Архив метки: steppe zone

SPATIAL DIFFERENTIATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE IN AKMOLA REGION

Arid Ecosystems

Smagulov Ye.N. SPATIAL DIFFERENTIATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE IN AKMOLA REGION // Arid ecosystems. 2021. V.27. № 3 (88). P. 72-80.

Long-term dynamics of average air temperatures and annual precipitation amounts confirms the reality of climatic changes that began in the 70th of the last century in the Akmola region that is one of the leading agricultural regions of Kazakhstan. Cultivation of cereals, in particular, spring wheat, which is known to be extremely sensitive to climatic and weather conditions, prevails in the structure of agricultural production of the region. Based on the analysis of climatic indicators for 1931-2019, according to the available data of meteorological stations, the intraregional features of climate change, which led to an increase in the yield of grain crops, were identified. Correlation analysis established a high dependence of yield on the climatic conditions of the warm period. With the preservation of the current level of farming culture and the continued growth of average temperatures, a decrease in yield is expected in dry-steppe and southern steppe regions of the region. In the northern steppe regions, more intense trends in climatic indicators of the cold months favor an increase in yields and an expansion of agricultural production. Further development of agriculture in Akmola region requires taking into account intraregional differences in the intensity of climatic trends. In order to avoid the negative consequences of climate change, it is proposed to introduce adaptation technologies, to diversify agricultural production, to develop organic agriculture and actively to support agricultural producers.

Keywords: adaptation, agriculture, agroclimatic resources, cereals, climate change, dry steppe zone, long-term dynamics, Northern Kazakhstan, steppe zone, yield.

Funding. This work was carried out as part of the Research Project of the Geographical Faculty of Moscow State University.

DOI: 10.24411/1993-3916-2021-10166

TRANSVOLGA-TRANSURAL STEPPES OF THE NORTHERN SUBZONE OF THE STEPPE ZONE: SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE MODERN FORMATION DIVERSITY

Arid Ecosystems

Safronova I.N.,  Kalmykova O. G.,  Stepanova N. Yu. TRANSVOLGA-TRANSURAL STEPPES OF THE NORTHERN SUBZONE OF THE STEPPE ZONE: SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE MODERN FORMATION DIVERSITY // Arid ecosystems. 2020. V. 26. № 4 (85). P. 4-9. | PDF

The significant part of the native Transvolga-Transural steppes of the northern subzone of the Steppe zone is destroyed by plowing. And on large territory they are represented by fallow lands of different age. It is known that communities of many formations are spread throughout the steppe zone. The differences in the structure of undisturbed communities in different subzones are quite clear. On fallow lands and pastures these differences are poorly visible. Basing on many years of our research of the vegetation cover in the steppe zone we aimed in 2018–2019 to find out how much the diversity of formations on the fallow lands changes and how their structure can be used to appreciate the subzonal status of the territory. The research is based on field studies including a route method, more than 100 geobotanical descriptions made by standard method, the analysis of which uses ecological-phytocoenotic classification; more than 700 herbarium sheets were collected. We revealed that zonal Stipa zallesskii steppes do not currently dominate in the Transvolga-Transural part of the Northern subzone, but Stipa capillata steppes are dominant representing the background vegetation on the fallow lands. Along with Stipa capillata steppes large areas are occupied by secondary Stipa lessingiana steppes. As peculiar component of the vegetation cover of the Northern subzone we can mention the communities of dwarf semishrubs. They are confined to saline soils or to the outputs of the rocks. Halophytic and petrophytic variants of steppes are represented not only by semi-shrub communities, but also by perennial grasses.

Keywords: Transvolga, Pre-Ural, Transural, steppe zone, forb-feather-grass steppes, diversity.

DOI: 10.24411/1993-3916-2020-10112