Both on land and at sea. The most important biological resource of the Earth is forests, which account for approximately 2/3 of all produced biomass and about half of the oxygen produced. The importance of forests is also enormous as a source of wood - the most important building material. Until recently, it was believed that with the development of technological progress, numerous substitutes would appear and the need for a natural product would disappear. However, time does not diminish the importance of wood. More and more new areas of its use are opening up, and wood products can withstand serious competition with metals and plastics.

Forests of national importance are divided into three groups based on natural and economic characteristics. The first group is mainly forests for protective purposes, defined in forestry legislation (water protection, soil protection, mountain, forests on steep slopes, resort forests, green areas, forests, etc.). One of the main categories is "". This includes plantings that are created on a planned basis in accordance with the decision of the government of the Russian Federation. They are the base for organizing recreation for the population and are formed around large industrial and populated areas.

In Russia, forests are planted annually on an area of ​​about 1 million hectares, which actively promotes their natural regeneration. Undergrowth is left on 700 thousand hectares. The rest of the territory is being restored without human intervention. However, the survival rate of plantings is low in many cases. Trees often die before reaching ripe age. The main cause of death is lack of proper care. Despite numerous and very alarming statements by scientists in defense of forests, the activities of many forestry enterprises remains subordinate to the implementation of logging and planting plans. Forest productivity can be significantly increased if maintenance is carried out in a timely manner (lighting, clearing, thinning, through-cutting and sanitary cutting, etc.). In forestry enterprises and timber industry enterprises, for these purposes it is necessary to create comprehensive teams and equip them with appropriate equipment.

A huge gap in the increase in annual wood growth - swampy and excessively moist forest areas on, as well as selection work and the introduction of fast-growing and economically valuable trees to replace low-value ones.

Another equally valuable biological resource is animals that play a direct and indirect role in human life. Animal species that provide meat, wool, leather, fluff, feathers, etc. have direct positive significance. The indirect significance of such animals is that they can help increase forest productivity. The role of pollinating insects is very important. Without them, many representatives of oilseeds, grains, melons, gardens, berries, medicinal and ornamental plants, not counting plants and forests, could not exist. Birds perform a useful service - entomophages, destroying pests of fields, gardens, and forests.

Until relatively recently, the division of animals into useful and harmful was widespread. Science has established that such a division is very arbitrary. There are no animals that are absolutely beneficial or absolutely harmful. The role of the same species may be different in different geographical conditions. The importance of a particular animal species largely depends on its numbers. Therefore, the protection and rational use of wildlife resources consists primarily of regulating their numbers. If a given animal species is on the verge of extinction, then full protection is introduced. But when the numbers remain, a complete ban on fishing is impractical; thinning out the herd is necessary.

The organization is of great importance for the protection and restoration of commercial fauna in Russia state reserves, reserves, national parks and other specially protected areas. The current legislation provides for the existence of fairly large territories (they already account for about 8% of the total area of ​​the country, maintaining a tendency to expand). In some cases, specially protected natural areas are monolithic areas, including tens, hundreds, thousands and even millions of hectares; in others they consist of small sections. Sometimes protected areas occupy a few tens, and sometimes even a few square meters (individual groves of long-lived trees).

Currently, there are over 80 nature reserves in Russia. In addition, in our country there are over 1,500 zoological reserves of various ranks.

Protection of hunting fauna, as well as commercial fish carried out by special government bodies.

Measures for the protection and reproduction of animals produce tangible results. So, if by the 20s of the 20th century antelope, saiga, elk, sable, wild boar, beaver and a number of other species were on the verge of extermination, then over the past two decades the number of saiga has increased by about 4.5 times, elk - by 3, 5, roe deer and wild boar - 3 times, musk deer - 2 times.

The trend of transition from fishing to farming is important for the protection and reproduction of animal resources. The country has created and continues to expand state institutions that contribute not only to the conservation, but also to an increase in the number of animals. Another example of the rational organization of animal protection and reproduction is the exploitation of herds fur seals in the Far East. Biological scientists systematically conduct observations of one of the largest herds located on Tyuleney Island.

Yet measures to protect animals in general are still insufficient. In many forests, squirrels, hares, hazel grouse, wood grouse, partridges are disappearing, even red ants are becoming less numerous. Continuous plowing and deforestation led to a sharp decrease in the number of steppe birds and insects - bustards, bustards, quails, bumblebees, etc. Considerable harm to living organisms is caused by improper use chemicals plant protection. Therefore, attention to the protection of wildlife should be increased.

As you know, there is an international “Red Book”, where all rare and endangered species of animals are listed. In addition, many countries compile their national “books” and include species that are rare and endangered in these countries. Our country's Red Book includes about 30 endangered species and 40 rare mammal species, 37 rare bird species and 26 threatened species, 8 amphibian species and 21 reptile species. Including a species in the Red Book means special care for it on the part of the state.

They belong to the category of exhaustible renewable (but exhaustible) natural resources. The total number of currently known species of life on Earth is about 2 million, with the actual number most likely exceeding 10 million (mainly due to the as yet undiscovered species of tropical forests).

The natural biota of Russia is a unique resource that provides on average: 20 t/ha organic matter per year, with the bulk of biological products coming from forests. In the Russian territory, 230 tons of photosynthesis products are produced per person per year.

Wild life forms the basis for agriculture and forestry, fishing, hunting and other crafts, for the whole variety of economic and social activities population.

Biological resources of plant and microbial origin. It is generally accepted that there are now more than 500,000 plant species on Earth. The main groups of plants, fungi and bacteria include a huge number of species:

Biological resources of animal origin. Animals are one of the leading components ecological systems Earth. Currently, science knows (describes) a little more than 1.5 million animal species, which is estimated to be about half of all existing ones.

For the period from 160... to 19..... 63 species and 44 subspecies of mammals, 74 species and 87 subspecies of birds disappeared, which is more than 1% of the species of higher vertebrates. In recent decades, primarily due to the intensification of destruction of animal and plant habitats, the number of endangered species has increased sharply: on average, one biological species disappears on Earth almost every hour.

Hunting Resources. When considering hunting from the standpoint of rational environmental management and balanced reproduction of the animal world, it becomes obvious that the removal of a certain number of game animals from nature is useful not only from an economic, but also from an environmental point of view. In world practice, there are many examples where excessive accumulation of game reserves, due to unreasonable conservation measures, led to the depletion of food resources, the emergence of diseases among animals and, ultimately, to their mass death. The territory of the Russian Federation is home to about 60 species of mammals and about 70 species of birds, which are objects of hunting and recreational hunting, the largest economic importance have wild ungulates, brown, bear and 20 species of fur-bearing animals. animals from whose prey meat and leather are obtained. fur and medicinal raw materials.

Hunting grounds in Russia cover an area of ​​approximately 1.6 billion hectares, of which about 1.2 billion hectares are assigned to users. Largest areas hunting grounds are located in the Far Eastern, East Siberian, West Siberian, Northern and Ural economic regions.

