Grădina Turcească
The Turkish Garden is a landscape reservation, located between the villages of Leuntea and Copanca (Causeni district) on an area of 224 ha. It occupies two meanders of the old Dniester riverbed and was established in order to preserve the most picturesque marshy and aquatic ecosystems. The reservation includes valuable characteristic meadow forests (willows, poplars, oaks, ashes). aquatic and marshy communities. The habitat type of ash forests is one of the number of pan-European ones of importance for Europe (protected in the EU). Ash-dominated forests are communities derived from poplar forests, most likely of the association of Fraxineto (excelsior) - Populetum (white) ulmosum. In Moldova they are spread almost exclusively on the lower course of the Dniester (Chiţcani forest sector, Turkish Garden, Lunca Talmaza, the meandering sector of the Dniester between Răscăeţi and Crocmaz villages). They are located on the high ridges of the banks, flooded only during the flood.
The Turkish Garden and the Old riverbed sectors contain a great diversity of forest and aquatic birds, among which in different seasons rare species are found, such as: Danube Falcon (Falco cherrug), European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus), Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina ), Greater spotted eagle (Aquila clanga), Stock dove (Columba oenas), Great Egret (Egretta alba), Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) and Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)
Among the animals was recorded here Deer (Cervus elaphus), Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Weasel
(Mustela nivalis), Ferret (Mustela putorius), common noctule (Nyctalus noctula),lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri), soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus), Nathusius' pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusus), P ), Gray long - eared Bat (Plecotus austriacus), Serotine Bat (Eptesicus serotinus), etc.
As a result of the flora inventory, a genofond consisting of 232 species of vascular plants was highlighted, out of which 21 species of trees, 17 species of shrubs and 194 species of herbaceous plants.
In the area there are 9 species of rare plants and some trees with remarkable dimensions. Lunaria rediviva (Lunaria rediviva) and Floating Fern (Salvinia natans), these two rare plant species are included in the Red Book of the Republic of Moldova.
The sector can be visited by tourists in order to make observations and pictures of the landscape and rare species (during the period of development / mass flowering) of plants and animals. The visitors can organize night walks through the forest listening to the sounds of bats using ultrasonic detectors and catching bats with nets. According to the Decision of the Government of Moldova no. 5 of January 8, 1975, this forest area was taken under state protection, being assigned to the category of protected forest areas. By Decision of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova no. 1538 of February 25, 1998, this forest area was confirmed as a protected area and assigned to the category Landscape Reservation. At present, an integral protection and administration of the territory is missing, it being managed by Ocolo Silvic Tighina.
