Balta Albă Protected Nature Reserve

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GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION

Buzău County

Balta Albă Protected Nature Reserve was declared a protected area by Decision no. 13/23.06.1995 of the Buzău County Council, this status being established by Law no. 5/2000 regarding the approval of the National Territory Planning Plan – Section III – Protected Areas. The reservation has been designated as a protected area for the protection and conservation of important habitats and species of avifaunistic and floral environments, offering the possibility of visiting for scientific and educational purposes.

Balta Albă Nature Reserve corresponds to the 4th IUNC category. Situated on the territory of the administrative unit Balta Albă (Buzău County) and Grădiştea (Brăila County), near the DN 22 C Buzău-Braila road, it has an area of 1167 ha, a perimeter of about 17 km and a maximum depth of over 4 m.

Location

45.286490, 27.335986

SPECIES WITHIN THE AREA

Balta Albă Protected Nature Reserve

ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE

The habitat of the reservation includes specific species of wet and sandy terrain, panonic and ponto-sarmatic lagoons and marshes, as well as powerful oligo-mesotrophic waters with benthic vegetation.

The vegetation is halophilic during the dry season, when water dries out in the very warm summer months and turns into a palustral, swampy type during very wet spring and autumn periods when the ponds flood and the water stagnates: stuf, papură, rogoz, buzduganul de apă, cucuta de apă, troscotul de baltă, lintița, iarba broaștelor.

The fauna of the reserve is a diverse one (mammals, reptiles/ amphibians, invertebrates, fish and birds), many bird species using the lake for reproduction, due to the favorable conditions they encounter in the area. Near the banks of the shore, ciocîntors and nagâț nests can be seen on the ground, while in the area of the beams you can see prundărașul de sărătură and califarul alb. Also, on the southwestern banks nests of prigorie, lăstun de mal, dumbrăveancă and vânturel roș can be found.

At the same time, other rare species may be encountered: chirighița cu obraz alb, chirighița cu aripi albe, pescărușul mic, țigănușul. Rața mare, rața cârâitoare, rața cu cap castaniu, lebăda de vară, graurul, codobatura are also among the species that can be found in this area. In general, the latter are in search of food, especially in floating algae areas, and with the reappearance of small amounts of fish (caras), the pond has also been sporadically visited by pelicans.

Since Balta Albă Lake has chlorinated, sodic, low-magnesium, hypotonic and low-sulphated water, sapropelic sludge is an important natural curing factor known since 1847, with exceptional qualities. From this sludge the dust known as Pell-Ama is obtained, currently used in the manufacture of ointments for rheumatic diseases and cosmetic products. The main diseases treated here are diseases related to the locomotor system, dermatological diseases, rheumatic diseases, peripheral neurologists (paresis, sequelae caused by polyneuropathy) and gynecological disorders (ovarian failure, chronic metroanexitis).

VULNERABILITIES

Since it is not connected to the Buzău River, only in exceptional cases its waters can flow into the nature reserve and vice versa. This is the reason why mineralization, one of the characteristics of the lakes in the area, is also specific to Balta Albă.

The configuration of the lake-reserve is quite varied – steep, high and low banks – and it was strongly influenced by the northeast winds that have acted through the waves on the right bank, causing its erosion and hence the loss of some agricultural land.

In SCI0005, on the territory of the administrative unit Balta Albă, in the nearby of Balta Albă nature reserve, at the initiative of the Balta Albă Local Council, a manure storage and management platform was set up.

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PHOTO GALLERY

Balta Albă Protected Nature Reserve

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