One of the most important types biological resources are forest resources . Forests provide a variety of human needs. They not only serve as a raw material base for the forestry and wood processing industries, but are also one of the main elements recreational potential, human habitat, regulate and purify water runoff, effectively prevent erosion, preserve and increase soil fertility, most fully preserve the genetic diversity of the biosphere, enrich the atmosphere with oxygen and protect the air basin from pollution, and largely shape the climate. The flora of forests is a unique supplier of wild fruits and berries, nuts and mushrooms, valuable types of medicinal herbs and specific technical raw materials for various industries. At the threshold of the emergence of agriculture, according to existing estimates, forests covered 62 million km 2, or more .../..., of the land surface of our planet, and taking into account other types of forest vegetation, this area was 75 million km 2.

The world's forest resources are characterized by two important indicators: the size of the forest area and standing timber reserves. Forest resources are renewable. But since forests are reduced for arable land, construction, and wood is used as firewood, as a raw material for woodworking and other types of industry (paper production, furniture, etc.), the problem of reducing forest resources and deforestation of territories is quite acute. For the rational use of forest resources, it is necessary to comprehensively process raw materials, not cut down forests in an amount exceeding their growth, and carry out reforestation work.

The world's forests are unevenly distributed. World forest resources are presented in the table.

Analysis of the table allows us to conclude that Latin America has the richest forest resources, and Australia and Oceania have the poorest. It should be added that Russia, Canada, the USA, China, and Indonesia have the largest forest areas.

The world's forests form two forest belts approximately equal in area and timber reserves - northern and southern.

Northern (area 2 million hectares) is located in a zone of temperate and partly subtropical climate. The most forested countries in the northern zone are Russia, the USA, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. Harvesting takes place here valuable wood mainly coniferous species. Coniferous species cover 67% of the total forest area. The diversity of species in the forests of the northern zone is very high.

The southern belt is located in the tropical and equatorial climates. The main forest areas of the southern belt are the Amazon, the Congo Basin, Southeast Asia, the countries of Congo, Brazil, and Venezuela. 97% of this belt consists of moist deciduous forests.

Forest resources (forests) are called the “lungs” of the planet; they play a huge role in the life of all humanity. They restore oxygen in the atmosphere, preserve groundwater, prevent soil destruction. The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is disrupting the planet's lungs. Forest conservation is also necessary for human health.

Russia is the largest forest power. The area of ​​its forest fund and forests not included in the forest fund was by the end of the 1990s. 1178.6 million hectares, including those under management Federal service Forestry of Russia (formerly Rosleskhoz) accounted for 94.2%, agricultural formations managed 3.6% of the forest territory, the State Committee for Ecology of Russia accounted for 1.6%, other ministries and departments - 0.6%. This does not include 2.13 million hectares of forests belonging to the forest fund, but not provided for by the provisions of the country’s Forest Code, in force since the beginning of 1997.

The forest area of ​​the USA and Canada is about …./…. global size (.../... the world's forest resources are concentrated in China and India (in total). There is less than 1 hectare of forests per inhabitant of the planet, in Canada - more than 8, in Finland - 4, in Russia - 5.3, in the USA - only 0.8 hectares. Standing timber reserves per capita on average around the world are 65 m 3, in Canada - more than 570, in Russia - 561, in Finland - 370 m 3 and in the USA - only about 83 m 3 .

Currently, the green cover of the planet is in danger - its area is decreasing. This reached its greatest scale in the southern zone. This process is especially fast in the countries of Central America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and West Africa: The reasons for this are:

1. Land clearing for urban and transport needs and for slash-and-burn agriculture.

2. Deforestation to obtain wood and use it as fuel

3, Increasing exports of tropical wood from Asia, Africa and Latin America to Japan, the USA, and Western Europe.

Resources of the World Ocean

These resources must be considered comprehensively as they include:

Biological resources of the World Ocean;

Mineral resources of the seabed;

Energy resources of the world's oceans;

Sea water resources.

Biological resources of the World Ocean – these are plants (algae) and animals (fish, mammals, crustaceans, mollusks). The total volume of biomass in the World Ocean is 35 billion tons, of which 0.5 billion tons are fish alone. Fish makes up about 90% of commercial fish caught in the ocean. Thanks to fish, mollusks and crustaceans, humanity provides itself with 20% of animal proteins. Ocean biomass is also used to produce high-calorie feed meal for livestock.

More than 90% of the world's catch of fish and non-fish species comes from the shelf zone. The largest share of the world's catch is caught in temperate and high latitude waters Northern Hemisphere. Of the oceans, the largest catch comes from the Pacific Ocean. Of the seas of the World Ocean, the most productive are the Norwegian, Bering, Okhotsk, and Japanese.

IN last years The breeding of certain species of organisms on artificially created marine plantations is becoming increasingly widespread throughout the world. These fisheries are called mariculture. Its development takes place in Japan and China (pearl oysters), the USA (oysters and mussels), France and Australia (oysters), and the Mediterranean countries of Europe (mussels). In Russia, in the seas of the Far East, seaweed (kelp) and scallops are grown.

The state of aquatic biological resources and their effective management are becoming increasingly important both for providing the population with high-quality food products and for supplying raw materials to many industries and agriculture (in particular, poultry farming). Available information indicates increasing pressure on the world's oceans. At the same time, due to severe pollution, the biological productivity of the World Ocean has sharply decreased. At 198…. gg. Leading scientists predicted that by 2025, world fisheries production would reach 230–250 million tons, including 60–70 million tons from aquaculture. In the 1990s. the situation has changed: forecasts of marine catches for 2025 decreased to 125-130 million tons, while forecasts for the volume of fish production through aquaculture increased to 80-90 million tons. At the same time, it is considered obvious that the growth rate of the Earth's population will exceed the growth rate fish products. While noting the need to feed present and future generations, the significant contribution of fisheries to the income, well-being and food security of all nations must be recognized and its particular importance for some low-income and food-deficit countries. Realizing the responsibility of the living population for the conservation of biological resources for future generations, in December 1995 in Japan, 95 states, including Russia, adopted the Kyoto Declaration and Action Plan on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security. It was proposed that policies, strategies and resource use for sustainable development of the fisheries sector should be based on the following fundamental principles:

conservation of ecological systems;

use of reliable scientific data;

improving socio-economic well-being;

fair distribution of resources within and between generations.

The Russian Federation, along with other countries, has committed itself to be guided by the following specific principles in the development of the national fisheries strategy:

recognition and appreciation of the important role that sea ​​fishing, inland fisheries and aquaculture play a role in world food security through both food supply and economic well-being;

Effectively implement the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UN Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, the Agreement to Promote the Implementation of International Measures for the Conservation and Management of Fishing Vessels on the High Seas and the FAO Code of Responsible Fisheries, and harmonize their national legislation with these documents;

developing and strengthening scientific research as the fundamental basis for sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture to ensure food security, as well as providing scientific and technical assistance and support to countries with limited research capabilities;

assessing the productivity of stocks in waters under national jurisdiction, both inland and marine, bringing fishing capacity in those waters to a level comparable to the long-term productivity of the stocks, and taking timely appropriate measures to restore overfished stocks to a sustainable state, and cooperating in accordance with with international law to take similar measures for stocks found on the high seas;

conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and its components in the aquatic environment and, in particular, the prevention of practices leading to irreversible changes, such as the destruction of species by genetic erosion or large-scale destruction of habitats;

promoting the development of mariculture and aquaculture in coastal marine and inland waters by establishing appropriate legal mechanisms, coordinating the use of land and water with other activities, using the best and most suitable genetic material in accordance with the requirements for the conservation and sustainable use of the external environment and the conservation of biological diversity, application of social and environmental impact assessments.

