Daursky Nature Reserve


The Daurian Nature Reserve is a nature reserve situated in the southern part of the Zabaykalsky Krai in Siberia, Russia, close to the border with Mongolia. It is part of a World Heritage Site named "The Landscapes of Dauria".
The reserve has been established in 1987 to protect the dry steppes and wetlands of South Siberia. It is contiguous with the Dornod Mongol Biosphere Reserve in Mongolia, a area of steppe immediately to the south.
The reserve comprises 208.600 ha, of which about 163.800 ha constitute the buffer zone. The core area is of about 44.800 ha and is divided into 9 plots. The buffer zone of the reserve covers two large lakes called Barun-Torey and Zun-Torey.

Ecoregion and climate

The Daurian Reserve is located in the Daurian forest steppe ecoregion, a band of grassland, shrub terrain, and mixed forests in northeast Mongolia and a portion of Siberia, Russia.
The climate at the Daurian Reserve is Subarctic climate, dry winter. This climate is characterized by mild summers and cold winters having monthly precipitation less than one-tenth of the wettest summer month.

Flora and fauna

The vertebrate fauna includes 48 mammal species, 317 bird species, 3 reptile species, 3 amphibian species and 4 species of fish. In addition, there are about 800 species of insects. The reserve also contains a colony of the rare Iris potaninii. It had been planned to introduce the Przewalski horse to the reserve in the 1980s, but the plans were cancelled following the collapse of the Soviet Union, although hopes for their implementation were rekindled in 2009. Mammals of the reserve included on the IUCN red list are dzeren, pallas cat and Daurian hedgehog. Recently a new zakaznik, the Dzeren Valley, has been created in the area to ensure migration of the dzeren between Russia and Mongolia.
Potential reintroduction of Argali has been proposed.