International ecological expedition to the intact forests of the Mezenskaya Pizhma river basin, Arkhangelsk Region, 6-11 August 2002
Maps of Russia's intact forest landscapes (www.forest.ru/rus/publications/intact/!index-russia.html) published recently by Russian and international nature protection organisations show us clearly that there are still large intact old-growth forest tracts remaining in Northern Russia, and in particular, in the Arkhangelsk Region and the Komi republic.
According to the latest data obtained by the "Severolesproekt" Arkhangelsk forestry expedition, the total land area of mature and over-mature coniferous forests in the Arkhangelsk Region is 11 million hectares. Of this about 7 million hectares have been disturbed only minimally by human economic activity and can be referred to as old-growth, intact forests. As little as fifty years ago the republic of Karelia possessed similar heritage – as did Finland a hundred years ago – but in both places it is now gone, never to return.
 From 1997-2001 four international ecological expeditions, aiming to evaluate the conservational value of intact forest areas in the Arkhangelsk Region, were held by nature protection organisations from Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and since 1999 within the scope of cooperation of the International Contact Forum on Habitat Conservation in the Barents Region. The expeditions were: the Onega peninsula (1997), the Belomor-Kuloi plateau (1998), the Kozhozero landscape reserve (1999) and the Yula river basin (2001). The fifth expedition, which was the next logical step in the programme took place from 6-11 August, 2002 in the Mezenskaya Pizhma river basin – the most remote district of the Arkhangelsk Region.
In total, 17 participants (scientists, experts, representatives of nature protection organisations and technical assistants) from Russia and Finland took part in the expedition. Of these, eight participants were from Arkhangelsk: Dr. Valery Efimov (head of the expedition) and Dr. Alexander Davydov (Institute of Ecological Problems of the North, Russian Academy of Sciences); prof. Vasily Tsvetkov (Arkhangelsk Technical University), Mr. Vasily Voronin (Ecology Committee of the Arkhangelsk Regional  Department of Natural Resources), Mr. Sergei Torkhov (Archangelsk forest inventory expedition), Mrs. Elena Rai (Pomorsky State University), Mr. Andrey Klimov (Sev PINRO) and Mr. Jevgeni Novoselov (artist), as well as two participants from Finland: Dr. Tapio Lindholm and Dr. Jevgeni Jakovlev (Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki). Additionally, there were six local guides with boats and a cook (Mrs. Nadezhda Makarova from Arkhangelsk). Thanks to the good preparation work participants had, over the five days, the opportunity to visit several extremely interesting areas of old growth forests and pristine mires, as well as the objects of cultural heritage themselves (the vast meadows along the river, the system of hunting lodges and the old villages of Shegmas and Kobylskaja). On the first day of the exhibition there was a flyover along the Mezenskaya Pizhma river (covering about 100 km). Field routes covered around 65 km (20 km by boat and 45 km on foot.
The area investigated is located within the North taiga sub-zone of the East European taiga zone, and belongs to the Timan taiga biogeographical province. Most of the area is covered by native taiga forest and mires. In the river valley, with its thick deposits of ancient soils from different geological ages, the landscape represents a complicated mosaic of forests and meadows. The first terraces of the river and its inflows are covered with alluvial meadows.
 Forests. In total, about 550 hectares of forests in the Mezenskaya Pizhma river valley and also in a two-kilometre-wide zone on the left bank were surveyed. About thirty forest sites mostly dominated by spruce, pine, larch and birch were visited. The most common type of forest is mixed spruce-dominated forest with pine and larch. Lichen pine stands of pyrogenic origin, at different stages of succession, are also widely distributed in the area. There are also remains of relic forests dominated by larch (Larix sibirica). Most of the forest areas visited appeared intact or minimally transformed. Traces of selective cuttings of small intensity were noted only around settlements situated along the river. The main characteristics of the forest stands are:
- high age of the principal generation (160 years or more); the maximum age estimated for specific individual trees is 450 years
- uneven age structure
- "gap" or "window" dynamics of the development of stands
- monotonous structure of all vegetation levels
- large amount of dead wood (snags, brushwood and windfall) in various stages of decay.
 Meadows are mostly confined to riverside areas. They are of anthropogenic origin and, during the course of their existence (400 years or more), have been used as hay meadows and pastureland. Even now, the local people keep a large herd of horses, which roam freely through the pas-tureland during summertime. However, this traditional agriculture is quickly declining, and meadow flora is therefore gradually changing towards simplification of the species pool and an increasing proportion of particular species of weed.
 There are several types of Mires (raised bogs, various fens and flooded fens). Open mires account for a significant proportion. All mires are in their natural condition, and have never been subject to drainage or other kinds of anthropogenic influence. The richest flora is typically found in the mires located by brooks.
