Poloniny National Park

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Poloniny
National Park
none A typical polonina meadow
A typical polonina meadow
Symbol
Official name: Národný park Poloniny
Named for: typical poloniny meadows
Country Flag of Slovakia Slovakia
Region Prešov
District Snina
Range Bukovské vrchy
Highest point near Kremenec mountain
 - elevation 1,208 m (3,963 ft)
 - coordinates 49°05′17″N 22°34′01″E / 49.08806, 22.56694
Area 29,805 ha (73,650 acres)
 - buffer zone 10,973 ha (27,115 acres)
Biomes forests (80%), meadows
Founded 1 October 1997
Management Správa NP Poloniny
 - location Stakčín
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Name Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians
Year 2007 (#31)
Number 1133
Criteria ix
Location in Slovakia
Location in Slovakia
Location in Slovakia
Location in the Prešov Region (core zone in darker green, buffer zone in lighter green)
Location in the Prešov Region (core zone in darker green, buffer zone in lighter green)
Location in the Prešov Region (core zone in darker green, buffer zone in lighter green)
Website: www.sopsr.sk/nppoloniny/

Poloniny National Park (Slovak: Národný park Poloniny) is a national park in north eastern Slovakia at the Polish and Ukrainian borders, in the Bukovské vrchy mountain range, which belongs to the Eastern Carpathians. It was created on 1 October 1997 with a protected area of 298.05 km² and a buffer zone of 109.73 km². Some parts of the park are a World Heritage Site.

The park is entirely in the Snina District in the Prešov Region. It is adjacent to the Bieszczady National Park in Poland, together they are part of the East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve.

The highest point lies at 1,208 m (3,963 ft) AMSL on a point where the borders of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine meet, near the summit of Kremenec mountain.

Contents

[edit] Biology and ecology

Forests cover about 80% of the area; beech and beech-fir forests are dominant. The National Park has the highest concentration of old growth forests in Slovakia, which are protected by national nature reserves. Meadows, called poloniny in Slovak, situated on the main ridge of the Bukovské vrchy mountain range are common.

Many species found in the park are endemic and rare. Altogether, 800 fungi and 100 lichens are native to Poloniny. The Poloniny National Park contains about 5,981 known species of invertebrates (for example, 91 molluscs, 1,472 true bugs, 819 butterflies, and 403 spiders) and 294 vertebrates. Vertebrates divide into 13 amphibians, 8 reptiles, 198 birds, 55 mammals, including the Eurasian lynx, bear, and others. About 1,000 species of vascular plants have been found in the park. Many of them are endangered and protected.

[edit] World Heritage Site

The primeval beech forests in Havešová, Stužica, and Rožok (all three areas being in the Bukovské vrchy) were proclaimed by UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site on June 28, 2007 because of their comprehensive and undisturbed ecological patterns and processes.[1]

[edit] See also

[edit] Gallery

[edit] References

  1. ^ World Heritage Committee inscribes two natural, one mixed, and four cultural sites onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List. UNESCO Press Release N°2007-79 (June 28, 2007). Retrieved on January 29, 2008.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 49°02′42″N 22°25′30″E / 49.045, 22.425