is a fragile mountain
hollow or depression located on the territorial border ofMongolia and the Republic of Tuva in theRussian Federation among the mountains —Tannu-Ola Mountains , and theAltay Mountains region — part of a combination of raised lands and depressions. Here the world's most northerndesert meets the world's most southerntundra zone.History
Ubsunur Hollow was nominated for inclusion in Russia's second
World Heritage Site (the first being theVirgin Komi Forests ) in 1995 as "one of the largest intact watersheds in Central Asia where up to 40,000 unexcavated burial mounds and otherarchaeological site s can be found from historically famousnomadic tribe s such as theScythians , the Turks and theHuns ."cite web
url=http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/envis/doc-russia-wh.html
title=Russia's First World Heritage Site
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-31 ] The nomination was submitted in conjunction with the Tuva Republic and Mongolia and included 75,000 square kilometres of forest and steppe and associated cultural and natural heritage. Other sites included in this first Russian listing proposal were:
* TheVirgin Komi Forests in the Russian Far East (40,000 sq km), the principal habitat of endangered species such as theAmur tiger .
* The Volcanoes of Kamchatka (40,000 sq km) including unique forests, salmon streams and volcanoes on theKamchatka Peninsula ).
* The sources of theOb River in theAltai Mountains (65,000 km² of mountain ecosystem) ofSiberia .
*Vodlozero National Park (includingLake Vygozero ) (10,000 sq km), Europe's largest intact wetland and old-growth boreal forest (taiga ) ecosystem.Ubsunur Hollow Reserve (Tuva) was awarded international
Biosphere Reserve status in 1998, as a step toward protecting SouthernSiberia 's wilderness which contain Russia's largest intact tracts ofSiberian Pine andSiberian Fir -dominated ecosystems. [cite web
author=
year=1998
url=http://forests.org/archive/europe/sthnsib.htm
title=Southern Siberia Hotspot in the Taiga
publisher=Tiaga News
accessdate=2008-02-05]Ecology
The Hollow, located on the border between
Mongolia andRussia , is the most fascinating environmental habitat inCentral Asia because of the complex ecosystems that mingle here. Its area is 1,068,853.5 ha. [cite web
author=
year=
url=http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/uvs_nuur.htm
title=Uvs Nuur Basin, Russian Federation (Tuva) & Mongolia
publisher=United Nations Environment Programme
accessdate=2008-02-05] Theterrain includesglacier s,taiga ,desert ,alpine tundra , subalpine meadow s, and a vast mountaintaiga areas. There are also forestedsteppes , treeless steppes,semi-arid desert s, and ever shiftingsand dunes . It is a beautiful and amazingly diversified natural habitat, producing an interaction of Euro-Siberian and Central Asian-Mongolian plant and animal life.Because of its location on the cusp of theEuro -Siberian andCentral Asian -Mongolian terrains, the flora and fauna exhibit a highbiodiversity for midlatitudes . Animal species that inhabitant both mountains and tundra such as theirbis (snow leopard ), Siberianroe , Altaisnow cock flourish here, as well as taiga dwellers such as themaral ,lynx andwolverine . Steppe dwellers include the Mongolianlark , demoiselle crane and long tailed Siberiansouslik . Desert inhabitants include thebustard and middaygerbil . There are 359 bird species alone. Since the Hollow is a protected area, many speciesextinct elsewhere are found here.Population
The population density of the nomadic
Tuvan people , cattle breeders living inyurt s, is low here. The lack of industry and the reliance of the inhabitants on traditional ways such as nomadic pasturing have little impact on the landscape. Industrial capacities are absent and have allowed the ecosystem to remain relatively pristine.cite web
url=http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/en/campaigns/world-natural-heritage/the-ubsunur-hollow
title=The Ubsunur Hollow
publisher=Greenpeace
accessdate=2006-12-31 ] [cite web
author=
year=
url=http://www.unesco.ru/eng/articles/2004/stasya03022006104947.php
title=The Uvs Nuur Basin: Russian-Mongolian cooperation for Conservation of the World Heritage]
publisher=unesco
accessdate=2008-02-05]ee also
*
Ubsunur Hollow
*Uvs Nuur Basin
*Tuvan people
*Tannu-Ola Mountains
*Nomad Notes
External links
* [http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/en/campaigns/world-natural-heritage/the-ubsunur-hollow The Ubsunur Hollow]
* [http://www.isar.org/pubs/ST/RUubsunur49.html Ubsu-Nur Accepted into World Network of Biosphere Reserves]
* [http://www.nomadom.net/russia/tuva.htm Singing Stones - The Republic of Tuva]
* [http://130.166.124.2/world_atlas/6/files/6-1040-full.html Ubsu Nur satellite photo]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=cHTzFmOZE44C&pg=PA599&lpg=PA599&dq=ubsunur+hollow&source=web&ots=MEyX1h_F3P&sig=tHMUqT9haVQhgd89DVsMmjKpAUURussian Federation Legislative Survey: June 1990-December 1993]
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