RESTORATION OF A WETLAND’S BIODIVERSITY
IN UKRAINIAN SEA COASTAL AREA
O.M. Derkach1, Z.O. Petrovich2
1Institute of Ecology, South Branch, Nikolaev, Ukraine
2Regional Landscape Park “Kinburn Spit”, Ochakov, Ukraine
The sea coastal area of Ukraine includes the most diverse and large wetlands in Europe. They are acting as an original ecological corridor along the Black Sea north-west shelf which is used by millions of aquatic bird as a natural migration path, place for their concentration, wintering and nesting. These are also a major spawning and fattening place for many valuable fish species.
At present the coastal wetlands are in focus of a number of problems arisen in the Black Sea coastal area in view of the necessity to prevent the pollution of the Black Sea water area, restore the fish stock, enrich the hunting fauna, place the sanatorium and recreation complexes, develop tourism. For many reasons the areas of these wetlands continue reducing and their diversity decreasing. The draining of Vasilyevka flooded area on the Dnieper Estuary coast and also the degradation of the Kinburn Spit inner lakes as a result of the silting of the natural channels and breaking of connections between the water bodies.
In this connection a number of pilot biotechnological arrangements allowing with a minimum investment to expand the spawning area for valuable industrial fish species, recover the shortage of natural nesting places for the rare near-water birds, increase the productivity of seaside water bodies as a whole, make more attractive the wetlands for local inhabitants and tourists have been carried out on the basis of the regional landscape park “Kinburn Spit”.
1.The restoration of the Volyzhin lake system.
This was carried out by the dredging of silted channel (length - 320 m, bottom with - 1 m) which connected again the drained separated water bodies in the inner part of the Kinburn Spit with the Dnieper Estuary and provided in the spring period for the coming of fish for spawning in significantly increased quantities. As a result, about 1500 individuals of Pelecanus onocrotalus, which lost their traditional feeding places, found shelter on the lakes. Owing to the restored spawning area on the Berezan Island 250 couples of
Larus ichthyaetus have nested for the first time; the local colony of Ardea cinerea, A. purpurea and Egretta alba has increased up to 300 couples; Mustela lutreola and Lutra lutra have appeared again; Haliaeetus albicilla has nested in the adjacent forests. The majority of the listed species have entered the Red Book of Ukraine. The Volyzhin lake system as a whole has become one of the largest and most productive natural spawning areas on the Lower Dnieper for Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus and Rutilus rutilus heckeli (with an area of 300 ha).
However, in view of the intensity of modern tide processes and also the non-availability of other channels the new-built channel is being rapidly silted and requires additional arrangements.
2. Building-up of artificial islands for birds.
To optimise the conditions of reproduction for rare near-water birds in shallow lakes and lagoons on the Jagorlytskiy Bay coast with a depth of about 1 m a number of artificial islands with an area of 40 to 150 m2 were built up. Standard components of their carrying structure consisted of welded metal modules in the form of parallelepiped with dimensions of 1.0 x 1.0 x 1.5 m. A wooden floor covered with sea grass (Zostera marina, Z. noltii) was mounted and secured.
The small islands were distributed by one in every shallow lake and by a group in the sea lagoon. During the current year 9 bird species - Larus melanocephalus (2000 couples), Thalasseus sandvicensis (1000 couples), Larus genei (500 couples), Sterna hirundo (500 couples), Recurvirostra avosetta (70 couples), Somateria mollissima (10 couples), Himantopus himantopus (5 couples), Haematopus ostralegus (1 couple) and Anas strepera (1 couple) have nested here.
The nesting on a small island with an area of 40 m2 in the centre of Pokrovka Village has been especially effective where during one season 5couples of Himantopus himantopus, 30 couples of Recurvirostra avosetta and about 100 couples of Sterna hirundo have brooded their nestlings.
The investigation will continue in the direction of improving and cheapening the carrying structure, selection of floor variants and places for the layout of islands.
References
1. Александров Б.Г., Богатова Ю.І., Волошкевич О.М. та ін. “Біорізноманітність Дунайського біосферного заповідника, збереження та управління ”, Київ:Наук. думка, 1999, 704 с.
2. Вильсон М. А., Мозер М. Сохранение водно-болотных угодий побережья Черного моря: обзор и предварительный план действий. IWRB, публикация № 33, 90 с.
3. Дубына Д.В., Шеляг-Сосонко Ю.Р. “Плавни Причерноморья”, Киев: Наук. думка, 1989, 272 с.
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