State Natural Monument "Relic pond"

The 'Pond with Relict Plantations' is a one-hectare state natural monument located in the Birzhan Sal district of Akmola Region, within the same belt of granite-and-pine steppe country as several neighboring protected monuments. It was placed under state protection to safeguard a small pond together with the stands of trees growing around it that are classified as relict, meaning they are considered survivors of plant communities more typical of an earlier, wetter climatic period than the semi-arid steppe that now surrounds them. Kazakhstan's forestry and wildlife management authorities administer the site as part of a wider network of small-scale republican natural monuments scattered across Akmola Region, most only one or two hectares in size, that together preserve isolated patches of forest, water and rock formation within an otherwise open steppe landscape. The designation restricts logging, drainage and construction around the pond.