Steppes are a type of vegetation represented by a community of drought-resistant perennial herbaceous plants with a predominance of turf grasses, less often sedges and onions.
They are common where there is very little rainfall and the climate is moderately warm.
Habitat
If we analyze the geographical location of steppe reliefs on the globe, we will find that the most common steppes are formed in the interior areas of the continent.
The steppe regions of the temperate zones of the southern and northern hemispheres are characterized by treeless watersheds, a dry hot climate, and the dominance of cereal greens on dark chestnut and black soil lands.
Steppes, modified by pasture digression, predominate in area and show low-grass grazing communities with a predominance of fescue and wormwood. Among other things, the steppe includes forbs and all kinds of shrubs. In addition to the mountain steppes, solonetzic steppe plants, such as wormwood, chamomile, etc., remained in small fragments on the plain. Thymes, cornflowers and other plants are specific to the steppe on gravelly lands.
Systematization
According to the research of scientists, according to the classification, steppe plants can be divided into two types:
- meadow (in the forest-steppe zone);
- typical (in the steppe zone).
There are a large number of different plants, let’s look at just a few of them in more detail:
Biennial or perennial herbaceous plant. The height of the plant is about one and a half meters. The stem is single, straight, spreading upward. The leaves are pinnate, large, from 10 to 25 cm long and 4 to 10 cm wide. The leaves are rosette petiole, sessile, enclosing the stem.
They are green on top and covered with snow-white felt below, with tiny spines along the edges. The flowers are collected in spherical inflorescences of bluish-white color. The diameter of the spherical head is 4-5 cm. The fruits are achenes. Grows among bushes in river valleys, wastelands and forest edges.
Perennial- family Asteraceae with an erect stem. Its height varies from 45 to 62 cm. The stem leaves are pinnately dissected, separated into huge amount lobes The inflorescence is corymbose.
Small, snow-white flowers (pink-lilac or red). Blooms quite long time in June-August, grows on hills everywhere, can also grow on meadow steppe. Often found on steep slopes.
. 
Perennial herbaceous plant of the Liliaceae family. The stem of asparagus is erect, height up to 150 cm, branched. The leaves are reduced to scales and are created in the axils of the stem. modified shoots, resembling leaves. The camouflage stem is smooth, bright, and forms shoots.
They are used as vegetable plant. The flowers are emerald yellow. The fruit is scarlet (berry). Blooms in June – July. Asparagus can grow in meadows, among small forests, in steppes and, of course, on mountain slopes.
Herbaceous plant of the family ranunculaceae. It is characterized by early flowering (from 40 to 50 days). The very first flowers, as always, are large, pale yellow, amber, terminal.
At the beginning of flowering (the height of the bush is from 10 to 15 cm), and at the time of fruiting it reaches 35 - 65 cm. It is found almost everywhere:
- each bush has from 3 to 15 generative ones;
- and from 4 to 22 vegetative processes.
. 
The plant is from the Lamiaceae family. It has a creeping and branched stem. It takes root, forming new stems. The leaves are round, kidney-shaped, petiolate. Flowers 3-5 pcs. are located in the axils of the middle leaves, they are tiny, violet-blue or azure-lilac in color.
The pedicels are five times shorter than the calyx and are provided with bracts. The height of the stems varies from 10 to 35 cm. It blooms in May-June. They can grow along ravines and on hillsides.
Perennial herbaceous plant - families St. John's wort. The stem is straight, from 45 to 75 cm in height, glabrous, with 2 edges. The leaves are elongated and sessile. The leaves are scattered with dotted containers that look like holes, hence the name - St. John's wort.
The flowers are countless, yellow-golden hue, collected in a wide paniculate, almost corymbose inflorescence. Sepals are pointed with a complete edge. The petals are twice as long as the sepals and bloom in June-July. The rhizome is not thick and stems extend from it.
Veronica dubravnaya
Perennial herbaceous plant. Green shoots persist all year round. The leaves are placed oppositely. The flower has one pistil and two stamens. Veronica fruit is compressed box. Grows in meadow areas.
. 
Plant buckwheat family, height ranges from 15 to 40 cm. It has even spreading stems. The leaves are lanceolate or elliptic, tiny, with a short root. The flowers are present in the axils of the leaves and are divided throughout the plant. The corolla of the flower is dull pink. The fruit is a nut (triangular).
Blooms from May to October. It grows along paths, on avenues, in courtyards, and in pastures. By the way, on pastures where there is a huge overload of livestock, all plant variations suffer, although not knotweed.
Common cress
Herbaceous plant - belongs to the family cruciferous. Bright greenish rosettes of colza made of intricate pinnately dissected leaves. Blooms in May-June.
With an abundance of moisture and sun from melted snow, the cress lightning fast a flowering shoot with a cluster of yellow flowers extends.
The fruit is multi-seeded, strong. The honey plant is excellent.
Violet
Belongs to the violet family. The stem reaches about 30 cm. The petioles of large broad-heart-shaped leaves (grooved). Stipules are large, rusty-red. It grows on a hill, in places with low grass cover. It will also grow well on rocky surface areas.