Mineral resources of the World Ocean - These are solid, liquid and gaseous minerals. There are resources of the shelf zone and resources of the deep seabed.

First place among shelf zone resources belongs to oil and gas. The main oil production areas are the Persian, Mexican, and Guinea Gulfs, the coast of Venezuela, and the North Sea. There are offshore oil and gas bearing areas in the Bering and Okhotsk seas. Total number There are more than 30 oil and gas basins explored in the sedimentary strata of the ocean shelf. Most of them are continuations of land basins. Total oil reserves on the shelf are estimated at 120–150 billion tons.

Among the solid minerals of the shelf zone, three groups can be distinguished:

Primary deposits of ores of iron, copper, nickel, tin, mercury, etc.;

Coastal-marine placers;

Phosphorite deposits in the deeper parts of the shelf and on the continental slope.

Primary deposits Metal ores are mined using mines laid from the shore or from islands. Sometimes such workings go under the seabed at a distance of 10-20 km from the coast. Extracted from underwater subsoil iron ore(off the coast of Kyushu Island, in Hudson Bay), coal (Japan, Great Britain), sulfur (USA).

IN coastal-marine placers contains zirconium, gold, platinum, diamonds. Examples of such developments include diamond mining - off the coast of Namibia; zirconium and gold - off the coast of the USA; amber - on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Phosphorite deposits have been explored primarily in the Pacific Ocean, but so far their industrial development has not been carried out anywhere.

The main wealth deep sea ocean floor – ferromanganese nodules. It has been established that nodules occur in the upper film of deep-sea sediments at a depth of 1 to 3 km, and at a depth of more than 4 km they often form a continuous layer. The total reserves of nodules amount to trillions of tons. In addition to iron and manganese, they contain nickel, cobalt, copper, titanium, molybdenum and other elements (more than 20). The largest number of nodules were found in the central and eastern parts Pacific Ocean. The USA, Japan and Germany have already developed technologies for extracting nodules from the ocean floor.

In addition to iron-manganese nodules, iron-manganese crusts are also found on the ocean floor, covering rocks in the areas of mid-ocean ridges at a depth of 1 - 3 km. They contain more manganese than nodules.

Energetic resources – fundamentally accessible mechanical and thermal energy of the World Ocean, of which it is mainly used tidal energy. There are tidal power stations in France at the mouth of the Rane River, in Russia the Kislogubskaya TPP on the Kola Peninsula. Projects for use are being developed and partially implemented energy of waves and currents. The largest tidal energy resources are found in France, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Argentina, the USA, and Russia. The tide height in these countries reaches 10-15 m.

Sea water is also a resource of the World Ocean. It contains about 75 chemical elements. About... /... are extracted from sea waters. mined in the world table salt, 60% magnesium, 90% bromine and potassium. Sea waters in a number of countries are used for industrial desalination. The largest producers of fresh water are Kuwait, USA, Japan.

With the intensive use of the resources of the World Ocean, its pollution occurs as a result of the discharge of industrial, agricultural, household and other waste, shipping, and mining into rivers and seas. Oil pollution and disposal in the deep ocean pose a particular threat toxic substances and radioactive waste. The problems of the World Ocean are the problems of the future of human civilization. They require concerted international measures to coordinate the use of its resources and prevent further pollution.

Recreational resources

Recreational resources include:

1) Natural and recreational.

2) Natural-historical (cultural-historical).

The first group includes objects and natural phenomena that can be used for recreation, tourism and treatment. These are sea coasts with a favorable climate, banks of rivers and lakes, mountains, forests, mineral springs, and healing mud. In areas with such recreational resources, resort areas, recreation areas, nature reserves, and national parks are created.

The second group includes monuments of history, archaeology, architecture and art. Most ancient cities of Europe and Russia are rich in cultural and historical attractions, worldwide fame have the Egyptian pyramids and temples of Luxor, the Taj Mahal mausoleum in India, the remains of ancient Mayan and Aztec cities in Latin America.

The richest recreational resources are found in countries where favorable natural conditions are combined with cultural and historical attractions. First of all, these are the Mediterranean countries - Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, European countries such as France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, as well as Mexico, India, Thailand.

Natural recreational resources are a complex of physical, biological and energy-informational elements and forces of nature that are used in the process of restoration and development of a person’s physical and spiritual strength, his ability to work and health. Almost all natural resources have recreational and tourist potential, but the degree of its use varies and depends on recreational demand and the specialization of the region.

According to classifications accepted in environmental economics, based on the dual nature of the concept of “natural resources”, reflecting their natural origin, p. on the one hand, and economic importance, on the other, natural recreational resources can be grouped by:

origin;

types of recreational use;

speed. exhaustion (quickly exhausted, slowly exhausted, inexhaustible);

self-healing and cultivation capabilities (renewable, relatively renewable and non-renewable);

opportunities for economic replenishment (renewable, irreplaceable);

the possibility of replacing some resources with others.

In recent years, attention to natural resources has been increasing from the point of view of using them for active recreation of the population and therapeutic, preventive and medical measures. The country's transition to market relations has raised in a new way the issues of exploitation of resort areas, as well as the development of the capabilities of components of the natural environment directly for medicinal purposes.

There are areas in Russia where recreational activity is the determining industry in the structure of their social reproduction. It includes a network of recreational enterprises and organizations.

The characteristics of recreational resources in the main landscape and climatic zones make it possible to evaluate these zones in comparison (by the richness of these resources), which helps to identify the most effective directions for the development of the resort network of our country.

About a third of Russia's territory is occupied by the taiga zone. All of it is potentially favorable for active climatotherapy. At the same time, the presence of blood-sucking insects, which cause great concern to people and animals and create uncomfortable conditions for treatment and outdoor recreation, has a negative impact. The epidemiological situation in certain years is also a serious problem.

The greatest wealth in terms of recreational resources is represented by zones of mixed forests and forest-steppe. It was here that the most favorable conditions of existence and life activity for the population of Russia were formed and preserved, which can represent an ecological optimum for the development of civilization in Eastern Europe and parts of the Siberian region. It was here that a unique Russian culture was formed in its expanded understanding, taking into account its future sustainable development. In this regard, the recreational conditions of this special zone are most favorable for conscious work in recreation, which can always be nearby and will not be replaced by short-term and annoying, although exotically educational, resorts.

As for the recreational resources of semi-desert and desert zones, their landscape conditions are unfavorable for the development of resort construction, with the exception of individual oases.

