Nalibokskaya Pushcha

Nalibokskaya Pushcha is a vast forest area in the basins of the Zapadnaya Berezina and Usa rivers. It belongs to the Neman-Peredpolessky geobotanical district, which is characterized by mixed hornbeam-oak-dark coniferous forests. The area of the pushcha varies from 1400 to 2400 km², and with adjacent territories - even more.

The forest occupies the eastern part of the glacial-lake and alluvial Upper Neman Lowland with undulating relief. The landscape is mainly flat, with dune-moraine hills and swampy areas. The massif is cut by rivers and streams, and in the south by drainage channels. There are also flat glacial-lake lowlands with peat deposits and numerous aeolian formations along the river valleys.

The main rivers flowing through the forest are the Berezina, Usa, Isloch, Volka and Izled. The southern part of the forest is located at the confluence of the Berezina and Neman, where a lake-alluvial lowland with numerous lake basins, such as Lake Kroman, stretches.

The forests of Nalibokskaya Pushcha represent a transition zone from southern taiga dark coniferous to Western European broadleaf forests. Pine forests mixed with spruce, birch and aspen forests predominate, although oak forests are less common. The northern boundary of the hornbeam distribution, which is most often found in undergrowth, runs through the southwestern part.

The soils are predominantly sod-podzolic sandy and sandy loam. The most swampy areas are along the valleys of the Berezina, Isloch, Volka rivers and in the lower reaches of the Usa, where alder and birch forests grow on peat soils. Among the spruce forests there are many bilberry and wood sorrel forests. In the central and eastern parts of the forest there are pine forests of various types - from heather-mossy to upland sphagnum. In the floodplains of the rivers, large sedge meadows dominate, along the Neman - small cereals.

The flora of Nalibokskaya Pushcha includes 820 species of higher plants (excluding mosses). The tree layer is dominated by species such as Scots pine, Norway spruce, black alder, aspen, English oak, common ash and small-leaved linden. Buckthorn, willow, spindle tree, hazel, rowan and other species can be found in the undergrowth.

Among the rare plants, one can note mountain arnica, lunaria vivifera, dark red helleborine, bulbous cord grass, marsh lily, marsh gladiolus and twinflower. Here, for the first time in Belarus, such plants as six-leaved toothwort, glandular fireweed, pink fireweed, squat sedge and others were also discovered.

The fauna of the Nalibokskaya Pushcha is typical for the forests of the central zone of Belarus. The red deer has been reacclimatized since 1975. In 1994, bison were returned to the territory of the Naliboksky Reserve: at first, seventeen heads were brought, and now there are about a hundred. However, due to the lack of field lands, the herd began to split into small groups and spread in the direction of Novogrudok and Korelichi, which created problems for agricultural lands and traffic. As a result, it was decided to create arable lands that serve as a food base for deer and bison, and to make the system sustainable and self-regulating so that the animals could maintain the arable lands in a productive state.

For this purpose, tarpans were returned to the Nalibokskaya Pushcha, the restoration of whose population was facilitated by the Dutch State Forest Service. In 2019, a herd of 151 animals appeared, which then increased. At the beginning of the 21st century, brown bears returned to the Pushcha, presumably having come from the Berezinsky Nature Reserve.

The forest is also home to elk, wild boar, fox, raccoon dog, pine marten, black ferret, mink, ermine, hare, lynx and wolf. Beavers and otters are found in the water bodies. In 2020, a jackal came to the forest.

The Nalibokskaya Pushcha is important for the conservation of rare birds, including the lesser spotted eagle, the common kingfisher and the black stork. The rivers and canals are home to various species of fish, including the grayling, which is rare in Belarus.

During the 10th-11th centuries, the eastern border of the Nalibokskaya Pushcha served as a boundary between Lithuania and Russia. The fortresses of Minsk and Zaslavye arose on its edge, protecting the borders from the Baltic pagans who inhabited the forest. In the 13th century, the Pushcha became a natural obstacle for enemy troops, such as the Galician-Volynian and Tatar, which is reflected in folk tales about the battles of Koydanovo and Mogilno.

The border between Lithuania and Rus' determined the cultural and legal division of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Historian Nikolai Yermolovich believed that historical Lithuania was located here. Due to poor soil, most of the forest remained untouched. Even Duke Vitovt hunted tarpans in these forests before the Battle of Grunwald in 1409. Subsequently, the forest passed to the Radziwill family, starting with Nikolai Radziwill the Black, who acquired the town of Naliboki in 1555.

The Radziwills used the forest for hunting, beekeeping and logging. Sawmills and woodworking workshops operated in the forest, the products of which were in demand both in Belarus and abroad. The Nalibokskaya Forest has a rich history associated with nature conservation and the events of the war years.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the famous naturalist Friedrich Falz-Fein planned to create a beaver reserve in the forest, but World War I prevented his plans. In 1932, the Vyalovsky Reserve was created in the forest to protect ungulates and beavers, but it was liquidated in 1951.

During World War II, the Nalibokskaya Pushcha became a refuge for partisans of various nationalities, including Jewish units, among whom the Bielski brothers and their "forest Jerusalem" became famous. The story of the Bielski brotherhood is known from books and films, including the Hollywood film "Defiance".

After the war, in 1960, the Naliboksky hunting reserve was created on the territory of the former Vyalovsky reserve. The Chernobyl accident had an impact on the forest, causing radioactive contamination and the resettlement of settlements.

Nalibokskaya Pushcha received the status of a republican landscape reserve in 2005, and in 2010 - the international status of "key ornithological territory". Since 2009, the Nalibok marathon has been held here annually.