Rezerwaty przyrody
NATURE RESERVE "ŻURAWNO"
The aim of protection is the maintenance of the forest lowland ecosystem with the habitats of rare plant and animal species.
Żurawno Lake, which the name of nature reserve comes from, is really enchanting, mid-forest lake located in the depression. The area of the lake covers 7,70 ha, but minimum open water table area is only 2,5 ha. The water does not exceed 1,5 m of its depth. The lake is a water basin strongly overgrown with small water clarity. It is supplied with small watercourse flowing from the east , and probably partly supplied with underground waters. Formation of the lake was influenced by people. There are permanent marks of humans actions, among others mill's ruins, which functioned for a long time in the first half of XX century. Contemporarily, the lake is maintained thanks to damming water obtained with help of sandbags piled up into dike. The remains of material culture are here the subjects of protection.
Nature reserve "Żurawno" is made accessible for pursuing educational activity. However, it is necessary to remember about bans being in force in nature reserves, especially not forget about keeping silence within their areas. Nature reserves are yet our common „live nature museums".
Within the area of the nature reserve, there was confirmed the occurrence of 131 plant species, namely: 107 herbaceous plant species, 17 trees species, 6 shrubs and little shrubs (fruticulus) species and 7 mosses species. Special care species include: lily of the valley, spring snowflake, common snowdrop, common ivy, yellow water – lily and ostrich fern.
For the main attention deserves unusually rare and beautiful fern – ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) - appearing here in a very large number about 1000 of specimen. That is one of the biggest, regarding the area, habitats of this plant in Poland. Its large leaves run the process of photosynthesis reaching up to 1,5 m in length, the leaves grow spirally from an underground rhizome. Polish name of this species origins from sporophylls, which remind ostrich plumes in shape.
Nature reserve Żurawno is of great importance as the refugium for rare insect speciesfrom Cerambycidae family, which includes: Callidium aeneum, Molorchus minorand Pogonocherus hispidulus. Very local species is presented by a local beetle Prostomis mandibularis from Prostomidae family. The ecologists from the Naturalists Club, who prepared project documentation of the nature reserve and they were first, who probably claimed the appearance of a local beetle Prostomis mandibularis in this region of Poland!
It is also worth paying attention to bird species living in the nature reserve, namely: common crane, stock dove, black stork, white – tailed eagle and osprey.
Among amphibians, there are very valuable species, which include European fire – bellied toad and European tree frog, while among mammals, there is European otter. All mentioned species of vertebrates belong to strongly threatened ones in Poland and Europe, as well as they are protected in accordance with both, Polish law and European Union law.
In waters of the natural reserve lives very interesting fish – amur bitterling, also called bitterling. It belongs to carp family and is under protection.
Date and legal act taking the nature reserve under protection: Regulation No. 19 of the Lubusz Governor, dated April 20, 2006 on the classification as a nature reserve (Voivodeship Official Journal of the Lubusz Province [Dz.U] No 28, item 586).
Protected area: 22,88 ha.