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

The Russian Steppe 409
head-emergence right up to the flowering stage and aftermath growth must be
grazed or mown in fall. These pastures are best grazed by cattle (and horses)
and, when there is little Stipa spp., by sheep. Stocking pressure should be
increased for two to three consecutive years.
Medicago polymorpha can be abundant in the steppe of European Russia .
Although it is well eaten, M. polymorpha can be a most harmful plant because
the pods spoil the wool. It can be suppressed by hard and prolonged grazing .
Herbicides are also effective.
Artemisia spp. (A. lercheana , A. pauciflora , A. astrachanica ) are reduced by
burning , and grasses such as Festuca sulcata , Euagropyron spp. and Stipa spp.
are encouraged.
FERTILIZER
Fertilizing the steppe is only mentioned in passing here. The effects of
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium on yield, on quality and on botanical
composition are well established (Smurygin, 1974) and differ little from what is
found in similar soil conditions in the West. Unlike in steppe, phosphorus and
potassium are a pre-condition in lowland marshy conditions and in acid soils
in the north. The most spectacular fertilizer is nitrogen. However, land-tocapital
ratios in most of Russia are such that nitrogen fertilizer is best reserved
to those situations where all the limiting factors mentioned earlier have been
removed and where moisture conditions are favourable to enable the grass to
benefit fully from the fertilizer applied. Such circumstances are rare. However,
most of all, fertilizer should be profitable in terms of the produce from the
livestock fed from it. Most of the fertilizer is used on dairy farms in the forest
zone in the north near the major cities. Yield increases in dry matter from 2
to 8 t/ha were reported from the Tula and Kaluga regions (Larin, 1956). In the
view of the authors, grassland and grazing will soon regain their rightful place
in Russia at the expense of arable fodder crops such as maize grown for silage.
More and better use will also have to be made of manure and urine, one of the
most neglected resources at present, especially from the storage point of view.
Night grazing, through mobile camps if necessary, should be the rule, were it
only to benefit by the manure and urine dropped on the spot.
Legumes should also fare better under balanced manure and fertilizer
regimes. In the view of the authors, clovers should be highly appreciated where
their continuous presence can be assured. Inducing clovers by sowing and
other measures is often not only costly but also temporary in its effect. Savings
on nitrogen fertilizers may be offset by the extra requirements for other fertilizers,
especially phosphate.
As far as the steppe zone is concerned, the same development as regards
fertilizer is forecast for the better-watered areas, the floodplains. P and K are
usually not in short supply. Some botanical effects observed in the steppe
vegetation are worth mentioning. At the Baskhir Experimental Station,