The area is noteworthy for its position - close to a city and relatively open to public hikers on certain trails - and for being an island of mountain-forest biodiversity surrounded by lower river floodplains.

The ridge is surrounded by medium height spurs of granite and gneiss foothills, reaching down to flat meadows and floodplains around the entire reserve.

For the most part, this ecoregion is a low-lying fertile floodplain, with patches of deciduous subtaiga forests; the Khekhtsir Ridge rises about the characteristic terrain, producing many transition habitats that support high levels of biodiversity.

This climate is characterized by large swings in temperature, both diurnally and seasonally, with mild summers and cold, snowy winters.

The main focus of scientific study on the reserve is seeking to understand the dynamics of plaint and animal communities in an isolated forest of the Amur River floodplains.

The main public "ecological trail" is a 1-hour guided hike through the forest along the confluence of the Ussuri and the Amur.