| Khibiny National Park | |
| Alt Name: | (Russian: Хибины) |
| Iucn Category: | II |
| Photo Width: | 300 |
| Map: | Russia |
| Relief: | yes |
| Coordinates: | 67.7167°N 61°W |
| Area: | 84804lk=onNaNlk=on |
| Governing Body: | FGBU "Khibiny " |
Khibiny National Park (Russian: Национальный парк «Хибины») protects a mountainous region of taiga and tundra on the Khibiny Mountains and Lovozero Massif of the western Kola Peninsula in northwestern Russia.[1] The mountains contain commercially important minerals, and the park's borders reflect the need to balance three uses - protection of the unique natural environment, recreation (hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter), and industrial mining. The park was officially created in 2018,[2] and is located in the districts of Kirovsk and Olenegorsk in Murmansk Oblast.[3] [4]
Surrounded by low plains, the varied terrain of the mountains supports high biodiversity. The mountain range itself is a circle about 40 km across, with Lake Imandra on the western border, and Lake Umbozero on the eastern. The park has two sections - a west sector and east sector of approximately equal size and central valley corridor that is not in the protected zone.[5] Across Lake Imandra to the west is the Lapland Biosphere Reserve. Elevations in the park range from 130 to 1,196 meters.[3]
The park is at the northern edge of the Scandinavian and Russian taiga ecoregion, only a few kilometers south of the official transition to the Kola Peninsula tundra ecoregion.[6]
The climate of the ecoregion is Subarctic climate, without dry season (Köppen climate classification Subarctic climate (Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1-3 months above 10°C) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below -3°C).[7] [8]
Ground cover in the park is 62% grassland, 27% forest, 8% bare rock, and the remaining 3% shrub cover or water.[3] Species diversity is high, as there are different altitude zones, different landform types, and mixing of species in the transition zone between Arctic and taiga flora zones.