Description of the attraction
In the Vyborg district of the Leningrad region there is a state reserve "Swamp Ozernoe" - a large swamp massif and nearby lakes and watersheds.
The swamp was formed on the site of a remnant lake, which was overgrown in these places. Small lakes remain from the former lake massif: Chernushka, Shchukino, Rybachye and several very small lakes and water "ends". The lakes of the reserve are deep enough. So, in Shchukino, the depth is about 12 m, in Rybachye - about 9 m. The layer of bog peat is no more than one and a half meters. Under the peat layer there are fine and fine-grained sand, clayey bluish-gray soils.
The swamp is surrounded by kame hills. They are located chaotically, the isometric shape of the slopes prevails. The length and diameter of the hills at the bottom are not less than 70 and not more than 800 meters. Elongated hills range from 50 to 450 m. Between the hills there are shallow hollows and depressions, sometimes swampy.
The forest part of the reserve is mostly coniferous. Pines predominate. In the north and north-west of the reserve, well-drained soils prevail, on which green moss pine forests grow, reaching 120 meters in height, thickets of lingonberry and heather. The largest pine diameter in these places is 38 cm, which is explained by the excellent microclimate for conifers. The forest canopy contains rowan and birch.
The western border of the Ozernoye bog and reclamation canals created favorable conditions for the growth of a sphagnum-blueberry-cotton grass pine forest, in which many cloudberries ripen annually. In a swamp, next to Lake Rybachy, on a mineral island, in a pine forest, you can find spruce and birch trees. The pines growing in the reserve are rightfully considered the elders. Some trees are up to 120 years old.
In the south of the reserve, in the forest cover: both in the stand, in the main part, and in the undergrowth, coniferous trees predominate. On the southeastern side of Lake Rybachye, tall-stemmed pines, reaching 25 m, and mountain ash, mainly grow. Aspen and spruce can be seen in the lower part of the stand. Most of the pines here are between 110 and 120 years old.
Aquatic vegetation is pretty simple. In Rybachye grow bulbs, Dortmann's lobelia, lacustrine, and the last two species are listed in the Red Book.
In the past, they tried to drain it more than once in the territory of the current reserve; reclamation work was carried out here, from which there were ditches in the north-west and north of the swamp massif and an artificial channel from Rybachy to Shchukino. Human intervention can be seen in the presence of detached high birches that grow along ditches, open peat areas, this can be seen in the change in the width of the annual rings in the trunks of bog pines.
In the northern part of Lake Rybachye there are well-equipped recreation areas.
In the reserve "Swamp Ozernoe" five species of plants from the category of vascular plants, which are included in the Red Book, grow: spring lumbago, Dortmann's lobelia, lacustrine mushroom, turfy downhill, and meadow lumbago.
During spring and autumn migrations, waterfowl, wading birds, passerines stop on the territory of the bog massif. Since there are no suitable biotopes on the water, large concentrations of waterfowl in the reserve are not observed. On Lake Rybachye, flocks of whooper swans can be seen almost every spring. In summer and autumn, migrating flocks of gulls, lapwings, blackies, curlews come here to rest for feeding and rest. On the waters of the Rybachye and Shchukino lakes, gogols are frequent guests.
On the territory of the Ozernoye Swamp nature reserve you can find bird species listed in the Red Book: whirligig, curlews, whooper swan, klintukh, gray shrike. There are also species of black grouse and birds of prey. But due to the frequent visits of people to these places, the avifauna is under heavy pressure, which is the reason for the low population of these birds here.
