Land

Plant Life

Udmurtia lies in two sub zones, whose boundary can be drawn along the Krasnogorye-Zyra line. The south taiga sub zone lies to the north of this line, with mixed and deciduous forests to the south thereof. Back in early XVIII century almost all territory of today’s Udmurtia was covered with thick woods (up to 85 per cent). Today woods occupy 46 per cent of the republic’s area. In some parts of Udmurtia this index exceeds 60 per cent (e.g., Selty and Syumsi districts), whereas in the south (e.g., Karakulino and Alnash districts) woods cover not more than five to fifteen per cent of the land. Spruce (Picea fennica) and European white birch (Betula pendula) are the main trees, with rarer growths of pine, aspen, linden, grey alder, while maple, elm, and oak are extremely rare.

Meadow land occupies about 8 per cent of Udmurtia’s territory. The ratio of tilled soils in Udmurtia is fairly high, about 40 per cent, weed/garden/field plant communities grow on cultivated lands. Significant areas are used for growing winter rye, oats, barley, spring wheat, perennial herbs (clover, lucerne), potatoes, rarer millet, flax, buckwheat, etc.  

The plant life in Udmurtia is rich in Siberian plants, with forest-steppe plants making about 15 per cent on the average and dominant in the republic’s south-east (e.g., feather grass, sheep fescue).

As of today, about 2000 species of vascular plants have been found in Udmurtia. Almost 900 species were brought to the republic by man (cultivated plants and those that have run wild (25 per cent); plants brought by railroad and in trucks with construction and other materials).

About one fourth of flora species require protection. 13 species are listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, 194 in the Red Data Book of the Udmurt Republic.

Animal Life

Animal life in Udmurtia is diverse and on the whole characteristic of the southern part of the forest zone of the European part of Russia, with a wide variety of species inhabiting the region. One of Udmurtia’s peculiarities is the conjunction of the habitats of the European and North Asian faunas, along with representatives of the faunistic complexes of the wooded steppe and boreal forests (taiga). Udmurtia is inhabited by 385 species of wild vertebrates, including 49 cyclostomes and fish, 12 amphibians, 6 reptiles, 254 birds, and 64 species of mammals. As for invertebrates, the number of species is assessed as amounting to at least 10 to 12 thousand (the majority of those being the Arthropoda). However, various groups of animals have been studied to varying degrees. The most thoroughly explored are some orders of insects, e.g. coleopterous (about 2500 species have been explored), lepidopterous (about 500 species), hymenopterous (about 200 species), orthoptera (45 species), and odonata (40 species).

The state of regional populations of a number of species gives grounds for concern. The 2nd edition of the Red Book of the Udmurt Republic includes 142 species: one leech, three spiders, 70 species of insects, one lamprey, 11 species of osseous fish, four amphibians, 1 reptile, 39 birds, and 12 species of mammals (See UR Government Order No. 31 dated March 5, 2007). The principal approach to the protection of regional populations of Red Book species is protecting their natural habitats along with establishing an all-republican system of specially protected natural territories.

Natural Parks

There are two natural parks in Udmurtia: the Ust’-Bel’sk and Sharkan parks.

The Ust’-Bel’sk Natural Park is located in the most south-eastern part of Udmurtia, in the Karakulino District, at the conjunction of the Belaya and Kama rivers. The park’s total area is 1770 hectares.

The park is notable for the diversity of its animal and plant life, it is inhabited by a large number of rare and endangered species of plants and animals, many of which are listed in the Red Data Book of the Udmurt Republic, such as carpenter-bee, red-bellied toad, erne and other species). Besides, among plants found in the park there is species listed in the Red Data Book of Russia, Cephalanthera rubra. The Ust’-Bel’sk Natural Park is a recreational, fishing and hunting area by the picturesque Kama River.

The Sharkan natural park is located in the Sharkan District and covers an area of 16.5 thousand hectares.

The park’s terrain is remarkable, as the heights here vary from 150 to 285 meters above sea level, and the area is known as the “Udmurt Switzerland”. The combination of its terrain features and the diverse flora and fauna creates the unique image of the Sharkan natural park.

This park is very promising in terms of hunting, hobby fishing, mushroom and berry gathering. Tourist routs have been prepared for hikers – 12.5 to 15 km and horsemen – 35 to 60 km long.