. 
Family (Asteraceae). The root is woody, vertical, forming branched flowering shoots and straight uneven purple branched flowering shoots.
The leaves of the shoots and the lower stem leaves are three times pinnately dissected, the lobules are 3-10 mm long (narrow-linear), slightly pointed, the upper and middle stem leaves are sessile, short, narrow-linear. The outer leaves are oval, almost rounded, plastic, green along the back, the inner leaves are filmy-edged.
The steppe zone is considered one of the main land biomes. Plants in the steppe are quite resistant to arid climates and can coexist for a long time under conditions of moisture deficiency.
Steppes are the richest communities of drought-resistant plants - xerophytes. They are common where the climate is warm but there is not enough rainfall for forest to grow. Steppe is “a type of vegetation represented by a community of drought-resistant perennial herbaceous plants dominated by turf grasses, less often sedges and onions.” If we analyze geographical location steppe landscapes on the globe, he will discover -
It is believed that the most typical steppes are formed in the interior regions of the continent. Steppe zones of the temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres, characterized by a dry climate, treeless watersheds, and the dominance of herbaceous, predominantly cereal vegetation on chernozem, dark chestnut and chestnut soils.
The area is dominated by steppes, which are modified by pasture digression and represent low-grass pasture communities dominated by fescue and wormwood. The haymaking variants of the steppe have been preserved in small fragments, among which there are the southern, northern and central variants, which represent the transition between the northern and the southern. In the steppes of the central variant, if they are not disturbed by grazing, feather feather grass, Zelesssky feather grass, and narrow-leaved feather grass are common. In addition, there are fescue and forbs are very abundantly represented. The steppe also includes shrubs - caragana, spirea, gorse, and broom.
In addition to the mountain steppes, solonetzic steppes have been preserved in small fragments on the plain, which usually include Lerch's wormwood, Gmelin's kermek, and false wheatgrass. It is typical for the steppe on gravelly soils
participation of species - petrophytes, i.e. stone lovers - protozoan onosma, thyme, mountain grate, Siberian cornflower and others. Such steppes are especially easily destroyed by pasture digression. The productivity of steppe hayfields is up to 4-5 c/ha
Hay, the productivity of steppe pastures as a result of overgrazing is low and amounts to no more than 15-20 c/ha of green mass
for the entire grazing period. According to the classification, according to the research of Professor Mirkin B.M. , all steppes of the Republic of Bashkortostan can be divided into two main types - meadow and typical. Meadows are common in the forest-steppe zone, and in the steppe zone they gravitate towards the slopes of northern exposure.
Typical steppes occupy areas in the steppe zone of the republic.
Ball-headed Echinops
Biennial or perennial herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family. The height of the plant reaches 1.5 m. The stem is single, straight, branched at the top. It is covered with glandular hairs. The leaves are twice pinnately dissected, large, from 10 to 25 cm long and 4 to 10 cm wide. Rosette leaves with a petiole, the rest sessile, stem-embracing. They are green above and covered with white felt below, with small spines along the edges. The flowers are collected in spherical inflorescences and are bluish-white in color. The spherical heads have a diameter of 4-5 cm. Seed fruits. It grows in river valleys, among bushes, on the edges of island forests, and in wastelands.
The plant population on the Roman Mountain hill is represented by single plants. Occasionally there are “islands” of 5-10 plants. In general, the plants are in good living condition.
Yarrow
A perennial herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family. A plant with an erect stem. In the conditions of the Republic of Belarus, its height ranges from 48 to 72 cm. Several shoots of stems extend from a thin creeping rhizome. The basal leaves are lanceolate, bipinnately dissected into narrow small lobules. Stem leaves are shorter, pinnately dissected.
Stem leaves are shorter, pinnately dissected, divided into large number lobes The inflorescence is corymbose, consisting of many flower baskets. The flowers are small, white, mauve or reddish. It blooms in June-August for a very long time.
It grows everywhere on the hill, where there are areas of meadow steppe. Especially common with south side slope in gentle places, where cattle often graze and closer to the Asly-Udryak River.
Asparagus officinalis
A perennial herbaceous plant from the lily family. The stem of asparagus is erect, reaching a height of up to 150 cm, and highly branched. The branches on the stem extend at an acute angle. The leaves are reduced to scales, and modified shoots resembling leaves are formed in the axils of the stem. The underground stem is straight and smooth. It is juicy, etiolated, forming shoots extending from the rhizome. These stems are used as a vegetable plant. The flowers are small, greenish-yellow. Perianth of six petals with 6 stamens. The fruit is a red spherical berry. Blooms in June – July. Asparagus grows in meadows, among thickets of bushes, and is also found in the steppe, on the slopes of mountains.
It is quite rare in the study area. Found in areas adjacent to the forest belt and located between rows of trees inside the forest belt. The population is represented by single plants.
