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