The paper summarizes the results of the analysis of the territorial protection maintenance of the wildlife species listed in the Red Data Book of the Nizhny Novgorod region. To assess the current state of territorial protection of rare wildlife species the database containing 3599 facts of registrations of the rare wildlife species on approved and projected protected areas of the Nizhny Novgorod region was compiled by the authors. In addition, authors have offered to recognize 5 levels of the protection maintenance: full, good, satisfactory, poor, and absent. Authors have evaluated the scale of changes in the rare wildlife species providing with territorial protection in the XX-XXI centuries as well. The territorial protection maintenance of the rare wildlife species in the Nizhny Novgorod region has grown significantly over the past 40 years. In 2001, the rare wildlife species listed in the Red Data Book of the Nizhny Novgorod region were known to inhabit only 195 protected areas. Now the rare species of animals, plants, fungi and lichens are protected in 227 approved protected areas, and 92 territories are projected for the protected areas establishing. In general, the territorial protection of rare species listed in the regional Red Data Book seems to be satisfactory, but need the significant improvement. It is necessary to create additional protected areas along with continued searching of rare species habitats.

The purpose of our study is to consider the possibilities of using different approaches to recognize the significance of the territory for the biodiversity conservation. The Ichalkovsky nature reserve (zakaznik) with an area of 1,442 hectares in the Nizhny Novgorod region was selected for analysis as a botanical and geological object unique for the Russian Plain. The criterion of various rare wildlife species records was used as a leading approach. Analysis of published materials and field research in 2020 allowed us to identify in the studied territory the habitat of 88 wildlife species listed in the Red Data Books of Russia and the Nizhny Novgorod Region. They are very different concerning their taxonomy and biology. This criterion use shows the extremely high conservation value of the Ichalkovsky reserve. The territory under consideration is characterized by high biological diversity and a high degree of biota remained, as well as its weak human disturbance. It is shown that, in accordance with the approaches of international nature conservation programs, the Ichalkovsky reserve has the status of a territory of special nature conservation significance within the Emerald Network of Russia, as well as an Important Bird Area. This territory is the core of the environmental framework of European Russia and meets the criteria for identifying several categories of high conservation value forests. The proposed ways have shown high efficiency. Ichalkovsky reserve is very important to conserve the biodiversity, including at the international level. This natural area should have legal protection adequate to its nature conservation value. Such protection can be provided by the status of a cluster of a national park.

The Nizhny Novgorod region is the only region of Russia where the Strategy of biological diversity conservation has the status of a normative act. It was approved by the regional government in 2000. The article aims to assess the status and trends of species diversity of wildlife in the region after the adoption of the Strategy. Two model groups of wildlife species were used for the assessment: terrestrial vertebrates (468 species) and vascular plants (1800 species). Changes in regional lists of species belonging to the model groups are analyzed. The share of terrestrial vertebrate species requiring protection is now 41% and it is slightly higher than at the end of the XX century. As in the 1990s, about a quarter of the native flora of plants requires protection to varying degrees. For species requiring protection, both terrestrial vertebrates and plants at the present time, as at the end of the XX century, the main limiting factor remains the human disturbance of habitats. The second most important limiting factor is the direct pursuit (hunting, catching and destruction) of rare species, although the significance of this factor in the XXI century has rather decreased. Limiting factors have not been known for 21% of species of terrestrial vertebrates and 7% of plant species, which encourages studying the biology of these species. It is shown that the solution of problems concerned with the protection of biological diversity should be the most important element of regional environmental management, and the strategy of biological diversity conservation of the Nizhny Novgorod region has been generally relevant. Suggestions for editing the Strategy and developing the Action Plan for the biodiversity conservation of the Nizhny Novgorod region are presented.

The meadow steppe of the Nizhny Novgorod region is an endangered ecosystem, which is associated with a significant part of the biological diversity in the region. It covers now not more than 1.5% of the former area. At the same time, the steppes are inhabited by more than 100 wildlife species listed in the regional Red Book. Using GIS methods we have developed a technique that allowed us to identify about 14,000 potential steppe sites. In 2013-14, according to obtained data an inventory of steppes was carried out. About 50% of the potential sites identified with use of GIS methods were surveyed. Almost all the areas with a high probability of steppe ecosystems remained were examined. At least 90% of remained meadow steppes have been discovered. In order to monitor the steppe ecosystems, 29 most significant sites were reexamined in 2019. A total of 136 slopes of ravines and gullies with a total area of 9732 hectares were identified, where plant communities with the dominance of steppe species are represented. The land areas ranged from 1.4 ha to 454 ha, and the share of steppe associations ranged from 0.1% to 80%. Changes in the species composition and number of steppe plants in the region are characterized. About 15% of the area of the Nizhny Novgorod meadow steppes are protected as 8 natural monuments of regional significance, another 20% are on lands that are reserved by the regional government as the regional protected areas. It is planned to increase the share of the preserved steppe areas, which have legal protection, to 85% of their area. The trend of factors leading to degradation of steppe ecosystems and recognising as limiting for steppe wildlife species is analyzed. It is proposed to implement a program of restoration of pasture cattle breeding to solve the problem of the meadow steppe ecosystem conservation in the Nnizhny Novgorod region.

The article is the first attempt to consider the consumption of food supply by the European subspecies of the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) during reintroduction in the central part of the Russian Plain on the territory of the Kerzhensky State Reserve in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. On the territory of the adaptation enclosure (122.44 ha), the vegetation was examined in 2015-16 (before the release of deer) and the changes that have occurred over 2 years of keeping animals (2018-20). The enclosure was used by animals for 5776 deer-days, including 3756 summer days and 2020 winter days. It was found that the area of the adaptation enclosure is fully used by the reindeer. Summer food supply have not changed, but a significant degradation of the lichen layer has been revealed. It was shown that the use of lichens by deer for food during the snowless period is minimal. Lichens of the genus Cladonia are the main food for reindeer after the formation of the snow cover. Winter food supply is the limiting factor that determines the habitat capacity. During the 2020 winter reindeer days, 60.02 tons of lichens were used. The daily consumption of lichens by one deer was 29.71 kg. It is shown that the number of deer kept in the adaptation enclosure exceeds the habitat capacity. The possibilities of keeping different numbers of animals with and without winter feeding have been estimated. The area of winter pastures necessary for a reindeer is calculated: 26.94 hectares of natural reindeer lichen communities, or 14.32 hectares in terms of 100% lichen coverage. These data can be used to calculate the potential capacity of reindeer habitats in forest-swamp complexes of the central part of the Russian Plain