Adonis spring
A perennial herbaceous plant from the buttercup family. Adonis has a push-pull development - at the beginning
Different early flowering, and then the formation of the stem and leaves occurs. Blooms early in spring - from late April to May. A bush with up to 20-30 flowers blooms from 40 to 50 days. The very first flowers, as a rule, are large, but they are pale yellow, golden, apical, solitary, and are abundantly visited by bees. Adonis at the beginning of flowering has a bush height of 10 to 15 cm, and in the fruiting phase it reaches 30-70 cm. Each bush has from 2 to 15 generative and from 4 to 23 vegetative shoots.
Found everywhere in the study area. The population consists of more than 150 plants that are in good vital condition.
Budra ivy-shaped
A perennial herbaceous plant from the Lamiaceae family. Budra has a creeping and branched stem; it takes root, forming new stems. The leaves are petiolate, opposite, crenate-toothed, rounded, kidney-shaped. They are covered with hairs. Flowers 3-4 pcs. located in the axils of the middle stem leaves, they are small, two-lipped, violet-blue or bluish-lilac in color. The pedicels are 4-5 times shorter than the calyx and are equipped with awl-shaped bracts. The calyx is covered with hairs; its teeth are triangular, finely pointed. The height of the rising stems ranges from 10 to 40 cm. It blooms in May-June.
Grows along the ravine and on the southern side of the slope. Large population, studied during the beginning of flowering.
St. John's wort
A perennial herbaceous plant from the St. John's wort family. The stem is straight, 45 to 80 cm high, glabrous, with two edges. The leaves are oblong-ovate, entire, opposite, sessile. Translucent dotted containers that resemble holes are scattered on the leaves - hence the name - perforated.
The flowers are numerous, golden-yellow in color, collected in a wide paniculate, almost corymbose inflorescence. Sepals are sharp with an entire edge. The petals are twice as long as the sepals, blooms in June-July. The fruit is a three-lobed multi-seeded basket, opening with 3 valves. The rhizome is thin, several stems extend from it.
Found only in one place on the eastern flat side of the hill. Represented by 8-15 plants.
Veronica dubravnaya
Perennial herbaceous plant. Preserves green shoots all year round. The leaves are located opposite, in the axils of the racemes of irregular flowers. A flower has 2 stamens and 1 pistil. The fruit of Veronica is a flattened capsule.
Grows in meadow areas of the steppe of the study area. Plants are evenly distributed among other species. Often found on the outskirts of forest belts.
Bonfire without bones
Belongs to the cereal family. It has smooth stems reaching one meter in height. The leaves are flat and wide. The spikelets are collected into an inflorescence - a spreading panicle. The fire is not bad forage grass, blooms from late May to June. Many tall, erect shoots of flower stalks extend from the creeping rhizome.
In plant communities of the hill it is an environment-forming species, because found evenly often almost everywhere.
knotweed
An annual herbaceous plant from the buckwheat family. A small plant with a height of 10 to 40 cm. It has straight, prostrate, branched stems. The leaves are elliptical or lanceolate, small, with a short root. The flowers are located in the axils of the leaves, distributed evenly throughout the plant. The corolla of the flower is pale pink. The fruit is a triangular nut. It blooms from May to October. It grows along roads, in streets, in yards, in pastures. On pastures where there is a heavy load of livestock, all types of plants suffer, leaving only knotweed.
This species is well defined at the foot of the hill from the side of the river and the animal stable. Almost never found in the main system.
Common cress
Herbaceous plant from the cruciferous family. Bright green rosettes of colza made of fancy lyre-shaped ones. pinnately dissected leaves in large quantities visible in fields plowed last fall. Blooms in May-June. With an abundance of sun and moisture from melted snow, the cress quickly develops a flowering shoot with a cluster of yellow flowers. The fruit is multi-seeded, dehiscent by two valves. A good honey plant.
It grows unevenly in the vegetation cover of the hill and is found mostly on the side of the field located closer to the eastern slope.
Kozelets purple
Achenes at the base with a hollow, swollen stalk, 12 mm long, ribbed, light gray. Stems are straight and erect, furrowed, simple and branched. The basal leaves are on long petioles, pinnate and dissected, with narrow linear lateral segments. The baskets are cylindrical, the involucre is weakly arachnoid, then bare, its leaves are lanceolate, sometimes with a horn-like appendage. The flowers are yellow, the outer edges are reddish.
It grows on a hill on the lawns between the trees of the forest belt. It occurs moderately often, the population consists of single plants that are located at a relatively short distance from each other - from 40 to 60 cm.
Karagana
Belongs to the legume family. A shrub with gray straight thin branches, with four closely spaced obovate leaves with a wedge-shaped base and thorns at the apex; flowers are golden-yellow with a wide obovate sail, a blunt boat, concentrated 2-3 on single peduncles, which are twice as long as the calyx, beans up to 3 cm long, glabrous, cylindrical, 1-4 seeds.
It grows mainly on the western slope of the mountain, in a ravine and an adjacent ravine with north side.
Nonea dark
Belongs to the borage family. The entire plant is covered with protruding stiff hairs and sparse glandular hairs. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, the lower ones are narrowed in the petioles, the rest are sessile, semi-stem-encompassing. The bracts are lanceolate, longer than the flowers, dark red-brown in color. The calyx is bell-shaped, incised to one part. The calyx lobes are lanceolate. The nuts are net-wrinkled.