Very favorable for the location of resort health resorts Mediterranean zone, which includes wet and dry subtropics. However, the collapse of the USSR significantly reduced the recreational opportunities of Russia in this regard. From mountain areas the Caucasus is of greatest interest, promising Altai region and a number of eastern mountainous regions.

One of important elements recreational potential of settlements (i.e. places of permanent residence of the population), primarily major cities, is landscape architecture, i.e. a conscious harmonious combination of natural anthropogenic landscapes and their individual components (vegetation, relief, reservoirs) with settlements, architectural complexes and structures. Traditional objects of landscape architecture are parks, gardens, boulevards, public gardens, green spaces in urban neighborhoods, as well as areas of reservoirs, forest parks, etc., used mainly for recreation. Examples of landscape architecture are the palace ensembles of the Moscow region (Arkhangelskoye, Kuskovo), the suburbs of St. Petersburg (Petro Palace, Pavlovsk, Pushkin), and certain new areas (microdistricts) of residential development.

One of the most effective ways satisfaction of recreational needs is tourism. It combines not only recreation and health improvement, but also cultural and educational activities and communication (the latter is often expressed in the forms of scientific conferences, special cultural programs, and business contacts). excursion tourism with pre-announced cultural program. Depending on the purpose of travel, tourism is divided into sports, amateur, social, business (fairs, congresses), religious, etc. Depending on the means of transportation, tourism is divided into water, pedestrian, railway, horse, ski, bicycle, motorcycle and auto tourism.

Specially protected natural areas ( SPNA). They belong to the objects of the national heritage and represent areas of land, water surface and air space above them, where natural complexes and objects are located that have special environmental, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, recreational and health value, which are withdrawn by decisions of public authorities completely or partly from economic use and for which a special protection regime has been established.

According to leading estimates international organizations at the end of 1990, there were about 10 thousand large protected natural areas of all types in the world. The total number of national parks was close to 2000, and biosphere reserves- to 350.

Taking into account the peculiarities of the regime and status of the environmental institutions located on them, the following categories of these territories are usually distinguished:

state natural reserves, including biosphere reserves;

National parks;

natural parks;

state natural reserves;

natural monuments;

dendrological parks and botanical gardens;

medical and recreational areas and resorts.

National parks are environmental, environmental, educational and scientific research institutions, the territories (water areas) of which include natural complexes and objects of special ecological, historical and aesthetic value, and which are intended for use for environmental, educational, scientific and cultural purposes and for regulated tourism. For example, in the Russian Federation, by the beginning of 1999, there were 34 national parks, the total officially established area of ​​which was 6784.6 thousand hectares, and by the beginning of 2000 - 35 parks with a total area of ​​6956 thousand hectares (0.4% of the total territory Russian Federation).

The vast majority of national parks are located in the European part of the Russian Federation. National parks were formed on the territory of 13 republics within the Russian Federation, 2 territories and 20 regions. Most of the national parks (34) were directly subordinate to the former Federal Forestry Service of Russia and one was under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Government (“Losiny Ostrov”).

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Biomass as natural resource

The living matter of the biosphere has a mass of 2.4 10 12 tons, the biomass of the ocean is estimated at 3 10 10 tons. The annual increase in biomass in the ocean is 4.3 10 11 tons, the annual increase in biomass on land is 4.5 10 11 tons. It has been established that the biomass of the ocean is 200-215 times less than the biomass of land, and in dry form, when recalculated at 14% humidity, it is even less. The productivity of an average unit of land area turned out to be a thousand times greater than the productivity of an average unit of ocean area. Consequently, humanity is forced to rely mainly on land resources for food production. But marine biological resources, of course, have a certain significance in solving the food problem, and for a number of countries it is quite significant. Natural resources should be considered not only as biomass; species diversity as a guarantor of stability and prospects for resource growth.

Use of terrestrial biological resources

On land, the biomass of living matter is 2.37 × 10 12 tons, with the bulk of it being green plants (99.2%), in contrast to the World Ocean, where animals dominate (93.7%). The mass of living matter on the continents is 800 times greater than the biomass of the ocean, and there are significant differences in the distribution of living organisms on land and in the ocean. Although the distribution of living matter in the ocean is rather uneven, it nevertheless covers the entire water column. On the mainland, plants occupy space in the form of a thin layer that envelops the surface of the planet with sharp breaks. Vegetation is practically absent in the areas continental glaciations and in extremely dry desert areas. Living organisms, being in close interaction with the natural environment, have adapted to certain living conditions and developed their appearance, morphological structure and physiological characteristics.

To date, data have been received on quantitative characteristics biological productivity of the main plant formations of the territory of the former USSR. According to N.I. Bazilevich (1986), the distribution of phytomass reserves is subject to leading geographical patterns - zonal, regional and altitudinal. The amount of biomass especially depends on such climatic indicators as air temperature, annual quantity precipitation, the sum of active temperatures and other factors (Table 1).

Table 1. Biological productivity of zonal types of soil and plant formations globe(after Bazilevich, 1986)

Types of soil and plant formations	Phyto-mass reserve, t/ha
Polar deserts
Tundras on gley-tundra soils
Coniferous forests of the northern taiga on gley-podzolic soils
Coniferous forests of the middle taiga on podzolic soils
Coniferous forests southern taiga on soddy-podzolic soils
Broadleaf forests on gray forest soils
Broadleaf forests on brown forest soils
Semi-shrub deserts on gray-brown soils
Broad-leaved forests on red soils and yellow soils
Deserts on subtropical soils
Tropical rainforests on red earth ferral lithic soils
Amazon rainforests
Deserts on tropical soils
Mangrove vegetation of sea coasts

A certain pattern is also noted in the structure of phytomass: the more severe climatic conditions, the greater the share of phytomass falls on the underground part of plants.

It is known that the most high values phytomass reserves (421.9 t/ha) and annual production (24.5 t/ha) are typical for deciduous moist forests of Transcaucasia, as well as for deciduous forests of the temperate zone (324 t/ha). The coniferous formations of the taiga have significant biomass, with the maximum values ​​typical for spruce forests. The increase in biomass and annual production of spruce forests for various subzones of the taiga is clearly recorded. The same pattern was noted for pine forests: in the northern taiga their biomass is 83.1 t/ha, and in the southern taiga - 203.8 t/ha. The structure of the phytomass of taiga forests is sharply dominated by perennial lignified above-ground parts (up to 76%).

To the north of the taiga zone - in the tundra and polar deserts - there is a sharp decrease in biomass and phytomass production (Vronsky, 1989). Polar deserts have the lowest values ​​of phytomass reserves (1.58 t/ha) and annual production (0.24 t/ha). These ecosystems are characterized by an excess of the reserves of plant residues over the reserves of living phytomass (especially in swamps), since here the decomposition of organic matter proceeds extremely slowly. In the structure of tundra phytomass, despite the significant amount of mosses and lichens, the share of underground organs dominates.

