Tigirek Nature Reserve

The territory occupies a watershed between the right tributaries of the Charysh River and the upper reaches of the sources of the Alei River. The area of ​​the reserve is 41 505 ha, with a protected area of ​​26 257 ha.

The reserve consists of three sections:

• Beloretsky - the upper reaches of the Belaya River;
• Tigirek - adjacent to the village of Tigirek from the south;
• Hanharinsky is the headwaters of the Bolshaya Hanhara River ^[3] .

Relief

The relief of the reserve is low- and mid-mountain with a predominance of domed peaks. Absolute heights reach 2015 meters above sea level (the city of Black). The relief is mid-mountain with domed peaks. Absolute heights lie within 300-2000 meters above sea level. The average altitudes are 800-1500 m. The dominant peaks are represented by the highest points - Mount Chernaya (2013 m above sea level) and Developed (1962 m above sea level). At the highest points - in the southeastern part of the territory - slopes cut with punches form steep-sided pyramidal peaks and form an alpine relief. It combines areas of mountain tundra, colorful alpine and subalpine meadows ^[4] .

River network

The river network of the reserve is dense and branched. The main part of the reserve is located in the western part of the Tigirek Range and serves as a watershed for the upper third of the Belaya River basin , a tributary of the Charysh River, and the river basin. Inya. Irkutka (a tributary of Belaya) , Bolshaya Berlozhya, Krahalikha flow into Belaya to the right , and the Strizhanka River to the left. In the south-west, the Glubokaya , Chesnokov and Vostochny Alei , Bolshaya Cherepanikh rivers begin. All of them belong to the water system of the Aley ^[5] .

Climate

The climate of the reserve is sharply continental with hot summers and cold winters. The average January temperature is −12 ... −16 ° C, July - + 16 ... + 18 ° C. In January, the temperature can drop to −49 ° C ... −52 ºС (absolute minimum), the absolute maximum of July is +33 ° C ... +38 ºС. Significant humidity (from 600 to 800 mm of precipitation per year).

The features of the vegetation cover of the reserve are determined by its geographical location, heterogeneous climate and a variety of environmental conditions. The main area is occupied by the black taiga, which is an ancient formation.

The following tertiary relics of vascular plants were found on the territory of the reserve: osmorises of the spinous, European ungulate, common wolfberry, broadleaf bellflower ^[6] . Flora includes a large number of medicinal, fodder, melliferous, ornamental plants. Medicinal plants include rhodiola rosea (golden root), safflower raponticum (maralia root), frangipani, etc. Among food plants, sorrel , blueberries , viburnum , wild rose, prickly rose , and asparagus are most known.

The Red Books of the Russian Federation (2008) and Altai Territory (2006) include: Baltic palmate, Cirrus feathery, Altai stelleropsis, Steppe peony, Siberian kandyk and others. In total, 34 species of plants, 12 species of lichens and 2 species of mushrooms, listed in the Red Books of the regional and federal level, grow on the territory of the reserve ^[7] .

The fauna of the reserve is represented, first of all, by such large animals as brown bear , red deer , roe deer , and elk . Sable , columns , ermine , squirrel , chipmunk , and white hare are ubiquitous. Less common are lynx , weasel , wolverine , solongoy , a few musk deer . In the reserve there are many species of birds. The most characteristic forest birds are hazel grouse , black grouse , long-tailed owl , boreal owl , Siberian pine , Siberian capercaillie . On the territory of the reserve, 38 rare and endangered species of animals are found, including 14 species of animals, 16 species of birds, 1 species of fish, 7 species of insects, 1 species from the class of arachnids, included in the national and regional Red Books. Employees of the Tigirek Nature Reserve in the Altai Territory discovered three species of birds that had never been seen before. This is the greenfinch , the big shrike and the small oak tree . The reserve’s press center emphasized that the small oak tree was first noted not only in Altai, but also, possibly, in Western Siberia ^[8] .

On the territory of the Tigiretsky Range, the Tigireksky State Nature Reserve was created in 1999 by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 4, 1999 No. 1342 “On the establishment of the Tigireksky” State Nature Reserve in the Altai Territory with the aim of preserving the biodiversity of typical black taiga and natural complexes of middle mountains Western Altai ^[9] .

