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SUMMARY
The major goal of this project is to justify the establishment of biodiversity and environment monitoring stations in the natural reserves located in the Dnipro Basin. The ultimate objective of the project is to establish stations of long-term monitoring of the biota and its natural habitat. Working towards the project goal and objectives, we have chosen three reserve areas within the Dnipro Basin located in Smolensk, Briansk and Belogorod Oblasts. These are “The Dnipro Source” landscape sanctuary of oblast importance, which was just set up this year, “The Briansky Forest” reserve set up in 1987 and located in the center of the “Nerusso-Desniansky Polesie” biosphere reservation, the “Khotmyzhsky” national park set up in 2002, and the “Belogorie” reserve on the Vorskla River.
The description of these protected areas is based on retrospective data of the environmental state and biological diversity collected during the implementation of this project.
Alongside with the collection of retrospective data, expeditions were held to research the state of flora and fauna as well as of their habitat. In particular, the samples of surface waters and bottom sediments of the rivers Dnipro, Nerussa and Vorskla, as well as of the soil, air and biota were analyzed to determine the contents of chemical elements and radio nuclides according to the monitoring program. Expeditions conducted monitoring by species and by numbers of macrobenthos, macrophytes, vegetation assemblages, ichthyofauna, birds and animals.
The environmental and biodiversity data obtained during the expeditions served the basis for the assessment of natural condition of the reserves as of 2003. Owning to their wide range, the obtained environmental data were stored as initial data bases for further monitoring of environmental changes in these reserves.
The results of the sample analysis are reliable and objective since the analysis was carried out by highly qualified professionals in the accredited laboratories. The researchers of the reserves and of Smolensk Teacher Training University took part in the monitoring of biological diversity in the natural reserves.
In the final assessment of the fulfilled work, the environmental situation in the natural reserves is specified and solutions for specific problems related to further development of the environmental monitoring system in the reserves are recommended.
