Bialowieza Park is one of the oldest parks in Poland, it was established in 1932.The park covers a part of the original Bialowieza Forest located on the Polish border.o-Belarus. In 1977 the park was granted the status of a World Biosphere Reserve, and two years later the entire primeval forest was listed by UNESCO. Although the area of the primeval forest is almost entirely lowland, the climate there is similar to European mountains at altitudes of 1200-1400 meters above sea level. Snow lies here as much as 92 days a year, and warm days appear 5-14 days later than in western and central Poland. Average precipitation is much higher in summer than in winter. Small sand dunes and sand hills are located east of Hajnówka. The primeval forest contains 1,100 species of vascular plants and several hundred species of bryophytes, the mixed forests are characterized by unique species that are rarely found elsewhere. Relics from the Ice Age still found in the primeval forest today include low birch and Lapland and blueberry willow. Oaks, hornbeams, lindens, maples, ash and alders, coniferous pines and spruces, as well as shrubs - hazel, arborvitae, buckthorn, willows, currant and mistletoe - are common. About 4,000 species of fungi can be found in the forest, including 400 lichens. The trees in the park are enormous in size, this is due to the very fertile soils, they are mainly brown and fawn soils. More than half of the Polish primeval forest is occupied by oak-hornbeam forests, the rest is covered by mixed pine-spruce-oak and oak-spruce forests. Besides, the common spruce and the pedunculate oak, has a limit to its occurrence in the vicinity of the park. BPN is also a huge wealth of game, which includes 12,000 species, although, of course, more than 10,000 of them are insects. The largest European mammal, and at the same time a symbol of the park, is the bison. Other mammals include foxes, badgers, muskrats, polecats, American mink, forest martens, weasels, wild boars, deer and roe deer. An interesting species is the river crawler - one of only two venomous mammals on the continent. Common, of course, are rodents: shrews, voles, squirrels. Among amphibians are toads, gray and green toads and newts. Paddles, snakes and pond turtles represent the reptiles. Among fish, the most common are carp, perch, crucian carp, piscivores and pike. Any bird lover will spot many of their 240 species, 179 of which breed in the park. Among those that breed in the park are: boa conures, chickadees, black grouse, owls, eagle owls, partridges, sparrowhawks and woodpeckers. The snowy owl arrives from the far north for wintering, and the three-toed woodpecker, white-backed woodpecker, and owl may also be mentioned among the exceptional ones. Many hiking trails start in Bialowieza, and can be traveled by bicycle, on foot, as well as by horse, sleigh or carriage. It is also worth going to the headquarters of the Bialowieza National Park where there is a Nature and Forestry Museum. In Bialowieza you can also hire a guide to show you around the park and tell you about its values.
01.06.2014
