Site: Pskovsko-Chudskaya Lowland

Designation date: 13-09-1994

Coordinates: 58°09'N 027°52'E

Elevation: 30 m - 50 m

Area: 93,600 ha

Location: The site is located in northwestern Pskov Region, 7 km from the city of Pskov. The northern and western boundaries of the site pass through the open waters of Chudskoye, Teploye and Pskovskoye lakes along the border between the Russian Federation and Estonia. The site is situated across from the Estonian Ramsar Site Emajõe Suursoo Mire and Piirissaar Island (3EE003).

Criteria: 1 ,2 ,3 ,5

Importance: The water bodies of the area play a vital role in water supply and groundwater recharge. A number of rare and threatened species currently listed in the Russian Red Data Book have been recorded at the site. These include Ciconia nigra, Pandion haliaetus and Haliaeetus albicilla. Two occurring species, Crex crex and Acrocephalus paludicola are listed as globally threatened in the 2000 IUCN Red Data Book. Eleven occurring plant species are listed as rare species in the Russian Red Data Book. The Pskovsko-Chudskoye lakes are an extremely important breeding area for a wide variety of waterbirds, including Podiceps cristatus (ca.1,000 pairs). Some 8,000-11,000 Anas platyrhynchos were counted in the Remdivski Nature Reserve in 1992. The population is estimated at 14,500-20,000 individuals. Aythya ferina counts in the Remdivski Nature Reserve totalled 4,000 individuals. For the whole area, the population is estimated at 7,000-8,000 individuals. Fulica atra reaches 30,000 individuals in the Remdovski Nature Reserve. Pskovsko-Chudskoye lakes are highly productive spawning, nursery and feeding areas for fish.

Wetland Types: Xp ,U ,Ts ,O ,M ,L (dominant types shown in bold)

The site comprises a system of large natural freshwater lakes with adjacent marshes of various types, small lakes, rivers and streams surrounded by forests.

Biological/Ecological notes: Reedbed communities with associations of Schoenoplectus lacustris, Typha sp. and Sagittaria sp. occupy most of the area. The littoral belt of aquatic vegetation comprises about 2% of the total area of Lake Chudskoye and 5% of Lake Pskovskoye. Botanical descriptions from the area list 650 species of vascular plants from 68 families. Dominant submerged aquatic plants include Potamogeton perfoliatus, P. lucens, Polygonum amphibium and Sagittaria sp. Dominant emergents include Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus lacustris and Eleocharis palustris. The regional avifauna contains 277 species from 16 orders, including 100 Passeriformes, 51 Charadriiformes, 30 Anseriformes and 24 Falconiformes. Some 200 bird species breed in the area.

Hydrological/Physical notes: Chudskoye and Pskovskoye lakes are interconnected. The Narva River (the effluent of the lake) has a catchment of 47,800 sq km, including 27,912 sq km in Russia, 16,323 sq km in Estonia and a small portion in Latvia. The major rivers entering Lakes Pskovskoye and Chudskoye are the Velikaya River with a catchment of 25,200 sq km, the Gdovka River (150 sq km), the Zhelcha River (1,220 sq km) and the Chernaya River (530 sq km). The lakes are natural in origin, and remain in near-natural condition except the artificial regulation of water levels by the dam of the Narva hydro-electric power station. At the mouth of the Narva River, a system of dykes has been built, and this has caused the formation of sand levees. Podzolic and soddy podzolic soils on marine sediments dominate in the basins of the Velikaya River and the other rivers and streams entering the lakes. Loamy soils, sands and peatlands are frequent, and limestone exposures also occur. The bottom sediments are sands and silts. In Lake Pskovskoye, sand sediments are 4 m deep; below this, the sediments change to the light-grey silts. The soils are mainly acid and slightly-acid. The climate is temperate, with the ice period lasting for 100-160 days (average 139). The lakes freeze over between 20 November and 1 January, and the ice breaks up in April. The mean annual variation in water level is 112 cm. Large areas are flooded in spring. There is a trend towards decreasing water levels in the lakes.

Human Uses: The site is part state property and part communal property. All the water areas are state property as are 70% of all forests in the area. Some 95% of the fields and pastures are communal property. Small plots of lands are in private ownership. Major activities include transport, recreation and fisheries. The latter is well developed and there are five fishery enterprises. Adjacent areas are used for agriculture and animal husbandry. Ornithological research has been carried out since the beginning of the last century (Zarudny, 1910). Many researchers have visited the area. Regular investigations of the autumn bird migration have been undertaken by ornithologists from the Pskov Pedagogical Institute. The hydrographic characteristics of the lakes are also monitored on a regular basis.

Conservation Measures: The Ramsar Site includes several protected areas. In the 64,900 ha Remdovsky Nature Reserve, hunting, fishing, and the use of vehicles (except on some roads), grazing on the shores and the application of pesticides are prohibited. It is also forbidden to conduct any activities that might threaten wildlife. In the 14,000 ha Pskovsky Ornithological Reserve, grazing on islands up until the 30 June and hunting are prohibited. There are three nature monuments, Velino Lake, Dolgoye Lake, Uzhinskoye Lake where it is forbidden to conduct any activities which change the waterlevel, to divert water for irrigation purposes, to discharge waste water, to use motor boats, and to fish between 15 May and 25 June. Other natural areas are protected by their users - societies of hunters and fishermen, and the State Hunting and the State Fishery Inspection Offices. Since 1993, the lakes and shores have been protected by frontier guards. Proposed conservation measures (1997) include imposing some limitations on large-scale projects which might cause changes to the landscape; introducing measures to manage recreational activities; changing of the protection status of the Remdovsky Nature Reserve; identifying those sites which are the most important for breeding birds and rare raptors; and establishing protected areas at these sites.

Adverse Factors: Threats at the site include logging for timber and the cutting of shrubs, and the burning of vegetation. Fishing with nets occurs along the edge of the vegetation. Disturbance results from the use of motorboats near the lakeshores. Waterbird shooting disturbs birds during the migrations. It is expected that the pressure from recreation activities will increase in the coming years, but predominantly at the less important sites.

Site Management: Pskov Regional Committee for Nature Protection, 23 Nekrasov Str., Pskov 180001, Russia.

External Link:

Based on the 1997 Ramsar Information Sheet.