Steppe tracts

Steppe ecosystem in Russia (like almost worldwide) was massively destroyed by human activities. Arable lands, quarries, refuse heaps, settlements and reservoirs settled on their place. The situation is various in different parts of the country. Some steppes types have suffered more than others. Except better-preserved desert and mountain steppes Russian steppe ecosystem is exclusively highly fragmented. Most of steppes are preserved as scattered parts among the fields and forest belts, narrow strips of gullies and road verges, etc. More or less large tracts of steppe ecosystems are scarce especially in the western steppe biome. However these tracts are of particular value: only there typical steppe continues to perform the landscape features; only there the largest and most mobile typical steppe animals (including ungulates, carnivores and raptors) are keeping; the most species of fauna and flora are preserving. The latter is also especially important because the large steppe tract is a source of steppe plants and animals moving to abandoned arable lands appearing among the agricultural landscape. Without such source weed vegetation can exist on fallow lands for decades. It is harmful to the economy and the low value for nature.

To ensure the preservation of at least the most important Russian steppe areas it is necessary the inventory of major steppe tracts. But until now there is not more or less complete list of them or map. We propose to start compiling the inventory by common efforts. It will gradually be laid out the information about the largest tracts of steppe ecosystems that are known to the authors of the website.

Nowadays the work on inventory of steppe tracts is conducting in the frames of the UNDP/GEF Project “Improving the Coverage and Management Efficiency of Protected Areas in the Steppe Biome of Russia”.

Please inform us about new, missed previously unknown large steppe tracts.