A sharp decrease in phytomass reserves and annual production is also observed during the transition from forest formations to arid regions. Minimum values ​​(6 t/ha with annual production up to 1.7 t/ha) were noted for the solonetz semi-deserts of the Caspian Sea. Arid ecosystems are also characterized by a high proportion of underground organs (in zonal semi-deserts - 81%).

In mountainous areas there is a similar dependence of plant biomass on climatic factors, among which the controlling criteria are temperature and air humidity. The phyto-mass indicators of the mountains of arid and humid regions (Western Pamir and the Gissar ridge of the Pamir-Alai) are especially different. In mountainous areas, the maximum phytomass occurs in the forest belt, above which to the peaks mountain systems the value of biomass decreases sharply. The Greater Caucasus is especially indicative in this regard, where the maximum reserves of phytomass are characteristic of broad-leaved (345.9 t/ha) and coniferous (301.1 t/ha) forests. The phytomass of mountain tall grass meadows reaches only 31.2 t/ha. In the Carpathians and Sayans, coniferous forests have the largest reserves of phytomass (294.5 and 222.8 t/ha, respectively).

Birds and some mammals (badgers, etc.) play an important role in protecting plants (including agricultural ones) from insect pests, successfully preventing outbreaks of their mass reproduction in most cases. Birds of prey protect crops from numerous rodents. For example, an owl catches up to a thousand mice a year, thereby saving at least 0.5 tons of grain. Along with birds, some insects successfully participate in protecting plants from pests. Thus, the red forest ant, destroying caterpillars, acts more effectively than pesticides. Many of these animals can be used in organizing biological methods of pest control in fields and forests.

Animals are not only part of natural systems, but also have enormous economic importance. Wild animals themselves and their waste products are used in various sectors of the economy.

The distribution and quantity of the planet's biomass in the modern era depend not only on soil and climatic conditions. A new environmental factor is gaining increasing strength - anthropogenic impact. The role of plants in the Earth's biosphere is enormous. They provide oxygen and food to all living organisms; Ultimately, they provide energy and many raw materials to human society. In addition, forest formations absorb a variety of atmospheric pollution of anthropogenic origin (heavy metals, carbon and sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, etc.).

Almost the entire forest zone of Russia can be inhabited by moose. By 1918 they were almost completely destroyed. In 1919, elk were protected, and fifty years later their numbers numbered in the hundreds of thousands, allowing limited elk hunting to open. Thanks to protection, it was also possible to restore the livestock and organize fishing for such a valuable fur-bearing animal as sable, which by the end of the 19th century. lost its commercial significance.

Wild animals are used for domestication. Many animals and birds are bred on special farms and animal farms. For example, in Africa and Australia they raise ostriches, in the USA and Cuba - crocodiles, in the countries of Northern Europe and Russia - many fur-bearing animals: sable, mink, arctic fox, rabbit, fox, etc. Muskox are bred on farms in Norway, Canada and Alaska , which provide tasty meat, skins and very valuable fur. In the Republic of Sri Lanka, elephants serve as draft animals. In a number of countries around the world (Japan, France, USA, etc.) special marine farms for breeding oysters have been created.

Wild animals were exterminated not only in the process of hunting. Mass destruction animals were also carried out in connection with the development of agricultural production in order to free up space for arable land or for grazing livestock. A similar fate befell the bison in North America, the number of which exceeded 60 million by the beginning of the colonization of America. The hunting of bison by Indians and the first colonists to use their meat for food could not cause significant damage to the giant herd. But construction railways and the activities of industrial companies harvesting bison hides quickly led to the destruction of tens of millions of bison. They were also exterminated in order to deprive the Indians of sources of food and thereby force them to leave fertile lands. As a result, by 1886, only 600 bison remained throughout America. Along with them, countless herds of antelopes were destroyed. The expulsion of the Indians from their native places and the extermination of the bison were prerequisites for the development of intensive agriculture in America. Similar processes took place in all developed territories. Thus, to expand sheep pastures in Australia, kangaroos were intensively exterminated. To date, 7 species of kangaroo have disappeared in Australia. IN late XIX V. On the island of Tasmania, sheep farmers exterminated the marsupial wolf, which has now completely disappeared.

B XIX century Russian fishermen annually mined over 1,000 skins of a rare fur-bearing animal - the sea otter, which led to a sharp drop in its numbers. Seals, sables, bison, moose and many other species of animals were almost completely exterminated. All of them are currently included in the Red Book. The most endangered species are 16 species of mammals: muskrat, Amur tiger, Snow Leopard, Atlantic walrus, bowhead whale, northern blue whale, northern humpback whale, northern fin whale, goral, Asian river beaver, monk seal, Japanese whale, horned goat, bison, East Siberian leopard.

Hunting occupies a fairly large place in the country's economy. In vast regions of Russia, it serves as a means of primary or additional income, and for many residents of the Far North - the main source of livelihood.

Thanks to wild animals in many regions of our country, it is possible to quickly and minimum costs increase food production.

Thus, in the arid steppes and semi-deserts of the Northern Caspian Sea and in the neighboring territories of Kazakhstan at the beginning of the 20th century. Huge herds of saigas were almost completely destroyed. In the second half of the century, they were taken under state protection, and hunting them was prohibited. Thanks to this, the saiga herd was restored, which made it possible to shoot thousands of these animals every year. Thus, large amounts of meat and leather could be obtained without great expense from vast tracts of dry land.

General geographical and historical information

The Yaroslavl region is located in the center of the European part of Russia. The surface is a slightly hilly, moraine, sometimes swampy plain, turning in the east into vast lowlands - the Yaroslavl-Kostroma and Rostov; in the north-west - the Mologo-Sheksninskaya lowland. A strip of hills stretches from the southwest to the northeast: Uglichskaya, Danilovskaya, etc.; height up to 292 m. In the southeast - the outskirts of the Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya ridge. The main river is the Volga, the largest reservoirs are the Rybinsk and Kostroma reservoirs, lakes Nero and Pleshcheyevo. Forests occupy about 36% of the territory. Included in the Central Federal District. It borders with the regions: Moscow, Tver, Vologda, Kostroma, Ivanovo and Vladimir. Territory 36.4 thousand km2, population - 1338.7 thousand people, National composition: Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Belarusians; urban residents - 80.4%. Includes 17 administrative districts, 11 cities, 16 urban-type settlements. Big cities- Yaroslavl, Rybinsk, Tutaev. The administrative center is Yaroslavl. Located 282 km northeast of Moscow, on the Volga. Population - 627.5 thousand people. Territory of the region since the 9th century. was part of Kievan Rus. In the 13th century An independent Yaroslavl principality was formed here, which was devastated by the Mongol-Tatars in the same century. Yaroslavl was founded in 1010. Prince Yaroslav the Wise, like a fortress at the confluence of the river. Kotorosl with the Volga River. First mentioned in 1071. In the 11th -12th centuries. - border city of the Rostov-Suzdal principality. Since 1218 - the capital of the independent Yaroslavl principality. Since 1463 - as part of the Moscow Grand Duchy. During the struggle against the Polish intervention in 1612. in the city there was a people's militia under the leadership of K. Minin and D. Pozharsky. In the 17th century Yaroslavl is a large trading center (bread, flax, fish; the land road from Moscow to Arkhangelsk passed through the city); as well as crafts - there were leather and linen workshops. After 1658 stone construction unfolds; to the second half of the 17th century. In Yaroslavl, original schools of stone architecture and wall paintings developed. In 1722 By decree of Peter 1, the creation of the Yaroslavl large manufactory began. In the 18th century the city became a significant industrial center. In 1750 in Yaroslavl actor Volkov F.G. founded the first professional theater in Russia. In 1854 Regular steamship service has been opened along the river. Volga: Yaroslavl - Nizhny Novgorod. In 1870-98. Yaroslavl was connected by railway with Moscow, Vologda, Kostroma, and St. Petersburg. Since 1936 Yaroslavl is the administrative center of the Yaroslavl region.