It grows everywhere on the hill, it was studied and identified at the beginning of flowering.
Bell
Belongs to the bellflower family. The flowers are numerous, in a large branched inflorescence. The corolla is funnel-shaped, bell-shaped, blue or white. Stem with dense foliage. The leaves are large-serrate, glabrous or pubescent.
Grows in communities of studied plants between cereal plants. It is rare; there are only about 30 plants in the population.
Veronica longifolia
Belongs to the Norichaceae family. The leaves are unequally serrated to the very top with finely pointed,
Simple or to the base of the b.ch. double serrated, oblong or linear-lanceolate, sharp at the base, heart-shaped or rounded, often whorled. The inflorescence is a terminal dense raceme, extending up to 25 cm, sometimes with several lateral racemes; flowers on stalks, almost equal to calyxes. Corolla blue about 6 mm. Long, with a hairy tube inside. The entire plant is glabrous or with short grayish pubescence.
Spreading of this plant moderately rare in the studied ecosystem. Growing individual plants or 2-3 individuals.
Violet is amazing
Belongs to the violet family. Stem up to 30 cm tall. The petioles of large broad-heart-shaped stem leaves are grooved, pubescent only on the convex, downward-facing hairs. The stipules of the stem leaves are large, entire, the stipules are large, rusty-red.
On a hill it grows in places with low grasses or among low grass cover, loves rocky surface areas.
Forest anemone
Ranunculaceae family. Perennial. Stem leaves are not fused, similar to basal leaves, short-haired. The flowers are yellow-white.
It grows in small “families” between pine rows of trees and separately on open slopes on the eastern and northern sides of the Roman Mountain hill.
Field bindweed
Belongs to the bindweed family. A bare or scatteredly drooping plant with recumbent, creeping or climbing shoots. Flowers are up to 3.5 cm in diameter, usually collected in groups of 2-3 or single. Bracts in the form of a pair of small linear leaves are located oppositely in the middle of the peduncle and do not reach the calyx. The corolla is pink, rarely white.
Grows in areas with other meadow plants on the side of the ravine and river.
Onosma Preuralskaya
Belongs to the borage family. The pedicels are very short, much shorter than the bracts. The whole plant is hard and rough. The stem is straight, simple, less often branched, covered with hard, spaced bristles and thick down. The basal leaves are numerous, petiolate, linear, the stem leaves are sessile, linear-lanceolate.
Loves open sunny places with rocky soil. Grows in crowded bushes. Very interesting during the flowering period. On the Roman Mountain hill there are not many plants on the top on the south side. Numerical counting showed about 20 plants.
Lowland wormwood
Belongs to the Asteraceae family. The root is vertical, woody, developing branched flowering shoots and straight ribbed reddening branched flowering stems. The leaves of sterile shoots and the lower stem leaves are double-, thrice-pinnately dissected, their lobules are narrow-linear 3-10 mm long, barely pointed, the middle and upper stem leaves are sessile, the bracts are short, narrow-linear. The outer leaves of the involucre are oval, almost round, convex, green along the back, the inner leaves are broadly membranous along the edge.
Well expressed as a cover plant on the southern slope of the Roman Mountain hill. Plants are below normal size, indicating oppression from grazing pressure.
Plants in the steppe are usually herbaceous. Their flora is distinguished by a luxurious variety of species. The steppe is a plain with grassy vegetation, where there are rare shrubs. Trees are found only along reservoirs and forest belts planted artificially.
Plants in the steppe are usually narrow-leaved, with a rich root system that allows them to withstand temperature changes and extreme weather conditions. Plant communities are formed from several ecologically related, living species, and the formation of the community is associated with weather conditions and the type of specific site. The most typical of all is the presence of xerophytic grasses adapted to arid climates. The northern steppes are characterized by a variety of herbs, the southern steppes are characterized by a community of grasses, and the semi-desert steppes are characterized by a predominance of shrubs that can overcome strong desert winds.
Traditional steppe vegetation consists of herbaceous plants, some of which are characteristic only of this area, and some of them are found in meadows and wooded areas. The peculiarities of the color of the leaves and stems (grayish or gray-green) are associated with their ability to easily tolerate moisture deficiency, dry periods, and the ability to curl up during periods when there is no precipitation. In the steppes temperate zone You can find plants that are more characteristic of the meadow zone, which is easily explained by the climate in which the humidity is higher.
In addition to the usual steppe plants, plants in the steppe can also be represented by those that are of industrial importance. These include: corn, wheat, beets, barley, rye, forage crops that are used for pastures. Those herbs that are used in folk medicine, prepared for medicinal purposes, and used in pharmaceutical drugs, folk remedies treatment of diseases. The Red Book of Russia includes more than 45 species of orchids, 50 species of legumes, 20 species of lilies and asteraceae, which are disappearing due to human activity. Among them are saranka lily (royal curls), dolomite bellflower, yellow iris (water iris), and yellow water lily.