Since 2011, the Bolshoi Tigirek ecological trail 70 km long has been operating in the reserve ^[10] . Its transit time is 4 days.

In addition to the ecological route, it is possible to conduct excursion routes on the territory of the reserve, visit natural monuments of regional significance and unique objects located on the territory of the Tigirek reserve) subject to the rules for visiting the reserve ^[11] .

The decision to further develop the ecotropy in the reserve was made in December 2011 ^[12] .

In 2015, a study was conducted as part of the youth project of the Russian Geographical Society "Assessment of the botanical diversity of Western Altai for monitoring and preserving unique mountain ecosystems." Young scientists conducted a number of studies, conducted fieldwork and analyzed satellite images. The result of the work was the creation of a number of new large-scale maps containing up-to-date information on vegetation in the key areas of the reserve. In the future, they will become the basis for the development of ecological paths and other projects on the lands of the reserve ^[13] .

On the territory of the Tigirek Reserve there are 6 natural monuments of the Altai Territory.

• Section of the Silurian Tigirek. This is one of the best sections of the Chagyr and Kuimov Formations, which makes it possible to trace in detail the conditions of Silurian sedimentation.
• Mount Seven Cave. It is a picturesque rock composed of Upper Silurian organogenic limestones. Several caves are known in the rock, among which the most popular are the Struna and Gloomy Caves.
• Cave Hyena's Lair. This is a small karst cavity in Upper Silurian limestone. Known for the finds of fossils of the Pleistocene fauna: horse, kulan, bison, yak, Siberian mountain goat, argali, red deer, woolly rhinoceros, cave hyena. The latter used the cave not only as a refuge, but also for breeding offspring. In 2006, a tooth (premolar) of a Paleolithic man of the species Homo sapiens , dragged by hyenas under its arches about 34–34.5 thousand years ago ^[14], was discovered in a cave.
• Terrible Cave. This is a karst cavity embedded in the limestones of the Chagyr Formation of the Lower Silurian. In the cave, the remains of people of an unknown species, dating back to the period 35-50 thousand liters. BC, and the teeth of a modern type man who lived in a cave during the Upper Paleolithic (19150 ± 80 years ago ^[15] ) ^[16] , as well as the remains of the Pleistocene and Holocene vertebrate faunas, about 40 species in total.
• Cave of foot and mouth disease. The cave is of karst origin, its length is 210, depth is 35 m, maximum width is 24 m. It has three entrances, two of which are wide dips. In the lower part of the cave, calcareous flowing formations are developed.
• Terrible Log. It is a typical example of a full range of karst forms and phenomena. The natural monument is a large karst canyon with caves in the rocky shores. In the log is the Ancient Cave - a monument to the archeology of the Altai Territory. The creek of the Terrible Log flows throughout its length, often lost underground in karst craters . Some of these funnels are the entrances to the still unexplored caves.

Mining facilities

• Mount Developed. Historical object. The mountain was developed in 1842 as a deposit of aquamarine (a beryl vein is clearly visible), rose quartz, and other semiprecious and ornamental stones.
• Beloretsky mine. Historical object. It consists of two canned adits with the remains of mining equipment, for the extraction and primary enrichment of tungsten ore and dumps from quartz sand.

Kolyvano-Kuznetsk defensive line

• Tigereksky outpost (located in the village of Tigirek). Monument of military engineering related to the Kolyvano-Kuznetsk defensive line of the XVIII century.
• Beloretsky redoubt . The location of the Beloretsk redoubt is determined by the remains of the rampart and the moat. They are located 500 meters from the cordon Beloretsk (previously there was a village Beloretsky), on the left bank of the river. White.

• Bochkareva E.N., Irisova N.L. Birds of Tigirek reserve. - Barnaul, 2009.
• Irisova N.L., Bochkareva E.N., Pozhidaeva L.V., Vasenkov D.A. Vertebrate animals of the Tigirek reserve (annotated list of species) // Biota of the Tigirek reserve. Proceedings of the Tigirek Reserve. - 2011. - Issue. 4. - S. 90–164.

• Official site of Tigirek reserve
• Tigirek Reserve on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation
• Photos. Tigirek State Nature Reserve