Mineral resources

The specificity of the geological structure is such that the region among the regions of Russia is the poorest in mineral resources. Apart from common minerals (sands, clays, peat, sapropel), practically no other deposits of mineral raw materials have been discovered. The total industrial reserves of mineral raw materials, as specified by the state balance of mineral resources for construction industry enterprises, amounted to more than 325 million m3. Within 9 districts of the region there are 39 lake deposits of sapropel with reserves of 195.7 million tons on an area of ​​12.5 thousand hectares. The main reserves are concentrated in the lake. Nero Rostov region (balance - 88 million tons). A titanium-zirconium placer of complex composition was discovered near the village of Glebovo; the content in the sands is: ilmenite - 30 kg/m3, rutile - 6.06 kg/m3, zircon - 1.7 kg/m3, magnetite - 15 kg/m3 and staurolite - 57 kg/m3. The region has significant explored reserves of peat (about 400 million tons in wet weight), of which about 70% are contained in large deposits with a peat area of ​​more than 1000 hectares. There are known deposits of expanded clay raw materials (loams, clays) in the region, from which the Braginskoye deposit is being developed with an annual production of about 100 thousand tons. Geological natural monuments. Tikhvinskoe (paleontological type of federal rank) is a unique deposit of remains of Triassic vertebrates and plants on the right bank of the river. Volga in the area of ​​the villages Krasnoye, Tikhvinskoye - Parshino. By decision International Convention for the preservation of cultural and natural objects, it is included in the World List of Geological Sites and named the best in the former USSR; it has no analogues in the world. Glebovo (paleontological type of federal rank) is a village on the right bank of the river. Volga. In the coastal cliff, deposits of the middle substage of the Volgian stage are exposed, in which numerous remains of ammonoid shells are present. Lake Somino (hydrogeological type of federal rank) - on the territory of the Pereslavl region. At the bottom of a small lake, the most powerful deposits of sapropel in the world have accumulated - up to 40 m, which is rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, microelements, biological growth stimulants and other biologically active substances.

Water resources

Surface waters. On the territory of the region there are: 83 lakes, the largest of which are Pleshcheyevo (Pereslavskoye) and Nero (Rostovskoye) with a total volume of 636 million m3, 4327 rivers with a total length of 19,340 km, of which 3969 rivers are up to 10 km long, with an area The catchment area is about 6 km2. Surface runoff is formed both from the influx of river waters from neighboring regions and from intraregional runoff. Length of the river The Volga River in the region is 340 km long, there are 3 reservoirs on it: Uglichskoye (Yaroslavl, Tver regions), Rybinskoye (Yaroslavl, Tver, Vologda regions), Gorkovskoye (Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod region). The width of the Volga is 500-650 m. Before the creation of reservoirs, the depths during low-water periods near Uglich, Myshkin, Rybinsk, Koprin, and below Yaroslavl fell up to 30 cm. Now the Volga is a deep-water river; on the fairway there are no depths of less than 2.5 m. The fall of the river within the region is small - only 2.5 cm per 1 km. The current speeds are low - 0.2-0.3 m/sec. Near Yaroslavl, the Volga carries an average of 1200 m3 of water per second. There are summer floods on the Volga, but they are low: 0.5-1 m. The Volga is accessible for navigation 200 days a year. Below the dam of the Ivankovo ​​hydroelectric complex, the Volga turns to the northeast. In this area, the Upper Volga lowland is bordered from the southeast by the spurs of the Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya ridge, the Uglich and Borisoglebskaya uplands. Here in 1940 the Uglich reservoir was filled. Its length is 136 km, the mirror area is 249 km2, the total volume is 1.24 km3 (useful volume is 0.83 km3). The Rybinsk Reservoir was filled from 1941 to 1947. after the dams blocked the Volga near the city of Perebor and Sheksna near the city of Rybinsk. The mirror area is 4550 km2, the average depth is 5.6 m (the largest is 30.4 m), the total volume is 25.4 m3 (useful - 16.7 m3). From 1955 to 1957 The Gorky Reservoir was filling up. The mirror area is 1591 km2, the average depth is 5.5 m (the greatest is 21 m). The reservoir mirror has a complex configuration. Between Rybinsk and Yaroslavl the floodplain and the first terrace above the floodplain, below the confluence of the river, are flooded. Kostroma is a vast lowland where the Kostroma floods formed. A complex of problems is created by the Uglich, Rybinsk and Gorky reservoirs. Lack of regular sanitary releases at dams, rip currents rivers, the formation of stagnant zones and the accumulation of pollutants in places of water discharge. Uglich, Rybinsk, Tutaev, Yaroslavl, constant pollution of the water of the Rybinsk reservoir by the Cherepovets industrial hub, the accumulation of pollutants in bottom sediments - all this is a source of secondary pollution of the river waters. Volga. Under the influence of reservoirs, flooding of land occurs. The groundwater. Geological reserves of groundwater in the region are quite large. But aquiferous moraine and lower Cretaceous strata rocks have low water yield. Sands that concentrate water in their thickness are often fine-grained, so well filters quickly become clogged, silted, and fail. Explored deposits, mainly with reserves of up to 5-6 thousand m3/day, are located in close proximity to water consumers and are exploited, as a rule, by local housing and communal services, agricultural and small industrial enterprises. For water supply of large industrial enterprises Groundwater deposits with reserves of 20 thousand m3/day or more have been explored. Widespread mineral drinking water and brines, which are widely used in medical institutions, as well as in factories for bottling into glass and polyethylene containers. Mineral drinking waters with a mineralization of 3-10 g/dm3 lie at a depth of 150-300 m. Uglich mineral water is very famous - in a liter it contains up to 4.2 g of potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium salts. There are also mineral water sources in the Krasnoperekopsky district of Yaroslavl, in Varnitsy near Rostov and other places.