The flora and fauna of the area are highly typical of minimally transformed natural taiga forests and include many rare and endangered species listed in the red data books of the Russian Federation and the Arkhangelsk Region. The species pool of plants is considered as both high and diverse. In comparison with western taiga areas, local flora is enriched by presence of many plant species of Siberian origin. The highest variety of vascular plants was noted in the river valley with complicated relief, particularly in calcareous-rich sites enriched with nemoral plant species.
 According to information obtained from local hunters, several species of large mammal, e.g. bear, wolf, wolverine, elk and otter are quite common to the area. The same is said of large predatory birds. Along with common forest species such as goshawk, sparrow hawk and peregrine, several rare species (white-tailed eagle, fish hawk and eagle owl) have been spotted as well. Hunting is still very popular with local people. Hunters usually visit a particular area where they are trying to maintain a system of traps for wood grouse, black grouse and hazel hen. The most common game animals are marten, squirrel, hare and elk.
The area used to be well colonised by species of fungi and insects associated with dead wood (particularly spruce, pine and larch in different stages of decay), and these largely retained their natural patterns.
Water in the whole river system of Mezenskaya Pizhma and its tributaries is extremely clean and the river can thus serve as the benchmark for estimating water pollution in research work.
Mezenskaya Pizhma is the spawning river of salmon. More than 15 species of fish have been recorded, of which the most valuable are the different species and subspecies of salmon and grayling. Due to unrestricted fishing activity the stocks of these fish species need restoring. Over the last fifteen years, scientists and experts from both the Northern branch of the Polar research fishery institute (SevPINRO) and the Sevrybvod Institute of Arkhangelsk have conducted annual monitoring work on the natural reproduction of valuable fish species.
Along with well-preserved natural biotopes, the major objects of cultural heritage were observed. Due to the remoteness of this territory they still remain unexplored, and require special attention from archaeologists, ethnographers and historians of culture. The most notable objects are:
- archaeological sites from the Neolithic era (2000 years BC);
- a toponymic complex verifying the presence, in the past, of ancient tribes with old-Finnish languages in the territory, which is also characteristically toponymic of Northern Russia;
- old-fashioned villages still retaining their traditional layout, wooden architectural monuments, such as courtyards (five-wall and six-wall) and small warehouses built on pillars or racks (to prevent animals from reaching stored foodstuffs);
- a system of small hunting lodges along the river, and traditional trapping.
The portage system from the river Mezenskaya Pizhma to the Pechora Pizhma river is the oldest in the Northeast Arkhangelsk region and this system was the main method for the ancient Novgorodians. The expedition of folklore and ethnography specialists led by N. Kolpakova in the 1950s has gathered, in the area, the best-known legends (bylines) of the Novgorod period.
The area in question clearly has a key role to play in terms of preserving the natural biodiversity and cultural heritage of Northern Europe. At the moment, however, a serious threat has hung over all these unique natural complexes, which are not integrated at all into the network of protected areas, either on a federal level in Russia or on a regional level in the Arkhangelsk Region. Even though the forests of the area studied are still inaccessible for cutting due to the absence of roads, they are considered as potential resources for long-term felling in the very near future.
All scientists and experts who took part in the expedition suggested establishing a new national park on the area studied. The borders of the proposed national park should be situated far from the existing timber transportation roads and determined on the basis of landscape attributes, namely, the Mezenskaya Pizhma river basin and the rocky outcrops of the "Chetlassky kamen" ridge. The proposal of the expedition participants is that the national park should incorporate the forests of Leshukonsky Forestry Enterprise of the Arkhangelsk Region Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection in the Russian Federation Ministry of Natural Resources (Vozhgorskoe forestry enterprise, No. 4-9, 17-23, 31-40, 42-288). The total area of the proposed national park is about 250,000 hectares.
The participants of the expedition address, to the Head of to the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region Committee of Ecology, to the Leshukonskij Municipality and to the Arkhangelsk Region Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection in the Russian Federation Ministry of Natural Resources, a request to make all necessary decisions to ensure the preservation of old growth forests and biodiversity in the Mezenskaya Pizhma river basin.
The participants of the expedition express their gratitude to the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, the Directorate for Nature Management, Norway and the Västerbotten Regional Council, Sweden for their financial support, and to the Arkhangelsk Region Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection in the Russian Federation Ministry of Natural Resources, the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region Committee of Ecolo, and the Institute of Ecological Problems of the North (of the Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) for their excellent organisation of the expedition.
Jevgeni Jakovlev
Finnish Environment Institute
Photos: Tapio Lindholm, Jevgeni Jakovlev, 2002Top | Back | Home
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