The State National Natural Park «Buyratau»

The natural-science substantiation of the creation of the State National Natural Park «Buyratau», was executed by the CRS and GIS «Terra», within the limits of the project of working out of the natural-science and technical and economic assessment of the creation of the State National Natural Park «Buyratau» in 2005. 

The territory of planned the State National Natural Park «Buyratau» is located on the border of the Akmolinskiy and Karagandinskiy regions, and it unites the areas of:  the Ermentau zoological reserve, the State Natural Park «Buyratau», and also the territories of small-hill areas (melkosopochnik). In whole it is supposed to cover with the measures of nature protection the area of 125 300 ha.

            The Ermentau Zoological Reserve- was organized in 1967 for period of time -10 years, for saving, reproduction and renewal of the argali numbers, on an area of 35000 ha. Presently, it has a status of the republican significance without the limitation of duration.

          The public institution of «The State Natural Park «Buyratau» is created in 2001 for saving of a biodiversity, for the renewal of species composition, the acclimatization and re-adaptation of wild animals on the territory of 7,500 ha. It has the regional significance, is unlimited. From the north, south and west borders on the territory of the Ermentau Reserve.

The climate of the region is of continental type, dry .The duration of a warm period is-190 days. An annual amount of the precipitations on the dry- steppe areas is about 240 mm. In the Ermentau Mountains, it increases on 60-70 mm. The maximum of precipitations falls in July. The winter is cold with a steady snow cover. An average air temperature of the most cold month (January) is about -15-18⁰. An average air temperature of July is 22,5⁰C. A summer is hot. Accumulated temperatures of the air (higher 10⁰) are about 2800⁰.

On the territory of the park the basic forms of relief are: the low and high small -hill areas (melkosopochnik) , the erosion- denuded mountains, also the inclined and ridged plains. The low small -hill areas (melkosopochnik) with the relative height of 20-50 m, were formed with sandstones, siltstones, conglomerates of the Devonian period. The high ridged small- hill areas ( Kalmykkozha town is situated at a height of 698 m. above sea level) occupy the meridional position and have the steeply- inclined relief. The outcrops of the cliffy rocks, which consist of quartzite, jasper and the quartzite limestones, are typically.

          The erosion- denuded mountains are stretched in the meridian direction and achieve in height-785 m of the true altitude (the highest point within the limits of park). The mountains are strongly partitioned by the small rivers and the dry ravines. The mountains are formed of quartzite, porphyry and tuff. Within the limits of mountains the thick net of the shallow valleys and ravines with the seasonal flow, that is appeared in the period of spring snowmelt. On the shallow small rivers (the Karabulak River), the permanent flow is carried out. At the foot of the slopes of valleys, in the ravines, there are the outcrops of the springs of the sweet water, with the output of water from 0,1 to 4 l /sec.

         There are the inclined plains (mainly the trails), the weakly waved and rather flat plains, which are formed of the dealluvial blankets, are located on heights of 370-470 m, and are partitioned by the seasonal flow net. The depth of the occurrence of groundwater achieves 30 m. In the riverbeds of the seasonal flows there are the outcrops of the springs with the sweet water and the low salinity water, the output of these outcrops does not exceed 0,5 l /sec.

          For the territory of the park, the plenty of the closed hollows with the salt lakes (such as: the Azhbay Lake, the Bozangyr Lake) is typically. The depth of the strong- salinity lakes is shallow, usually does not exceed 1-1,5 m.

           The special orographic and hydro-geological conditions, the vertical zonality promote the formation of the compound  varied soil cover, which is represented by the dark- chestnut soils of plains and the small- hill areas( melkosopochnik) ,and by the mountain chernozem soils, which are situated within the limits of the low –mountain areas. Wide range of the meadow-steppe, meadow and forest soils includes some rare soils for the territory of Kazakhstan, up to date they are poorly studied.

         The most widespread soil in the conditions of the rocky and hilly low –mountain areas and the intermontane valleys, are the mountain chernozem soils. The flat, slanting- inclined and ridged plains differ of wide spreading of the dark- chestnut soils. Also here you can find the raw and shallow dark- chestnut soils of the low and high small- hill areas. The semi-hydromorphic, hydromorphic and forest soils are widespread, overall, on the territory of the park.

The flora of the planned national park has no less than 345 species, which are related to 58 families and to 196 genera, that makes up one fifth part of the flora of the Central-Kazakhstan small -hill area. The plants of the gramineous (Poaceae), the compositae (Asteraceae) and the legume (Fabaceae) families are the most widespread here. The wormwood (Artemisia), the feather-grass (Stipa), the locoweed (Astragalus), the onion (Allium) are applied to the largest genera.

