The Chełm district is a large base of raw materials of plant origin. Therefore, the agro-food industry provides the greatest investment opportunities. Low environmental pollution and decreasing consumption rate of fertilizers promote healthy food production. The Chełm district is characterized by a large variety of the lie in the land. Beside the lowland landscape Obniżenie Dubieńskie, one can see the upland landscape called Pagóry Chełmskie or even the mountainous landscape. Its parts are especially indicated in the terrain of Działa Grabowieckie. The main aim of the landscape protection is to preserve its all-natural values that have not been transformed or destroyed by the current economy. This is accomplished by creating parks and protected landscape areas. There are two parks and three areas of protected landscape.
The Chełm Landscape Park occupies an area of 14,000 hectares. It is located in districts as: Chelm, Dorohusk, Sawin and Ruda Huta. The aim of establishing the park was to protect valuable forest and peat ecosystems that are rich in rare and protected plant and animal species. Specific features of flora are conditioned by the lushness of calcium carbonate in the soil.
In the range of the park, there are valuable and slightly converted forest areas with the lushness of biotypes (habitats of sylvan, broadleaved and riparian forests with a significant number of rare plants).
The surrounding of Chełm is a place where unique carbonate peats appear with the predominate rush Cladium mariscus- a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. Communities of rare sedge species can be found on the outskirts. Other rare plants are: Adonis vernalis- a kind of pheasant’s eye; Prunus fruticosa- a kind of sour cherry;Carlina acaulis;Gentiana acaulis- belongs to the gentian’s genus, Orchis militaria- a kind of orchid;and Aster amellus- belongs to the aster’s genus. Fifty-three species under strict protection and thirteen species under partial protection grow in the park and its near neighbourhood. Some grow in populations reaching thousands of specimens, especially in the peat bogs. These are, for example: Iris sibirica- the Siberian iris, Dactylorhiza incarnata- the Early Marsch orchid, Anemone sylvestris- the snowdrop anemone and Dianthus superbus- a kind of carnation. A special variety in habitat causes an incredible richness of fauna of the park. 152 bird species are claimed to nest in the park, for instance: black storks, cranes, lesser spotted eagles, the aquatic warbler (one of the most endangered European birds), the short-eared owl, a snipe, the Eurasian curlew and many others. Even the pond turtle occurs in peat bogs and the area of the Sawin Forest Administration Region in the vicinity of Stanisławów. The fauna of invertebrates is also incredibly rich. More than 800 species of butterflies live here (38% of that live in Poland). So far, several of them have not been observed in Poland, except the region of Chełm, so far. Many of them are on the Red List of Endangered and Threatened Animals.
Among 94 Natural Monuments existing in the area of the Chełm region, one is able to distinguish 65 separate trees, 11 groups of trees, 7 erratic boulders or their groups, 4 communities of plants, 4 spring niches, 1 viewing hill, 1 plant position, 1 avenue of trees (an avenue of lime). The Pedunculate oak(or the English oak) called ‘Bolko’ was recognized as the first Natural Monument in 1959. It is situated in the park in Hniszów (in the district of Ruda Huta). It is one of the oldest and the most impressive trees in the Lublin province (the circumference: 860 cm). There are another 11 monumental trees in its neighbourhood (6 oaks, 2 ashes, the Silver birch and the exotic Honey locust).