Forest resources

The region is located within the forest zone. Its northern part belongs to the western region of taiga-coniferous forests, and the southern part belongs to the northwestern region of coniferous and broad-leaved forests. In terms of absolute area, there are more forests in the Poshekhonsky and Pereslavl districts, and less in the Myshkinsky and Nekrasovsky districts. Total area of ​​forest land, total, thousand hectares - 1779.5; forest cover,% - 45.2; total standing timber stock, million m3 - 249.3. Soft-leaved plantations predominate, of which the most common are birch and aspen. Coniferous forests occupy 39%, of which pine - 13%, spruce - 26%. Of the hardwood species in the south of the region, oak grows on an area of ​​1.7 thousand hectares. The primary forests of the region include spruce, pine and black alder forests. In place of the clearing of primary forests, secondary forest communities arose. Of the spruce forests, the most common are green moss spruce forests, which include the following associations: spruce forests - oxalis, blueberry, lingonberry. Long-moss spruce forests grow in poorly drained depressions. There are also sphagnum spruce forests and marsh-grass spruce forests. The main forest-forming species of all spruce forests is common spruce. Spruce in these forests makes up at least 40% of the timber reserves. Pine forests spruce forests are less common and are confined mainly to the right bank of the Volga in the Uglich-Rybinsk section, as well as to the Nerl and Volga-Kostroma lowlands. Among the pine forests, groups can be distinguished: white moss (lichen), sphagnum, green moss, compound and grass. Birch forests make up more than 40% of the region's forests. Silver birch most often takes part in their formation, and downy birch is also found on soils with excessive moisture. Aspen trees grow on relatively rich soils. Aspen can also form birch-aspen and spruce-aspen plantations. This is the fastest growing tree in the region's forests. Gray alder forests are quite common. They usually form near populated areas or along river banks and are constantly exposed to human influence. Forests of sticky alder are less common. From tree species, introduced into forests artificially, Siberian larch, Siberian pine or cedar, Banks pine are more widely represented. The cultivation of cedar deserves attention, but its plantings are few, mainly due to the lack of seeds and the destruction of plantings by elk. Siberian larch is more widely cultivated - it is an exceptionally fast-growing species, the introduction of which into forests helps to increase their productivity. The sanitary condition of the forests is generally satisfactory.

Land biological resources and aquatic biological resources

asthenia. The wild flora of the region includes about 1,130 plant species, of which 252 species are rare, 63 species require enhanced protection, 9 species are listed in the Red Book of Russia. These are: true lady's slipper, orchis capillaria, insect-bearing orchis, foliage-bearing beetle, Flerov's wrestler, Lezel's liparis, Traunsteiner's finger-horn, lacustrine and bristly. Over the past 50 years, the flora of the Yaroslavl Volga region has disappeared from the flora of the Yaroslavl Volga region: lady's slipper, water chestnut, neottiantha capulata and some others, the reserves of sleep grass, bifolia hatches, lily of the valley, valerian, etc. have decreased. Due to deforestation and drainage of swamps, the reserves of common species ( cranberries, blueberries, hazels). IN vegetation cover In the region, swamp vegetation occupies a significant place. 95.6 thousand hectares are occupied by swamps. About 90 rare species for the region grow in the swamp areas, among which there are many relicts of the pre-glacial period and valuable young plants (dropsy, Lezel's elkweed, dwarf birch, heartleaf cache, hop-leaved raspberry, blueberry willow, Traunsteiner's fingerroot, etc.). The flora of the region is rich in plant species of great practical importance: wood, pulp, paper and decorative, tanning, food and aromatic, medicinal and poisonous, fodder, melliferous, perganic and field weeds. Animals. The fauna of the region is typical of the southern taiga and coniferous-deciduous forests and is mainly represented by forest species. These are large and small predatory animals, ungulates, insectivores, lagomorphs, rodents, and among birds - passerines, chickens, day and night predators. Open landscapes are characterized by small rodents, bats, predators, ducks, snipes, and gulls. There are 9 species of amphibians. Waterfowl and waders that live in reservoirs are a separate group of birds whose life is closely connected with water. About 70 species are found along the rivers, lakes and swamps of the region. Among insectivorous animals, the water shrew, or shrew, is quite common in reservoirs; the muskrat is less common. The water vole, which lives in local reservoirs, is better known in the region as water rat, which is the object of hunting and produces beautiful fur. Reptiles are not very common in northern latitudes, and therefore their species composition in the region is very limited. The region's reptile fauna includes five species: three species of lizards and two species of snakes. Birds in the region have the largest number of species among the entire composition of vertebrates. Half of them belong to forest birds and combine several independent orders. Most of the forest's avifauna are typical representatives of taiga forests. Representatives of many orders of mammals live in forests. From carnivorous mammals In addition to lynx and bear, there are: wolf, fox, raccoon dog, badger, marten, ferret, ermine, weasel. Common rodents: white hare, common squirrel, flying squirrel (not for all areas), red squirrel forest vole, the common vole, and the latter usually accompanies the development of virgin forest land for arable land. Chiropterans (bats) inhabiting the area are no different great variety and almost all can be classified as forest dwellers. This group, poorly studied in the region, consists of several species, which include: bats - water and whiskered bats, long-eared bats, noctules - small and rufous, dwarf pipistrelle and common bat two-tone leather. Ungulates: elk, sika deer, roe deer, maral, and wild boar, which comes from the hunting grounds of the Tver region. Among mammals, representatives of three orders live in fields and meadows. Among them are rodents: several species of voles, mice, hamsters and brown hare. Certain species of mouse-like rodents have been studied relatively little in the region. The smallest of them is the tiny mouse. It is found in many areas of the region. The area of ​​assigned hunting grounds is 3110 thousand hectares. 20 local reserves have been established, where the following animals are protected: squirrel, hare, elk, wild boar, wood grouse, black grouse, hazel grouse and other animals. Beavers live in the Ermakovsky (Poshekhonsky district) and Kozsky (Pervomaisky district) reserves, the beaver and muskrat live in Sotinsky (Lyubimsky district), and the muskrat is the main object of protection in Ustyevsky (Rostovsky district). These areas are home to about 50 species of game animals, the main game animals being: elk, wild boar, squirrel, mountain hare, fox, raccoon dog, polecat, marten, muskrat, waterfowl and upland birds; 6 species of mammals are licensed, the production of which is limited: elk, wild boar, beaver, otter, and bear. Due to small numbers, hunting white and gray partridge is prohibited. Wolf hunting is not limited in time and is encouraged. The remaining hunting reserves are general-species reserves. Two micro-reserves are entomological: in the Pereslavl region - a bumblebee reserve, in the Uglich region - colonies of ants, nests of bumblebees and solitary bees are protected. The total area of ​​the reserves is 168.6 thousand hectares, which is 4.6% of the area of ​​the region. The region's fisheries resources include rivers, lakes, ponds and reservoirs. In the natural reservoirs of the region there are: bream, pike perch, pike, bluegill, sabrefish, burbot, ide, roach, silver bream, perch, asp, smelt, ruffe, vendace, catfish, dace, white-eye, tench, crucian carp, bleak, bersh, chub, podust, sterlet, spined loach, loach, gudgeon, nelma, peled, grayling, minnow, rudd, verkhovka, carp, char. In the ponds of fish farms, the following are grown: silver carp, grass carp, resettled from the Far Eastern regions, as well as carp. These fish, in addition to their economic importance, play a big role in the fight against overgrowing of water bodies. On the river The Volga formed extensive artificial reservoirs. New hydrological regime caused changes in the qualitative composition of the ichthyofauna. Migratory fish - sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, beluga, whitefish and others - have completely disappeared. Belozersk smelt and vendace have penetrated into the reservoirs and are forming commercial aggregations. Among the new species introduced recently is the peled, which is increasingly found in the Rybinsk and Gorky reservoirs. The main commercial fish species: bream, pike, pike perch, bluegill, roach, perch, silver bream, burbot, ide, asp, vendace, bleak, crucian carp, catfish, sabrefish, smelt, 39 species in total. Protected species: Upper Volga population of European grayling, Pereslavl vendace.

