Biodiversity
About 5% of the Neman’s catchment area is protected. This includes 2 national parks: Narochansky (part of the Vilia river basin) in Belarus and Dzukia in Lithuania). The Belarus portion of the Neman basin includes about 20 zakazniks (restricted areas with some public access) of national importance and 68 of local (Oblast) importance. Lithuania has 4 regional parks, and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia) has 3 protected areas of national importance.
Fish Species
Of all the fish species, occurring in the Neman and its tributaries, the salmon is, no doubt, of the greatest value, this includes Atlantic salmon and trout that are north Atlantic migratory fish. These species no longer occur in the Neman itself, since the Kaunas dam was erected and upstream parts of the river have become inaccessible to them. However, they do remain in the Vilia (Neris) river, as it flows into the Neman downstream of the dam, and find their way to its tributaries.
Trout occur in other tributaries of the Neman, too. Especially in areas close to the Poland and Lithuania frontiers. Anglers may get lucky spinning for grayling. Salmon are an endangered species in the Neman basin and are entered in the Red Book of Belarus.
The most common fish species, caught in the middle sections of the Neman, is bream. According to data published by the Grodno Oblast Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, bream have taken up 45 to 90% of the total catch over the last few years. Silver bream comes next, and then roach. Less frequently caught species include pike, perch, asp and barbel.
Neither the Neman nor its tributaries are of significant commercial fishery value. Some fisheries, though, like one of the Chapaev Collective Farm in Mosty district in Grodno Oblast still bring in catches as big as 5.5 to 7.0 tonness a year, according to the Oblast fish protection authority. Artisanal fishing remains a popular pastime for individuals using a rod on the banks of the Neman or its major tributaries. Skilled ones catch barbel and perch pike near Grodno where a population of perch pike has developed since a stock of young fish was introduced by Belarus fish specialists) and even catfish are occasionally caught.
Forests
Over 50% of the Neman catchment is taken up by agricultural land, arable lands, meadows and pastures. Forested land takes up 37% of the basin in Belarus, 30% in Lithuania and 17% in Russia. The dominant type throughout the basin area is mixed forests with a major prevalence of pine. Of deciduous tree species, the most widespread ones include birch, alder, aspen and oak. Oaks are of special aesthetic value. The tree, highly sensitive to soil type, often prefers to grow on the Neman banks, and there are frequent oak woods on the flood plains.
If you ever have travelled down the road from Grodno to Vilnius, you undoubtedly have seen that almost half the route is through a forest environment. As was mentioned above, almost one third of Lithuania is taken up by forests. But the forest area in question, named Dzukia (between Druskininkai and Varena), is the largest. It has a total area of 1,500 km2. And still it is just a small portion of the Dzukia National Park which covers 55,900 km2. The park is a natural and cultural heritage site, with a number of rivers, namely the Neman, Merkis, Ula, Gruda and Skroblus, flowing through. (Two annotated photos of Druskininkai).
Forests in Lithuania are a habitat for 1,500 species of higher plants (300 of which are entered in the national Red Data Book), 250 species of mosses and lichens, and 2,500 species of fungi.
Birds
There is a large range of different birds in the Neman basin. However, a number of bird populations are under pressure as a consequence of human activities. For instance, 30 bird species occurring in the upper and middle parts of the basin, are entered in the Red Book of Belarus. These include little grebe, bittern and little bittern, black stork, mute swan, short-toed eagle, common crane, eagle owl and many others. There are 6 endangered bird species in Belarus, of which 5 occur in the Neman basin. These are spotted eagle, white-tailed eagle, great snipe, corncrake and aquatic warbler. Regarding the latter, the major part of its world population occurs in the Neman basin.
A bird protection area has been designated near Zhuvintas Lake in Lithuania, in the Neman catchment area. The key bird species here are the common buzzard, grey heron and white stork. Lithuanian bird specialists consider that, for birds, the most important site, in Lithuania, is within the Neman Delta Regional Park. The routes of migratory birds making their way from Artic via Europe to Africa (and back) lie through the Neman delta. Out of the 294 bird species occurring here (that is 90% of all occurring in Lithuania), 20 species are unique to the Park.
Unique Landscapes
It is characteristic of the Neman in its section from Grodno to Kaunas to meander markedly. The tributaries also meander (the above mentioned road crosses the Merkis river three times). In 1992, downstream of the Dzukia National Park, a Regional Neman Bends Park was established, to preserve unique landscapes in the area, as well as the Prenaisky pine forest’s ecosystem, where the tallest pine-tree in Lithuania grows. (Photos of the meandering Neman). The Park has the largest population in Europe of a rare plant – broad-leaved garlic, or ramson. Animal species occurring here include Alpine hare, otter and fat dormouse, all three recorded in the Red Book of Lithuania. Forests in the Neman basin in Lithuania have considerable populations of wild boar, roe, elk, badger, and lynx occurs in the sub-catchment of the Vilia/Neris.
The Neman delta
is abundant in fish. The current of the river and especially its branches, is slow here, and the delta is, crisscrossed by migration routes for fish, and also provides spawning and feeding grounds. It is truly a fisherman’s Mecca.
As well as the natural river branchesin the Neman delta, there is a tremendous number of man-made ditches and polder systems.
From the hydrological point of view the delta may be divided into two parts: the Great and Small deltas. The Great Delta starts where the Matrosovka River branches off at a distance of 48 km from the estuary. Then it in turn branches out in a few armlets. All of these flow within the territory of Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia. The Small Delta is formed by the branches of Skirvite and Atmata in Lithuania. In this way, by branching out in a number of armlets, the Neman discharges into the Kurshsk Bay of the Baltic Sea.
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