The steppe, depending on the grasses, is divided into 5 main types of vegetation:
- mountain (cryoxerophilic);
- forb (mesoxeroyl);
- feather grass (xerophilous);
- desertified (haloxerophilic);
- desert (superxerophilic).
The main part of the steppes is located between forest-steppes and semi-deserts, and the flora of these zones is represented mainly by cereals. Various types of feather grass are most widespread in the steppe.
Flowering steppe plants
Steppe plants with flowers are so good that many of them are cultivated for gardens and used in landscape design, for growing in flower beds. These plants include spring Adonis, Anaphalis (three-veined, pearl), Goniolimon (beautiful, Tatar), Kachim (paniculate, Pacific, creeping, holly), Meadowsweet (elm-leaved, red, purple, Kamchatka), Hyacinth, Clematis (clematis) , Crocus and Narcissus.
The steppe looks most beautiful in spring. Melting snow fills the soil with water, and the sun is not yet very hot, so in April and May the spring steppe is a spectacle of indescribable beauty. At the beginning of spring, mustard, rapeseed, feather grass, and tulips bloom in the steppe. In the northern steppes, due to certain climatic conditions, flowers grow characteristic of the meadow, such as meadow sage, the flowers of which are collected in paniculate inflorescences, noticeable from afar, thanks to their intense violet-blue color. Meadowsweet blooms with a beautiful scattering of white and pink flowers that stand out brightly against the background of green spring foliage. Thin-leaved peony, growing in the northern steppes, is almost more beautiful than its garden counterparts, in natural conditions it has dark crimson flowers. In the northern steppes, Sainfoin grows, whose inflorescence is soft pink, shaped like a brush pointing upward. It is used as a valuable forage plant.
The vegetation in the southern steppes is not so rich. Ephemeral plants that bloom in the southern steppe in spring are not tall. Horncap sickle-shaped, Veronica veronica, and some others keep up with short period not only bloom, but also form seeds before the coming dry season in summer. The northern and southern steppes represent 2 radically different types steppe vegetation, and between them there are many various types, combining 2 or several modifications: feather grass steppes with forbs, northern steppes with feather grass, steppes interspersed with forests. A growing carpet of grass and cereals greatly changes appearance steppes depending on the time of year.
Tiled swordmaker and other healers
Tiled swordweed or wild gladiolus usually grows in meadows, but it can also be found in mixed-grass steppes. A plant of incredible beauty that creates entire populations in nature, the so-called gladiolus meadows, but, unfortunately, already belongs to rare species. In the Kursk region, the thin ephemeral flower blooms with a density of up to 160 plants per 1 m²; student expeditions of biologists go to admire its flowering. This is a herbaceous perennial, classified as a corm, with three sword-shaped leaves. Its companions are usually the spreading bell and the grass carnation. The imbricated swordweed can be found even in the Murmansk region and the Komi Republic, where it survives thanks to its rhizome-tuber with reserves nutrients during periods of drought and winter time. It has long been used as a medicinal plant.
Oak Krupka and Siberian Krupka grow in Central Asia, Siberia, and the Caucasus. This tall plant with a rosette of leaves, blooming with yellowish flowers, has invaluable medicinal properties used in the treatment of bronchi, whooping cough, as a hemostatic agent, in the form of a decoction is used to treat various skin diseases and rashes.
The northern borer is common in many climatic zones, including the steppes. Its decoctions have anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects, and official medicine uses extracts containing contraceptives. In almost all steppes, wild poppy, tulip, and mullein from the Norichinaceae family grow. The composition of biologically active substances contained in its flowers and stems is simply invaluable, and, due to the absence of harmful components, it is used as a valuable food additive. It is eaten fresh, drinks and salads are prepared from it, the infusion of the flower is useful for diseases of the spleen, liver, intestines, and is part of chest and expectorant preparations. The natural plant wealth of the steppes is very great.
Wormwood grass
Wormwood carries its specific aroma from early spring and up to late autumn. After feather grass, this is the most characteristic steppe plant, the smell of which many people associate with the steppe. Essential oils, which constitute the main wealth of wormwood, account for up to 3% of the plant's weight. Scientific research into the beneficial properties of wormwood began several decades ago, but it has been used for centuries as a medicinal plant.
This steppe grass Since ancient times, it has been eaten as a spice, used as a disinfectant, medicinal, tonic, flavoring, and even anthelmintic. Wormwood has more than once helped geologists find mineral deposits because it changes its color and leaf shape if it grows in places where natural resources occur.
Plants are a storehouse of natural, useful, invaluable properties, a decorative spring carpet that can destroy human activity in their development. Such natural complexes need to be protected.
To use presentation previews, create a Google account and log in to it: https://accounts.google.com
Slide captions:
Plants and animals of the steppe Presentation made by S.G. Brusentseva, teacher primary classes MBOU Lyceum No. 6 of Essentuki
In Russian history, the steppe is understood not only as a type natural area, but also the habitat of nomads of various origins - “steppe people”, united by the word “Steppe”. On the territory of southern Russia from this time, a small number of stone idols remained - “women”, most likely having the meaning of religious symbols or monuments installed at the graves of prominent members of the society of that time.
