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| Biosphere Reserve Information | ||||
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TEBERDA |
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| General Description |
This site covers 536,000 hectares on the northern slopes of the Great Caucasus Range next to the border with Georgia. It comprises a characteristic alpine landscape with an altitude range of 1,200 to 4,000 meters above sea level and three climate zones: nival, mountain grasslands and mountain woodlands. It is located in the Caucasus 'cross-roads' between east and west and has an exceptionally diverse flora and fauna, for example with 1,570 plant and 170 bird species. There are about 74,000 inhabitants, living essentially from tourism (300,000 visitors per year, 1992) as well as traditional sheep raising for wool, craft-making, cereal crops and forestry (pine plantations and managed beech (Fagus orientalis) forests). The town of Teberda in the buffer zone is renowned as a health resort. Measures are taken to reduce the impact of tourism in the area. The problem of overgrazing, leading to soil erosions, is addressed by scientific research supported by laboratories and permanent plots for long-term monitoring of grazing systems and forests in the area. |
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| Major ecosystem type | Mixed mountain and highland systems | |||
| Major habitats & land cover types | Mountain forest with Fagus orientalis, Carpinus caucasica, Abies nordmanniana etc.; alpine grasslands with Festuca woronowii, Bromus variegatis, Calamagrostis arundinaceae etc.; alpine pastures | |||
| Location | 43°32'N; 41°42'E (at central point) | |||
| Area (hectares) | ||||
| Total | 536,000 | |||
| Core area(s) | 86,000 | |||
| Buffer zone(s) | 150,000 | |||
| Transition area(s) when given | 300,000 | |||
| Altitude (metres above sea level) | +1,260 to +4,047 | |||
| Year designated | 1997 | |||
| Administrative authorities | Director of Teberda Zapovednik, reporting to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation | |||
| Last updated: 3/1/2007 |
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