Turaw Meadow
Country: Belarus
Area: 145.6 ha
National protection status: Nature Reserve
International protection status: IBA** (BY046) – Turaŭskaje balonnie (672 ha); Emerald Network* (BY000056) – Turovskiy Lug (145.6 ha).
* After denunciation of accession to the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, de jure there are no Emerald Network sites in Belarus.
**The following description relates to the IBA Turaŭskaje balonnie.
The IBA area comprises a floodplain meadow section on the right bank of the Pripyat River. A large part of the area is covered with open meadows partially exposed to shrubbery overgrowth. The area also comprises two large oxbow lakes. During springtime flood season the area is completely flooded. The main economic activity is cattle and geese grazing.
>20
rare and protected bird species registered
>200 000
waders may accumulate in the area simultaneously
30%
of the national population of the Common Ring Plover registered here
Biodiversity
More than 20 rare and protected species are registered in the area: 10 ones when nesting and more than 10 ones during their migration. The area is highly important for wetland birds. The Turaw meadow is highly important for wading birds during the spring migration, when more than 200,000 waders migrate through the area. Large masses of spring migrants stay there from several days to a week or more depending on the flood intensity and weather conditions. Up to 200,000 waders may accumulate in the area simultaneously (IBA criterion A4iii). Besides, the area is a breeding ground of more than 10% of the national population of the Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus). About 1% of the national population of the White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) and the Black Tern (Chlidonia sniger), the Great Snipe (Gallinago media), the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) and about 30% of the national population of the Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) have been registered there.
The most important impacts and threats
Meadows overgrowing with scrubs
Spring bird hunting
Transformation of the floodplain into arable land
Grassland ecosystems are threatened by overgrowing with scrubs due to abandonment of haying and grazing, conversion of floodplains to cropland, cereal cultivation, overgrazing by livestock, as well as spring and autumn burning. Damage to forest habitats and species is caused by clear-cutting, sanitary logging, deadwood removal and forest plantation, while wetland ecosystems suffer from riverbed straightening, dredging and damming. In addition, spring hunting is detrimental to waterfowl and wading birds.
Conservation measures
Within the boundaries of the local reserve it is forbidden to carry out reclamation works and any works connected with changing the natural landscape and the existing hydrological regime, exploitation of mineral deposits, haymaking and harvesting of wild plants and (or) their parts in the period from 1 April to 15 June, use of mineral fertilisers and chemical pesticides, presence of dogs, pitching of individual tents or tent camps, picnics and beach recreation, as well as making fires, hunting, etc. It is necessary to extend the protection regime to the entire territory of the IBA and to create a buffer zone with a ban on hunting and fishing during the nesting period.