He walks across the steppes, is filled with the aroma, and stirs the oceans of feather grass like a master.
Characteristic feature steppes - treeless vast plains covered with rich grassy vegetation.
Types of steppes: 1. Mixed-grass steppe. Forms in conditions of good moisture. It is distinguished by great species diversity: cereals are represented by broad-leaved species, and the forbs include many plants characteristic of meadows and forest clearings. The height of the vegetation cover can reach more than 1 m.
2. Typical steppe. There are a lot of herbs here, but their life activity ends at the end of June. The vegetation cover is no more than 0.5 m high.
3. Dry steppe. An even drier version of the steppe. The vegetation is represented by small turf grasses; Among the herbs, plants with rosette shoots, heavily pubescent or with a waxy coating on the leaves predominate. Plant height is 10-20cm.
4. Desert steppe. The driest variant of the steppe. The vegetation is low-growing (5-8 cm). Large cereals or shrubs have a large root system that goes several meters deep.
Plants of the steppes. Plant communities are represented by perennial herbaceous plants with a powerful root system, their above-ground organs are adapted to reduce water evaporation. Several groups of plants can be distinguished: turf grasses; forbs; perennials. Shrubs are also common in the steppe.
When the feather grass is in bloom, the steppe looks like a sea with waves rolling through it.
Comb wheatgrass Hair grass or sandy grass fescue Fescue or Welsh fescue Many steppe grasses are capable of forming a powerful turf that is larger in volume aboveground parts plants. The bluish color of many plants is due to the presence of a multi-layered cuticle and a waxy coating, which help reduce the evaporation of moisture through the leaves.
Forbs are represented by the following plants: Bluebells Gentian Larkspur wedge-shaped
In the steppes, with a decrease in precipitation, in rocky and saline areas, the proportion of narrow-leaved grasses and wormwood increases, and succulent plants appear - Crassulaceae, vinaceae. Young Goniolimon Tatarian Sedum
Ephedra is a low-growing branched shrub with jointed twig-like branches. The leaves are reduced to scales, the seeds are covered with a juicy orange-red cover. Sandy immortelle
Perennials are plants that bloom in early spring. In summer, the above-ground parts die off, leaving only underground storage organs with buds - bulbs, tubers, rhizomes. Tulips Iris Onion Sleep-grass or open lumbago
Spring steppe - tulips
Shrubs. A characteristic feature of steppe landscapes is the development of bushes. The absence of ungulates promotes the growth of caragana (acacia), spirea, thorns and other shrubs. Thickets of caragana (acacia) bush
Golden currant Steppe cherry
Russian broom Rosehip Aronia cotoneaster
The main part of steppe animals: a) ungulates; b) rodents and lagomorphs; c) birds; d) insects. Animals of the steppes. A large group of steppe species consists of predators.
I live in the great steppe. It's relaxed here, pee-pee-pee! And my friend the hamster lay down on the grass, like in a hammock.
We graze, we walk in a chain, we make friends with the Australian steppe. We are curly, be-be-be, take our wool for yourself. Sheep, rams
The animal stands in a column on the steppe path. He knows all the blades of grass inside and out.
The saiga is the only surviving species of wild ungulates in the Caspian and Kazakhstan steppes. The animal is perfectly adapted to life in open spaces. The compact, dense body and slender limbs allow it to reach speeds of up to 60-80 km/h. These nomads spend most of their time in constant movement. The specific shape of the nasal cavities, forming a soft, movable proboscis, allows you to effectively filter dust, warm or cool the inhaled air. Because of this “nose,” even saigas a few days old have a thick bass voice. The ten-thousand herds of saigas have become history. To protect rare animals that migrate hundreds of kilometers annually and do not respect borders, several interstate environmental agreements have been signed.
Rodents - their small size makes these animals vulnerable and dependent on climatic conditions. 80% of mammals in the steppe zone live in burrows. To survive harsh winter These sedentary animals eat themselves in the summer, accumulating thick layers of fat, and storing food in burrows. Common marmot
Lesser gopher Steppe ferret
Steppe filly
Dung beetle Ladybug Darkling beetle Gloomy moth
The bustard is a large bird (up to 16 kg) with a typical protective coloration. The little bustard is similar in lifestyle to the bustard, but smaller in size. Birds in the steppe can have a very diverse menu - they feed on plant seeds, insects, reptiles, and small rodents. These are, for example, rare and protected birds (Red Book of Kazakhstan) - bustard, little bustard, demoiselle crane. Demoiselle crane
Among the grass and bushes you can find many small birds, filling the steppe with polyphony in the spring. Adults feed mainly on seeds; the chicks are fed insects. Shrike Gray partridge Hoopoe
Predatory animals form a special group in the steppe. They may belong to different size classes. Large ones - wolf, fox, corsac dog. Small ones - praying mantises, spiders. Medium - steppe polecat, badger, hedgehog, steppe viper, sand viper and green lizards.
Steppe Eagle Kestrel
The term "steppe" has a very broad meaning. From the point of view of geobotany, the steppe is a collective concept that unites the herbaceous vegetation of watershed spaces of a more or less dry-loving nature.
