Natural resources

Forests
Forests are a national wealth of Belarus and one of the major natural resources of the country. All Belarusian forests belong to the state.

Native flora of Belarus includes 28 tree species, 42 shrub species, and more than 820 herb species.

Belarusian forests are mainly formed by the following trees: Scotch pine, common spruce, English oak, European and speckled alder, weeping and white birch, aspen, and ash. Scotch elm, Russian elm, common hornbeam, Norway maple, small-lived lime, and other tree species also are found.

36.3% of the country’s territory is covered with forest, which is practically an optimal ratio. However, forest distribution throughout the territory of the country is far from level, the ratio of forest land in individual administrative districts varies from 10% (Nesvizh district) to 62% (Lelchitsy district).

On the basis of their functions forests are distributed into several groups and protection categories. Group 1 includes forests located in protected natural areas (national parks, reserves, sanctuaries and other places of national importance), forests located in valuable areas having genetic, scientific, historical or cultural importance as well as forests performing bank-protective, protective, sanitary and recreational functions. Other forests supplying wood for timber industry belong to Group 2.

Flora
Currently, 1,680 species of vascular plants (including 1,590 angiospermous species), about 435 anophytes, 477 lichens, and over 2,232 algae species are found in Belarus. There are about 1,250 kinds of edible and poisonous fungi, about 500 species of wood-destroying fungi and a number of parasite fungi. According to some estimations, the total number of species in Belarusian microflora is about 7,000. Thus, the vegetation of Belarus includes up to 12,000 kinds of pants and fungi.

At the moment 214 species of plants are under protection - they are included in the list of endangered species of the Republic of Belarus. More than 500 plant species may be of utility in the national economy. The total biological stock of these plants in the country is about 1 million tons, of which only 5-8% is used.

Fauna
Fauna is one of the most important biological resources of Belarus, a resource of national and global importance. Currently it is represented by 457 vertebrate and more than 20,000 invertebrate species.

Mammals are represented by 73 species. The population of unique Belarusian mammals, Belovezhsky aurochs, counts 472 animals. In the northern part of the country there are about 100 forest-dwelling bears. Unlike in Europe where wolves have been practically exterminated, there are about 2 thousand persons in Belarus.

Among vertebrates birds have the greatest diversity (305 species), twice as many as mammals, reptiles and amphibians taken together.

A number of species in the country's fauna is important as resources that can be used in the economy, in particular elk, boar, roe, hare (blue hare and European hare), squirrel, wolf, fox, as well as deer, beaver, muskrat, mink, and marten.

In accordance with the requirements of the Red Book, Belarus has identified and put under protection 1,580 habitats of 77 animal species.

Water resources
The territory of Belarus serves as a watershed for the basins of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. There are altogether 20.8 thousand rivers having the total length of 90.6 thousand km. The largest of them whose length exceeds 500 km are the Dnieper with its tributaries, such as the Prypyat, the Berezina, and the Sozh, and the Neman with its tributaries such as the Vilia and the Zapadnaya Dvina.

In Belarus there are 10,800 lakes and over 9,000 bogs. The deepest, most versatile in shape, and most picturesque lakes lie in the Belorussian Poozerje. The largest lake Naroch has an area of about 80 km2. Besides, there are 136 artificial water reservoirs of which the largest is the Vilejskoje, comparable with the Naroch lake in terms of the area (79.2 km2).

The Republic of Belarus has a large supply of water resources. Rivers of the Black Sea basin and rivers of the Baltic Sea basin account respectively for about 55% and 45 % of the annual water discharge. In wet years, the total water flow of rivers increases to 92.4 km3 and in dry years (95% supply) it decreases to 37.2 km3 a year.

Underground fresh water supply amounts to 15.9 km3 per year (0.043 km3/day). The amount of natural water resources depends on the conditions of underground water generation, which are more favorable in the central, north-eastern and western parts of the country.

Mineral Resources
Over 4,000 mineral deposits have been prospected and explored in Belarus for the moment. The prospected mineral reserves satisfy the country’s current demand for potash and salt, raw limestone and cement, glass-pot and refractory clays, building sand and gravel, building stones, fresh and mineral underground waters.

However, the stock of mineral resources of the country is limited, which makes it import a lot of raw materials from other countries, namely oil, gas, coal, combustible shale, glass sand, molding clay, tripolite, gypsum, kaolin, soda ash, raw materials for the production of mineral fertilizers, face-stones, stout crushed rock, etc.

Land Resources
The land resources of the Republic of Belarus total 20.7 million ha. Climatic and geomorphic conditions in Belarus stipulated primarily podsolic, soddy and boggy soil-forming processes. As a result, the country has the following basic soil types: sod-podzol, boggy sod-podzol, soddy and sod-carbonaceous, soddy and boggy sod-carbonaceous, peatery and flood plain.