Description of the attraction
The Syabersky Nature Reserve was established in 1976 and is located 35 km west of Luga. The area of the reserve is 11, 4 thousand hectares, including 2 thousand hectares of the water area of the lakes.
The reserve was created with the aim of preserving the lake and river network, kame landscape, low-lying bogs, habitats of large animals, rare plant species. The reserve is promising for family recreation, ecological tourism, exclusive and amateur fishing.
The territory of the Syabersky reserve occupies the place of a water-glacial kame relief, which is a few sandy hills with depressions separating them, some of them are occupied by small and large lakes: Zaverduzhie, Syabero, Gorneshenskoye, Peluga, Lebevoe and others. The main area of the reserve is occupied by pine forests. On the tops of the hills there are heather-lichen pine forests with southern-pine forest species, relics of the post-glacial steppe period. Lingonberry-green moss pine forests, pine forests with sinuous oats are also widespread. In lower places and on the shores of lakes, there are mainly damp dwarf shrub-sphagnum pine forests with molin and wild rosemary, spruce woods. Around the lakes, in the valleys between the hills, in the floodplains of rivers and streams, there are swamps, which are represented by dwarf-sphagnum pine forests on 4-5-meter deep peat. Lakeside and floodplain bogs are represented by black alder forests, birch forests, sedge-hypnum communities, willow forests covered with sphagnum eutrophic mosses with orchids. There are 545 species of vascular plants and 90 species of mosses in the reserve. The local lakes are home to pike, bream, perch, roach, bleak and other fish.
The reserve is inhabited by such rare species of birds as black and white storks, big bittern, osprey, black kite, white-tailed eagle, marsh harrier, lesser spotted eagle, coot, moorhen, corncrake.
The alternation of clear stretches with extensive shallow waters overgrown with aquatic vegetation provides an optimal food base for many species of lamellar bills. Large mergansers, whooper swans, stop at Syabero during the autumn migration.
It is inhabited by such mammals as kutora, muskrat, water vole, badger, beaver, fox, raccoon dog, brown bear, wolf, pine marten, European mink, polecat, wild boar, ermine, elk.
Specially protected objects include pine forests on watersheds, the lake system, rare plant species: Dortmann's lobelia, flexible caulina, some types of orchids, Tartar wildflower, marsh ashtray, green-flowered resin; rare species of animals: big bittern, lesser spotted eagle, black and white storks, corncrake, osprey, roe deer.
On the Syaberskoye lake there is an experimental base of GosNIORKh, where work is being carried out on breeding and growing peled, carp, and other fish with their joint keeping. Some of the lakes were treated with ichthyocides before the settlement of valuable fish species.
On the territory of the Syabersky reserve, it is prohibited to cut trees, harvest resin and bark. It is forbidden to make fires here, dump sewage, let fires go. Tourism is allowed only in the period from April 20 to July 15, the movement of vehicles not on public roads is prohibited, motor boats cannot be used on the lakes.