Climate Resources

The climate is temperate continental with short, relatively warm summers, long, moderately cold winters and distinct seasons of spring and autumn. The average monthly temperature of the coldest month of the year - January - varies from -10.5°C to -12°C, the warmest month - July - from +17.5°C to +18.5°C. The area is located in a zone of sufficient moisture - total atmospheric precipitation is 500 - 600 mm per year, 70% of it falls during the growing season and about 30% in winter. The amount of evaporation is on average 400 mm. Thus, the total amount of precipitation exceeds the amount of possible evaporation. This provides high air humidity. The highest relative humidity occurs in December (65-93%), the lowest in May (52-56%). The growing season is 165-170 days. The entire territory of the Yaroslavl Volga region in agroclimatic terms is divided into two large regions, the border between which is the river. Volga. The first region, the left bank of the Volga, is divided into two subregions according to the degree of moisture supply: during the period of average temperatures above 10°C - the western one with a precipitation amount of 260-300 mm and the eastern one with a precipitation amount of about 250 mm. The second region (right bank) is also divided into the western - with a moisture supply of 260-300 mm and the eastern, with precipitation of about 250 mm. Duration of sustainable snow cover in the first region there are 5 more days, and its average height is 10 cm higher than in the second region. The duration of the period with an average daily air temperature above +5°C in the first region is 5 days less than in the second.

Bioresources of land Plants. In the region, 1932 species of higher plants, except mosses, have been recorded. The largest genera in the natural flora in terms of the number of species are sedge - 45 species, hawkweed - 32, cinquefoil - 24, speedwell - 22, knotweed - 21, astragalus - 19, violet - 19, wormwood - 19, wheatgrass and buttercup - 17 species each , constituting 15% of the entire flora of the region. Except wild species, 355 cultivated and 362 weed species are registered. Among the most cultivated species are pine, willow and moth. Weeds predominate among buckwheat, cruciferous, labiaceae, quinoaceae, borage, asteraceae, noricaceae and umbelliferae. In terms of the absolute number of weed species, the first place is occupied by Asteraceae, cruciferous plants, grasses, Lamiaceae, mothweeds and buckwheat, accounting for more than half of all weeds in the region. Cultivated and weed plants, i.e. anthropophytes make up over 37% of the total number of species. There are 170 species of woody introduced species. They come from North America(56 species), Far East (38), Europe (24), Eurasia (22), Western Europe(13), Asia (10), Siberia (4) and Africa (1 species). The region is dominated by two types of vegetation - forests and steppes, a smaller area is occupied by floodplain meadows, and swamps are very rare. Protected species. Due to deforestation, plowing of steppes and meadows, increased grazing, etc., some plant groups (for example, feather grass steppes at Toida station, sphagnum bogs at Otrozhka station and in Khrenovsky Bor) and certain plant species have partially or completely disappeared (low sedge, thin-leaved peony, common twig in the Kamennaya Steppe, low sedge in the Khrenovskaya steppe, etc.). More than 100 plant species are on the verge of extinction. Up to 120 rare plants in the region are under protection, some of them are included in the Red Book of Russia. Almost all representatives of the orchid family are rare - such as lady's slipper; or single-flowered wintergreen from the wintergreen family, etc. Medicinal plants. There are more than 50 medicinal and poisonous plants. Many types are used in folk medicine. The most common and widespread forest medicinal plants: lily of the valley, lungwort, club moss. Animals. The fauna of the region is represented by thousands of species, only vertebrates - more than 430, of which 18 are listed in the Red Book of Russia. There are 70 species of mammals, 290 species of birds, 56 species and subspecies of fish, 10 species of amphibians, 9 species of reptiles. The level of study of different groups of animals is not the same. Regular monitoring is carried out for hunting species and the areas where they live, as well as for the marmot. The class reptiles (reptiles) includes 7 species: 3 types of lizards, 3 types of snakes and one type of turtle. The class of amphibians (amphibians) is represented by 8 species: common lake, pond and sharp-faced frogs, grass frogs, red-bellied toads, spadefoots, green toads and rarer species - gray (common) toads and common newts. The class mammals includes representatives of 6 orders: insectivores, chiropterans, lagomorphs, rodents, carnivores, artiodactyls. 294 bird species have been recorded. Of these, 190 species are currently nesting (or their nesting is very likely), 12 species were noted as nesting in the 19th century, early and mid-20th century, but there is no reliable evidence of nesting in recent years (pink pelican, cormorant, black stork, lutok, osprey, steppe eagle, peregrine falcon, steppe kestrel, black grouse, little bustard, great snipe, white-winged lark). Protected species. A new list of fauna objects included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation has been approved. Compared to the previous Red Book of the RSFSR, the marmot is excluded from the list of rare and endangered species found in the Voronezh region. At the same time, this list has been significantly expanded, and the list of animal species has additionally included 5 species of fish and 12 species of birds. Hunting species. The region is characterized by insignificant development of hunting, which is associated with natural and economic conditions. The total area of ​​hunting grounds is 4,700 thousand hectares (89.7% of the territory). Of these, more than 400 thousand hectares are assigned to the Voronezh regional organization hunters and fishermen, about 400 thousand hectares are occupied by hunting reserves of the State Hunting Supervision. The main hunting species: elk, wild boar, roe deer, red deer, sika deer, brown hare, fox. Aquatic biological resources The composition of the ichthyofauna of the Don River and its tributaries was previously represented by two species of cyclostomes and 60 species and forms of fish. IN last decade 40 species of fish have been recorded within the region. For industrial fishing, you can use the Don River and certain sections of its tributaries: the Voronezh, Potudan, Ikorets, Tikhaya Sosna, Bityug, Chernaya Kalitva, Bogucharka, Khoper, Savala and Vorona rivers, as well as several dozen floodplain lakes and the Voronezh Reservoir. 6 fishing organizations conduct fishing in natural reservoirs. The main commercial fish species: bream, pike perch, carp, silver bream, roach, crucian carp. Reservoirs located in the Upper Don basin are important in the reproduction of fish stocks of local fish species and Tsimlyansky migrants rising up the Don River from the Tsimlyansky Reservoir when flood waters are high. On these reservoirs there are conditions for the reproduction of a good raw material base, bringing it to 20-30 thousand c.