Архив метки: steppe

PRESERVED STEPPED AREAS AS A BASIS FOR THE FUTURE ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF BELGOROD REGION

Arid Ecosystems

Tishkov A.A., Belonovskaya E.A., Zolotukhin N.I., Titova S.V.,  Tsarevskaya N.G.,  Chendev Y.G. PRESERVED STEPPED AREAS AS A BASIS FOR THE FUTURE ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF BELGOROD REGION // Arid ecosystems. 2020. V. 26. № 1 (82). P. 43-53 . | PDF

Belgorod Oblast is a region of ancient economic development with the highest level of agricultural land use in Russia and, accordingly, anthropogenic transformation of zonal vegetation and black soils. Despite all the efforts during the recent years to improve the territorial protection of nature in the region, all categories of protected areas occupy only 1.8% of the territory, which is one of the lowest rates among the subjects of the Russian Federation. Steppe areas in protected areas occupy less than 10% of the area of all protected areas, i.e. 0.2% of the area of the region, which can’t serve as a basis for the conservation of steppe biodiversity and the formation of the ecological framework of the region, where the zonal type of vegetation − steppe. The article presents a historical analysis of the transformation of steppe vegetation in the region, the results of the inventory using remote sensing of the remaining areas of the steppes, assessing the potential of their flora for the development of secondary successions, effective for the conservation of steppe biodiversity of the regional network of protected areas and the formation of ecological framework. It is shown that the identified 699 sites with preserved zonal steppe vegetation (about 39 thousand hectares), small-contour and fragmented, are located on the inconveniences and heavily eroded slopes of beams and dens. Without special measures, they are not able to become the basis of the ecological framework. Thus, we propose approaches and methods of stimulating restoration of steppes and man-made post-agrogenic soils of the region.

Keywords: steppe, forest-steppe, meadow, real and Cretaceous steppes, Belgorod Region, protected area, ecological framework, black soils, regenerative succession, succession system, Belogorie nature reserve.

DOI: 10.24411/1993-3916-2020-10082

SPATIAL-TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF THE STATE OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE STEPPE SOILS OF THE VOLGA-DON INTERFLUVE

Arid Ecosystems

Demkina T.S. SPATIAL-TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF THE STATE OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE STEPPE SOILS OF THE VOLGA-DON INTERFLUVE // Arid ecosystems. 2020. V. 26. № 1 (82). P. 76-83 . | PDF

Soil microorganisms are the essential part of soil composition. Almost every soil process depends on the microorganisms’ activity, in one way or another. That is why characteristic of microbial communities is one of the most important diagnostic indices representing the conditions for soil formation. Paleosols maintain some features from the moment of their burial, which can be found in some of the parameters of their microbial community, such as the active biomass of microorganisms, ecologic and trophic structure of community, oligotrophy index etc. We studied microbial communities from the soils of different ages and different natural areas of Volga-Don interfluve, to determine the patterns of their spatial-temporal changes in connection with the current conditions of soil formation. We found out that the characteristics of communities of the modern soils in the dry-steppe and deserted-steppe areas in the south-east of the East European Plain mostly determine the specificity of the local conditions for soil formation. Thus, the soils of one sub-class, while being under different geomorphological and landscape conditions, can vary in their microbiological parameters. Or the characteristics of microbial communities of different soils can be very close, if the latter are related to the similar reliefs, soil-forming rocks and ground water level. Conditions of those communities during different historical periods are mostly determined by the patterns of evolution of specific soil areal (landscape) and bioclimatic changes during the century. Therefore, the local specificity is formed under the dynamics of the microbial communities’ conditions and their structural and functional organization.

Keywords: steppe, chestnut and light chestnut soils of different ages, microbial communities.

DOI: 10.24411/1993-3916-2020-10086