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Area‑oriented forms of nature conservation

National park is a protected area of very high natural values, whose surface area exceeds 1 thousand ha. National parks are created mainly to preserve biodiversity. They are the habitats of rare and endangered species of plants, animals and fungi, as well as unusual formations of inanimate nature. Those areas are also protected because of their distinctive landscape, scientific, social, cultural and educational values. They are the places where scientific research is conducted aimed at getting to know the inner workings of ecosystems only slightly affected by human activity.

The parks are surrounded by buffer zonesbuffer zonebuffer zones. These are the areas which are not a form of nature conservation. Their purpose is to protect the wildlife of the park against the negative influence of external factors reaching from the surroundings, i.e. large cities, factories and roads. In order to protect the value of a national park business activity within a buffer zone is limited to those types of activity which do not harm the surrounding nature. For instance hunting wild game is forbidden and there are limited possibilities for erecting buildings.

There are 23 national parks in Poland; the Bialowieza National Park is the oldest one, while the Warta Estuary National Park is the youngest; the Biebrza National Park is the largest, while the Ojców National Park is the smallest.

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Fotografia przedstawia jasną pionową skałę w otoczeniu drzew. Jest to Maczuga Herkulesa w Ojcowskim Parku Narodowym.

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Fotografia przedstawia torfowisko niskie w Biebrzańskim Parku Narodowym. Przez obszar porośnięty trawą płynie rzeka. W odpływowych zagłębieniach terenuznajduje się torfowisko o dużym zróżnicowaniu florystycznym. Gęste szuwary rosną aż do lasu w głębi.

National parks are the highest form of nature conservation in Poland.

Nature reserves are the forms of nature preservation which occupy smaller areas than national parks. They are created to protect unchanged (pristine, natural) or slightly changed ecosystems or their fragments.

Areas of outstanding natural beauty are the forms of nature conservation of large surface area, where the regulations of interference with nature are less strict than in national parks and reserves. The purpose of areas of outstanding natural beauty is to preserve the natural environment and to recover its lost values, to create conditions for the survival of species as well as to conduct observations and popularize knowledge about wildlife. Their purpose is also to foster heritage and wildlife tourism and leisure, recreation and education in nature.

Areas of protected landscape are the forms of nature conservation with lower rank than national parks, however, performing similar tasks. They are frequently created in such ways so that they connect to the closely located national parks or areas of outstanding natural beauty. That way additional buffer zones are formed, which may play the role of green corridorsgreen corridorgreen corridors. That is the role played for instance by the protected landscape area of the Low Beskid, which provides the buffer zone of the Magura National park and the Jasliski Landscape Park. Within this area there are 8 nature reserves and about a dozen Natura 2000 areas.

Individual (object‑oriented) forms of nature conservation

Natural monuments are the most frequent objects of nature preservation. The most frequent specimens classified as natural monuments are single formations of animate or inanimate nature, less frequently clusters of such formations, which are usually marked by distinctive characteristics, e.g.: enormous size, venerable age, unusual shape, as well as high natural, scientific, cultural, historic or landscape value.

The animate natural monuments may include single trees or bushes, clusters of those plants, growing together in a forest or forming park alleys. Inanimate natural monuments are most frequently single rocks, erratic boulders dragged by a glacier, caves, etc.

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Fotografia przedstawia nietypowo, wygięte w postaci łuków pnie sosen zwyczajnych. Wygięcie pnia umiejscowione jest tuż nad ziemią. Za nimi las mieszany z drzewami o prostych pniach. To pomnik przyrody Krzywy Las.

Documentation sites are the objects of inanimate nature which are important for scientific and didactic reasons, e.g. locations of geological formations, accumulations of minerals and fossils, both those protruding above the surface, and those located underground; as well as caves, sections of disused or currently used excavations in quarries or mines (less frequently the entire excavations).

Conservation areas are the small remnants of ecosystems, such as mid‑forest ponds, clusters of trees and bushes, mid‑field forestations, peat bogs, which are frequently the habitats of rare species of animals and fungi. Those sites are of immense importance for the preservation of biodiversity.

Landscape‑nature protected complexes are small areas created to protect fragments of natural or cultural landscape to preserve their scenic or aesthetic values. They may include natural and cultural landscape. This form of protection covers among others sections of river valleys, old river beds, ponds, historic palace and mansion parks, as well as locations of old‑growth forests, picturesque rocks, post‑glacial formations, dunes.

Summary

• We distinguish area‑oriented and object‑oriented forms of environment protection.

• National parks are the highest form of nature conservation in Poland.

Keywords

national parks, nature conservation, nature reserve

Glossary