Reserve Stone Steppe in the city of Voronezh

The Stone Steppe is a reserve covering an area of 5232.00 hectares. It is located in the Voronezh region in the Talovsk district on the watershed of two rivers called Bitug and Hopra.

The first settlers on this territory appeared in the early XVIII century At that time there was an untouched steppe, partially occupied by forest belts. By the end of the XIX century, due to deforestation, the destruction of animals, plowing of virgin lands and grazing of livestock, the rivers became shallow, the land became barren, the climate changed: in summer - severe drought and dry weather, in winter - strong snowstorms. As a result, the fields of peasants burned to the ground in the summer. In those years, because of droughts, famine began, which claimed thousands of lives in the graves. Then they called it the stone.

In 1892, its restoration began thanks to scientists led by V.V. Dokuchaev. They proposed planting forest belts along fields, ravines and beams, as well as along the banks of rivers, a system of artificial ponds was created to mitigate the climate. Since 1885, the organization of deposits began. What is a deposit? This is a plowed plot of land (arable land), which was previously used, but then for several years, starting in autumn, was not cultivated and used for sowing crops to restore its fertility.

Since 1912, the deposits of the reserve are in an intact state to view the dynamics of vegetation growth. Since 1996, the Stone Steppe has received the status of a state natural reserve of federal importance.

Currently, the reserve is clean ponds, fields bordered by forest strips and untouched deposits for more than a hundred years. It is home to dozens of different animals, hundreds of species of birds, more than 800 species of various plants, not counting those that were planted by people. Valuable natural objects and attractions are: the landscape complex "Khorolskaya beam", the landscape complex "Sukhoproud beam", the upper reservoir (Dokuchaev Sea), the system of old-growth Dokuchaev forest belts and the colony of marmots - baybaks.