Khomutove village, Novoazov district, 87620, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine

Phone: (06279) 29 725

The Ukrainian Steppe Natural Reserve was set up in 1961 by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR ¹118 of 22. 07. 1961 and by NAS Presidium Resolution ¹ 48 639 of 20.09.1961. The Reserve consists of 4 sections: ‘Khomutovsky steppe’(village Khomutove, Novoazovsky district, Donetsk oblast); ‘Kamyani mogyly’(village Nazarivka, Volodarsky district, Donetsk oblast); ‘Kreydova flora’ (village Kryva Luka, Krasnolymansky district, Donetsk oblast); ‘Mikhailivska tsilyna’(village Katerynivka, Lebedinsky district, Sumska oblast). The area of the Reserve is 2756.1 hectares. The Reserve is subordinated to NAS. The Reserve’s headquarters is situated on the ‘Khomutovsky steppe’ territory. There are 1064 species of the higher plants which are under protection: 25 sp. of trees; 52 sp. of scrubs; 13 sp. of semi-shrubs; 22 sp. of dwarf shrubs; 678 sp. of herbaceous perennial plants; 113 sp. of herbaceous biennial plants; 161 sp. of annual plants. The ecological spectrum of flora is: 112 sp. of xerophytes, 356 sp. of mesoxerophytes, 8 sp. of hygromesophytes, 74 sp. of hygrophytes, 10 sp. of hydrophytes (the estimate was made in 1998).

There are 11 plant species that are included to the European Red Book. They are: Astragalus dasyanthus, Hyssopus cretaceous, Achillea glaberrima, Rhinanthus cretaceus, Genista tanaitica, Calophaca wolgarica, Caragana scythica, Stipa zalesskii, Vincetoxicum macoticum, Elytrigia stipifolia, Scrophularia cretacea.

Besides, there are 54 species which are included to the Ukrainian Red Book: Paeonia tenuifolia, Crocus reticulates, Genista scythica, Tulipa: Ophiophylla klok, Graniticola (klok et Zoz) klok, Quercetorum klok et Zoz, Schrenkii regel; Pinus sylvestris, Scutellaria creticola, Helianthemum cretaceum, Epipactis atrorubens, 11 species of Stipa etc.

Such forest formations are under protection and introduced to the Ukrainian Green Book: forest formations of chalk pine, the group of associations of common oak tartar-maple forests, associations of lime oak forest and maple lime oak forest, the steppe formations of low almond, Stipa: lessingiana, ucrainica, zalesskii, graniticola, capillata, dasyphylla, pennata, tirsa; Calophaca wolgarica, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Paeonia tenuifolia, Carex humilis, Salvinia natans.

The animal world of the Reserve covers such species: 15 of fish, 9 of amphibious, 7 of crawling, 199 of birds, 54 of mammals, 10 species from this list are included to the European Red Book, 50 are included to the Ukrainian Red Book. Some of them are: Vipera ursinii, Columber jucularis, Coronella austriaca, Erinaceus auritus, Mustela eversmanni, Sicista subtilis, Anthnopoides virgo, Circus cyaneus, Circus macrourus, Emberima melanocephala, Lanius excubitor. There is a large number of insects: Acherontia atropos, Bombus argillaceus, Bombus laesus, Bombus muscorum, Bombus paradoxus, Bombus pomorum, Bombus serrisquama, Bradypodus multituberculatus, Callimorpha quadripunctaria, Saga pedo.