Michael's Virgin Land Nature Reserve
The Michael's Virgin Land Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve of Ukraine that covers meadow-steppe and forest-steppe in the northeast of Ukraine near the border with Russia. It exhibits plants found in both northern and southern steppes. First created as a reserve in 1928, it was expanded over the years and formally upgraded to a national reserve in 2009. The reserve is in the administrative districts of Lebedyn and Nedryhailiv of Sumy Oblast.
Topography
The reserve is relatively flat in the uplands of northeast Ukraine, in the watershed of the Sula River and the Grun River. It is the remnant of what was formerly a large virgin grassland. The main body of the reserve is in the middle of the district, with several small satellite sites of 40-100 hectares each scattered around the vicinity to protect other remnant meadow-steppe plots.Climate and ecoregion
The climate of the reserve is Humid continental climate, warm summer. This climate is characterized by large seasonal temperature differentials and a warm summer (at least four months averaging over, but no month averaging over.The reserve is located in the East European forest steppe ecoregion, a transition zone between the broadleaf forests of the north and the grasslands to the south.. This ecoregion is characterized by a mosaic of forests, steppe, and riverine wetlands.