Endangered species
and habitats protection
of the Natura 2000
"Ostoja Wigierska"
site -
LIFE11 NAT/
PL/431 |
Wigry National Park is located in the north-east
part of Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship. Its northern
part lies within the East Suwalki Lakeland, while the
southern part within the Augustow Plain. The Park was
established in 1989 over the area of
14,956 ha. Currently, its area is 15,086 ha and includes
9,464 ha of forests,
2,908 ha of waters, and 2,714 ha of other,
mostly agricultural land (2,229 ha). 623 ha which consists
of 120 ha of forests are strictly protected. Agriculturally
managed areas are encompassed by landscape protection.
The landscape was shaped during the Baltic Glaciation
period, when for a long period of time,
the glacier covered the north part of what
is now the Wigry National Park. The southern
part was a place of accumulation of materials coming from
the ice-front. The northern part of
the Park is rolling, with large basal moraines and single
hills of the frontal moraine, some of which are elevated
above the level of the terrain by even 35 m. The base of
this part of the Park is built of clays,
gravels and sands with stones of various
mineral composition. The southern part is more flat and
covered by a thick layer of sandy
outwash.
Numerous lakes and small water basins are remnants of the
glaciation periods. They have various shapes, areas and
depth. The Park is a site
of 42 lakes, the largest being Wigry Lake of 2,187 ha of
area and up to 73 m in depth. It occupies
the central part of the Park. Lakes represent different
limnological types and vary in terms
of productivity, thermal stratification, and concentration
of humus compounds. Particularly interesting are small
dystrophic lakes situated within the forests, surrounded by peatmoss
communities, called "suchary". The main
river of the Park is the Czarna
Hancza, which is also a well known canoeing route.
Wigry National Park is an area of international
importance for nature conservation, as Ramsar Convention
site, and Natura 2000 European network area. |
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