Steppes can cover flat watersheds (here they are almost completely destroyed), slopes, and hills. There are flat, hilly and mountain steppes. But the most typical for each region are flat steppes, occupying relatively flat watershed spaces. Usually the main characteristics of the vegetation of the zone are given specifically for such steppes.
When moving from north to south, the appearance of the steppes in flatland conditions reveals regular changes, the analysis of which allows us to identify several subzones of steppe vegetation.
Within the forest-steppe zone on treeless watersheds in the past, forb-meadow Steppes were ubiquitous. We can now judge their composition from small islands of protected steppes in the Central Black Earth Region. Humus-rich soils and sufficient moisture contributed to the development of a high and dense grass cover here, creating continuous retention. The grass cover of these steppes is especially rich in meadow-steppe forbs; in spring and early summer it forms a bright, colorful carpet, constantly changing its color.
Among the grasses of this subzone, loose-bush and rhizomatous plants with relatively wide leaf blades predominate: coastal brome, meadow bluegrass, ground reed grass, and steppe timothy. Of the feather grasses, only the most moisture-loving ones are found here, most often John’s feather grass and angustifolia.
The forbs are dominated by meadow sage, tuber grass, meadowsweet, mountain clover, sandy sainfoin, wood anemone, mountain grass, sleep grass, etc.
E.M. Lavrenko (1940) distinguished two variants of mixed-grass meadow steppes - northern and southern. A remarkable monument of the southern version of these steppes is the Streletskaya steppe under
Kursk, where V.V. Alekhin (1925) in flat conditions encountered up to 120 species on an area of 100 m2, and 77 on 1 m2. A distinctive feature of forb-meadow steppes is their extraordinary colorfulness, multiple changes of color in the spring and early summer, caused by alternating mass flowering of various types of herbs.
To the south of the forb-meadow steppes there is a subzone of typical (or true) steppes. The overwhelming majority of their herbage consists of narrow-leaved turf grasses, mainly feather grass and fescue, which is why these steppes received the name grasses, or feather grasses. Among the feather grasses, Lessing's feather grass and feather grass are predominant. In the south of Ukraine, in addition, Ukrainian feather grass is common, and in Northern Kazakhstan and Western Siberia - reddish feather grass.
Forbs in typical steppes play a subordinate role, as a result of which they are less bright and not as colorful as those more northern.
Turfy perennial grasses, which form the basis of the grass stand of typical steppes, never create a continuous sod of the soil. Between the tufts of cereals there are always areas of bare soil, the area of which increases to the south. The reason for the increasing thinning of grass grass to the south is the lack of moisture in the soils of the steppe zone. Herself root system turf grasses have a branched network of very thin roots near the surface, capable of capturing moisture from even the slightest summer precipitation.
The proportion of grasses in the grass stand of typical steppes is very large. According to B.A. Keller (1938), in the feather grass steppes of the Central Black Earth Region, cereals provide more than 90% of the total mass of hay. In the fescue-feather grass association of the Askania-Nova Nature Reserve they specific gravity ranges from 79 to. 98% of the total plant mass. Numerous ephemerals and ephemeroids find shelter between the tufts of cereals. These include common stonefly, various types of chives, and brightly blooming Schrenck and Bieberstein tulips.
In the life of typical steppes great value has the underground, root part of plants. In the upper soil horizons there are complexly branched underground parts of the plant community. At the same time, the plant mass of the underground part is much higher than that of the aboveground part. Thus, in the cereal steppes of Askania-Nova, 1 g of living above-ground parts accounts for from 8 to 30 g of root mass. According to the research of M. S. Shalyt (1950), from 37 to 70% of the total root mass is concentrated here at a depth of 0 to 12 cm. However, the depth of root penetration is not limited by the humus horizon. The roots of taproot perennials in the Askania-Nova steppes (for example, such as pyrethrum millifolia, some sedges) penetrate to a depth of 1.5-2.5 m.
Typical steppes, in turn, are divided into two main options. In the northern part of the subzone, on ordinary and southern chernozems, forb-fescue-feather grass steppes (“colorful feather grass”) are common. In these steppes, gradually decreasing northern forbs (meadowsweet, sleep grass, mountain clover) are mixed with drought-resistant forbs (steppe and drooping sage, angustifolia peony, crescent alfalfa, prickly sage, many-flowered capstia, real and Russian bedstraw, noble yarrow). There are still relatively few ephemeroids here.
The reference areas of forb-fescue-feather grass steppes are considered to be the Starobelskaya steppe in the Seversky Donets basin, studied back in 1894 by G.I. Tanfilyev.
