Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

S.S. MIKHALEV
The Russian Steppe 395
Forest steppe
Between the forest zone in the north and the semi -desert in the south stretches the
steppe belt. Characteristic of forest steppe is the alternation of forest islands and
large areas of more herbaceous vegetation . The European part is considerably
more humid (460–560 mm) than the Asian part (315–400 mm), and warmer.
Whereas, in the forest-steppe zone, the relief is hilly on the western side of
the Urals, lowland plains prevail in western Siberia, with many depressions
occupied by lakes and marshes.
In the European forest steppe , practically all catchment areas occupied
by chernozems are under cultivation . Small areas of forests consist of birch,
aspen and oak. Grasslands have remained on steep slopes and near the
riverbeds (flood meadow s). Because of intensive grazing , Poa angustifolia
and Festuca sulcata predominate. On better preserved hayfields (Plate 10.4),
a wide variety of grasses (Calamagrostis epigeios and species of Agropyron ,
Bromus , Festuca, Phleum and Poa) and legumes (Trifolium pratense , T. repens
and Medicago , Vicia and Lathyrus spp.) and herbs are found. Hay yields
of 1 000–1 500 kg/ha used to be recorded, and were considered good. In
overgrazed areas, yields are only a third of that.
In the Asian part of the forest steppe , forests used to occupy up to
15 percent of the territory and consisted of birch, aspen and willow , but no
oak. Groundwater levels are high, so swamps are common. Much less of
the land has been ploughed than on the western side of the Urals, and then
mostly on the ridges. On the plains, solonetzic soils and typical chernozems
(mainly solonetzic) predominate. The predominant plant is Calamagrostis
epigeios , which is very typical of western Siberia. Other species are Poa
pratensis , Galatella punctata and Peucedanum ruthenicum . Hay yields are
600–800 kg/ha.
Plate 10.4
Haymaking in a forest -steppe floodplain.