Zapovednik Bastak is situated in the Jewish autonomous Region, on the south-eastern
slopes of the Bureinsky mountain ridge, on the upper reaches of the Bastak, Sorennak,
Kirga, and Ikura Rivers. The Zapovednik was founded in 1896 on the basis of the Bastak
Zakaznik. Its area is 91,0 thousand ha.
Coniferous-broad-leaved forests mostly of cedar with significant amounts of lime are
spread. Sites near the inundation zone are very marshy. The main forest-forming types are
Korean pine, Picea ajanensis, Khingan fir, Tilia amurensis, Fraxinus mandshurica, and Acer
mono. In the forests there grow spikenard, magnolia-vine, Eleutherococcus, and Valeriana
amurensis.
A high diversity of flora and fauna is characteristic. Flora includes many rare plants:
Adlumia asiatica, Pagonia japonica, Paeonia lactiflora, and Paeonia obovata.
In the fauna the following species are common: roebuck, elk, wild boar, roe, musk deer,
sable, Siberian weasel, mink, otter, and lynx. Rare species also live in the Zapovednik:
Asiatic black bear, Felis euptilura, white-naped crane, Ketupa blakistoni, and mandarin
duck.