Fescue-feather grass steppes (“colorless feather grass”) are developed on dark chestnut soils and partly on southern chernozems. On the Russian Plain they do not have a continuous distribution and consist of several massifs. But east of the Volga, and especially beyond the Urals, they stretch in a wide strip. Fescue and southern feather grass species dominate in these steppes. The forbs here are poor and very drought-resistant: hairy beetroot, Caspian ferula, thin-leaved yarrow, pyrethrum species. In spring, ephemerals play an important role - tulips and goose onions. In the strip of fescue-feather grass steppes there are quite a lot of solonetzes and solonetzic soils with fescue-wormwood and wormwood groups. The standard of fescue-feather grass steppes of the Russian Plain is Askania-Nova. In other places west of the Volga they practically did not survive anywhere. IN better degree they were preserved in the Volga region, in the Southern Urals and in Kazakhstan.
To the east of the Volga, especially in Western Kazakhstan and the Trans-Urals, fescue (dry) steppes developed. V.V. Ivanov (1958) considered them an analogue of real tussock-grass low-forb steppes.
Characteristic features of fescue steppes that make it easy to identify them are:
- the undivided dominance of fescue, which is joined by the feather grass of Tyrsa, Lessing, Sarepta, occupying a clearly subordinate position;
- a sharp reduction in the role of forbs;
- the disappearance of common steppe shrubs of bean, spirea and chiliga from the grass stand of the flat steppe and their isolation in depressions;
- the appearance of xerophytic subshrubs (white wormwood, prostrate grass, millennial pyrethrum);
- weak solonetsity of soils or even its complete absence (Ivanov, 1958, p. 29).
Fescue, like other more northern types of steppes, are now almost completely plowed. We can say that their typical lowland variants have now completely disappeared. Their structure can now be judged either from geobotanical descriptions of old authors, or from the pitiful patches of these steppes preserved near the slopes.
To the south of the steppe zone (practically already in a semi-desert on chestnut, less often on dark chestnut soils) a subzone of desert wormwood-fescue-feather grass steppes is distinguished. In the herbage of the subzone, in addition to narrow-leaved turf grasses (fescue, wheatgrass, feather grass), there are many drought-resistant subshrubs: wormwood, saltwort, and twig grass. The grass stand here is usually open. The vegetation cover is characterized by complexity and patchiness.
While studying these steppes, back in 1907 N.A. Dimo and B.A. Keller (1907) introduced the concept of “semi-desert” into the literature. Clarifying it, Academician B.A. Keller (1923) wrote that semi-deserts should include “associations in which, due to sparseness, low stature, and the like, along with grasses of a steppe nature - fescue, feather grass, thin-legged grass - such dry-loving plants play a large role subshrubs, like sea wormwood and kochia” (p. 147).
There was great debate on the issue of identifying a subzone of desert steppes or “steppe deserts”. We mention them here only because the transition from steppes to deserts does not occur immediately, but gradually and sometimes, surrounded by real desert landscapes, you can find islands of steppes.
In general, when moving from north to south, the following regular changes in vegetation are observed, noted by V.V. Alekhine (1934) and his followers.
- The grass stand is becoming thinner and thinner.
- The beauty of the steppes is greatly reduced as the number of dicotyledonous plants decreases.
- In the north, perennials reign supreme; to the south, the role of annuals increases.
- The number of broad-leaved grasses is decreasing and they are being replaced by narrow-leaved grasses.
- There is a change in the types of feather grasses - from large-turf to small-turf.
- Species richness decreases from 80 species per 1 m2 in meadow steppes to 3-5 in desert steppes.
- The seasonal dynamics of the steppe vegetation cover is becoming more and more arrhythmic. To the south, the spring burst of flowering is shortened.
- The relative mass of the underground parts of plants in comparison with the above-ground parts increases to the south.
It remains to add that the appearance of the steppes changes not only from north to south, but also to no less extent from west to east. The reason for this is the already mentioned increase in continentality towards the center of Eurasia. Suffice it to say that in different sectors of the steppe belt they grow different types feather grass (Ukrainian in the Black Sea region, red in Kazakhstan, Krylova in Khakassia, etc.).
Toward the center of the continent, the species abundance of the steppes sharply decreases. Thus, in the meadow steppes of the Russian Plain there are more than 200 species of grasses, in Western Siberia - 55-80, Khakassia - 40-50. The vegetation of the dry steppes of Askania-Nova in the Black Sea region is formed by 150 representatives of the grass cover, and in Khakassia - only 30-35 species.
However, based on these comparisons, the inland steppes should not be considered impoverished. It would be more correct to say that the European steppes are enriched with meadow herbs. We must judge the authenticity of the steppe by the participation of true steppe plants- xerophytes. Their share in the meadow steppes of the Southern Urals is about 60%, and near Kursk - only 5-12%.
About greater typicality, and therefore increased stability steppe ecosystems inside the continent in comparison with the outskirts can also be judged by the degree of development of root phytomass, one of the main indicators of vegetation adaptability to steppe conditions. The root reserves of steppe plants to the east are steadily increasing. According to Siberian ecologists and landscape scientists, in relation to the local steppes, the notorious question does not arise: “...is the forest encroaching on the steppe, or vice versa” (Titlyanova et al., 1983). The positions of steppe vegetation, represented to the east of the Urals by typical xerophytes with thick turfs, exclude the encroachment of forests on the steppes. The steppes of the Russian Plain with moisture-loving European herbs are not so resistant to forests.