  There are the rare species of plants here ,which are included in the «Red Book of Kazakhstan», the species with decreasing natural habitat, such as: a savine(Juniperus Sabina), a black alder(Alnus glutinosa), a black currant(Ribes nigrum), a Kirghiz birch(Betula kirghisorum), a bird cherry(Padus racemosa), a spring adonis(Adonis vernalis), a steppe peony(Paeonia hybrida), a Siberian hawk's-beard(Crepis sibirica), a wood geranium(Geranium sylvaticum), a feather grass(St. pennata), a narrow-leaved stipa (Stipa tirsa), a common garden tulip(Tulipa gesneriana), a mayflower(Pulsatilla patens), a forked spleenwort(Asplenium septentrionale), a bladder fern(Cystopteris fragilis), a flower-cup fern(Woodsia ilvensis). Almost all of them are the boreal relicts, which need in the taking of the measures of guard. For the most part of these species the basic factors of degradation are- the felling of the small-leaved forests, a cattle overgrazing, a spring collecting of the bouquets of the decorative species.

The territory of the park is located in the subzone ofthe temperate-dry fescue- feather grass steppes on the dark- chestnut soils. Nevertheless, because of the Low -Mountain Massif Ermentau, there is a vertical zonality of the plant cover. Here (on the Massif Ermentau) you can see the herb- feather grass steppes on the mountain chernozem soils, it is connected with the increase of rainfall.

On the territory of the planned park the vegetation of 4 types is presented: steppe, forest, shrub and meadow.

In the subzone of the temperate-dry steppes, the vast areas are occupied by the pea shrub- coldly- wormwood- oat grass- feather grass and pea shrub- coldly wormwood- feather grass steppes. In the small -hill areas there are the shrubby- feather grass and oat grass steppes, also there are the various conenoses: grass- petrophyte- wormwood and grass- petrophyte- herb. On the stony, rubble, rubble -fine-grained soils there are the peculiar variety of phytocenoses. Here the petrophyte-steppe conenoses are mixed with the shrubby steppes. On the intermontane valleys and the low –mountains there are the arid herb- feather grass steppes with the chernozem soils. On the mountains slopes there are the oat grass steppes. The petrophyte herb conenosis prevails among the petrophyte conenoses here.

In the conditions of the additional moistening (in the valleys of rivers, brooks, ravines) in this subzone are widely presented the small-leaved forests: the birch forests, the aspen-birch forests, the aspen forests and also the steppe meadows. For this territory is typically the wide spreading of the relict black alder forests, they are located on the areas with the additional moistening:  the banks of rivers and brooks or the areas with the near-located underground waters. Also on the areas with the additional moistening there are the willow beds.

           The fauna of the planned park «Buyratau» is presented by 45 species of animals, related to 5 orders and to 14 families. At present, in fact, the following forest, mountain and steppe species inhabit here: an argali, a roe deer, a common a wolf, a weasel, a mountain hare, a woodchuck, a northern red-backed vole, a badger, a steppe polecat, a corsac fox, a least weasel, a fox, a red-cheeked ground squirrel, a jerboa, an Eurasian hedgehog , an eared hedgehog and other. There is a probability of the temporal stay on the territory of park of such big animals as:a moose deer, a saiga, a lynx (the last one inhabited on the territory of the Ermentau Zoological Reserve) and other. There are no the endemic animals among the animals of the planned national park «Buyratau».

          The single species from the category of the rare and endangered species is the argali (is added to the Red Book of Kaz. SSR and USSR).His status is the III category – focal, with a tendency to decrease of the natural habitat and abundance. In the beginning of 90th, the argali population  was about 200- 150 specimen, including the territory of  Ermentau with located to the north — the Koytas Mountains .

           The avifauna of the district of the National Park is typical enough for the north part of the Kazakh Melkosopochnik (small- hill areas). During all the seasons of the year 227 species of birds can be met here, of them -127 are nesting and 100 are the species of birds of passage and wintering.

           On the area of the park,13 species of birds nest, added to the Red Book of Kazakhstan(in1996), they are: a spoonbill, a whooper swan, a bluebill, a scoter, a stifftail, a steppe eagle, a imperial eagle, a common crane, a bustard, a little bustard, a sociable plover, an eagle-owl. During migrations, the representatives of 13 rare species visit this territory: an European white pelican, a Dalmatian pelican, a black stork, a flamingo, a Bewick's swan, an osprey, a little eagle, a golden eagle, a white-tailed eagle, a Pallas' sea eagle, a saker falcon, a peregrine, a slender-billed curlew.

           The condition of the natural ecosystems on the territory of the planned park in whole, is satisfactory. The most noticeable violations, related to the human activity, are: a ploughing up(now  there are 5-7 years deposits on the weeds stage  of overgrowing), the cattle pasturing on plains and at the foot of mountains(the cattle overgrazing- around the places of men’s wintering ) ,the road net around the places of men’s wintering, fires, tree felling.

          Thus, on the comparatively small territory of the Ermentau Reserve, of the«State Natural Park «Buyratau» and near-by territory of the small -hill areas(melkosopochnik), are concentrated the most part of the geographical elements of flora and fauna, which have a great significance as a gene pool. The unique beauty of landscapes, the poorly studied natural objects and the presence of the rare and vanishing species of plants and animals, and also the plant associations and the soil complexes, which are little –modified with the anthropogenic activities of men, all these factors allow to create here the specially protected natural territory with the status of the state national natural park, where the correct organized nature-conservative measures will help to save the biodiversity, to renew the animal numbers of the rare species and to raise the level of the ecological awareness of the native inhabitants.