What is human activity in the steppe. Human economic activity in natural areas. Steppes of Russia - location and description of the natural zone

ODiplom // State Medical University // 04/01/2014

Influence of natural conditions and natural resources on the territorial organization of society.

Natural factors have played and continue to play a crucial role in the life and development of human society.

The concept of "natural factors" usually includes the following categories: natural conditions, natural resources, sustainability of landscapes and the ecological situation, which we will consider further mainly from the standpoint of management science.

Natural conditions are understood as a set of the most important natural characteristics of the territory, reflecting the main features of the components of the natural environment or local natural phenomena.

Natural conditions directly affect the life and economic activity of the population. On them depend: the resettlement of the population, the development and distribution of productive forces, their specialization. They determine the cost and, consequently, the competitiveness of manufactured products, which is especially important for countries with a significant distribution of extreme natural features, including Russia.

Among the components of the natural environment, as a rule, climate, geological environment, surface and ground waters, soils, biota, and landscapes are considered as characteristics of natural conditions.

An additional, but very important characteristic of natural conditions is the prevalence of local natural phenomena - adverse and dangerous natural phenomena, which include natural disasters and natural foci of infections.

The climatic features of the territory are manifested primarily in the ratio of heat and moisture.

The amount of heat required to complete the vegetation cycle (growth period) is called the biological sum of temperatures. Thermal resources determine the energy of plant growth.

As the world's largest country in terms of territory (about 17 million sq. km), Russia is characterized by a significant variety of climatic conditions. At the same time, it should be emphasized that Russia as a whole is the northernmost and coldest country in the world, which affects its economy, economy, many aspects of the life of the population and politics. The consequence of climatic conditions is permafrost, which covers an area equal to almost 10 million square meters. km.

The specifics of permafrost must be taken into account when creating engineering structures: pipelines, bridges, railways and roads, power lines and other infrastructure facilities.

Humidification is manifested primarily in the form of precipitation, which is the second most important climatic factor. It is necessary for the entire period of plant life. The lack of moisture leads to a sharp decrease in yield. To identify the conditions for moistening a particular territory, they operate with indicators of the amount of precipitation and the magnitude of possible evaporation. In Russia, territories with excessive moisture predominate; excess of precipitation over evaporation.

The most important factors in the formation of the natural specificity of the region are the relief and geological structure. Influencing all components of the natural environment, the relief contributes to the emergence of differences in landscapes and at the same time is itself affected by natural zonality and altitudinal zonation. Engineering-geological conditions of the area reflect the composition, structure and dynamics of the upper horizons of the earth's crust in connection with the economic (engineering) activities of man. On the basis of engineering and geological studies, the most favorable places for the placement of various types of economic facilities are determined, calculations of the stability of rocks during construction work, processing of banks after filling reservoirs, stability of dams, determine the requirements for the construction of structures in conditions of permafrost, excessive moisture of the surface in seismic, karst, landslide areas, etc. Accounting for mining and geological conditions is vital in all areas of economic activity, but especially in urban planning, transport and hydraulic engineering construction.

For agriculture and a number of other sectors of the economy, soil conditions are of paramount importance. Soil is a special natural body that is formed as a result of the transformation of the surface layer of the earth's crust under the influence of water, air and biota and combines the properties of animate and inanimate nature. The value properties of the soil are reflected in its fertility - the ability to provide plants with digestible nutrients and moisture and create conditions for harvesting.

In the natural sciences, biota is understood as a historically established set of living organisms living in any large area, i.e. fauna and flora of this area. The characteristic of the natural conditions of the area also includes an assessment of vegetation and wildlife.

In Russia, the main types of vegetation include tundra, forest, meadow and steppe. Among the various types of vegetation, forests occupy a special place. Their ecological and economic value is high, as well as their unique environment-forming role on the planet.

Natural conditions affect almost all aspects of the daily life of the population, the features of their work, leisure and life, people's health and the possibility of their adaptation to new, unusual conditions. The total assessment of natural conditions is determined by the level of their comfort for a person. To measure it, up to 30 parameters are used (the duration of climatic periods, temperature contrast, climate humidity, wind regime, the presence of natural foci of infectious diseases, etc.)

According to the level of comfort, there are:

1. extreme territories (polar regions, alpine regions of high latitudes, etc.);

2. uncomfortable territories - areas with harsh natural conditions, unsuitable for life of non-indigenous, unadapted population; subdivided into cold humid (arctic deserts, tundra), arid territories (deserts and semi-deserts), as well as mountainous areas;

3. hypercomfortable territories - areas with limited favorable natural conditions for the resettlement population; subdivided into boreal (forests of the temperate zone) and semiarid (steppes of the temperate zone);

4. precomfortable territories - areas with minor deviations from the natural optimum for the formation of a permanent population;

5. comfortable territories - areas with almost ideal environmental conditions for the life of the population; characteristic of the southern part of the temperate zone, in Russia they are represented by small areas.

Natural conditions are of paramount importance for those branches of the national economy that operate in the open. These are agriculture, forestry and water management. Almost all types of construction are in great dependence on natural conditions. The natural parameters of the territory have a significant impact on the organization of urban utilities.

In the north and in other regions with extreme natural conditions, there is a need to create special technical equipment adapted to these conditions, for example, with an increased margin of safety.

A specific form of natural conditions are internally inherent in certain areas of adverse and dangerous natural phenomena (NOH) or natural disasters.

Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and storms, tornadoes, typhoons, landslides, landslides, mudflows, avalanches, forest and peat fires are among the most common and at the same time dangerous natural disasters for humans. Typical examples of adverse natural phenomena are droughts, frosts, severe frosts, thunderstorms, heavy or prolonged rains, hail and some others.

Vital in many cases, protection from NOA inevitably leads to a significant increase in the cost of building and maintaining cities and communications; technologies adapted to increased loads or capable of preventing dangerous impacts.

Natural resources are represented by those elements of the natural environment that can be used in the process of material production at a given stage in the development of society. They are used to obtain industrial and food raw materials, electricity generation, etc.

As the basis of any production, they are divided into:

1. subsoil resources (these include all types of mineral raw materials and fuel);

2. biological, land and water resources;

3. resources of the World Ocean;

4. recreational resources.

On the basis of exhaustibility, natural resources are divided into exhaustible and inexhaustible.

Exhaustible resources are divided into non-renewable and renewable. Inexhaustible natural resources include water, climatic and space resources, the resources of the World Ocean.

Mineral resources remain an indispensable basis for the development of any society. According to the nature of industrial and sectoral use, they are divided into three large groups:

- fuel or combustible - liquid fuel (oil), gaseous (usable gas), solid (coal, oil shale, peat), nuclear fuel (uranium and thorium). These are the main sources of energy for most types of transport, thermal and nuclear power plants, blast furnaces. All of them, except for nuclear fuel, are used in the chemical industry;

- metal ore - ores of ferrous, non-ferrous, rare, precious metals, rare and rare earth metals. They form the basis for the development of modern engineering;

- non-metallic - mining and chemical raw materials (asbestos, graphite,

- mica, talc), building materials (clays, sands, limestones),

— agrochemical raw materials (sulphur, salts, phosphorites, and apatites), etc.

The economic-geographical assessment of mineral resources is a complex concept and includes three types of assessments.

It includes: a quantitative assessment of individual resources (for example, coal in tons, gas, wood in cubic meters, etc.), its value increases as the exploration of the resource increases and decreases j as it is exploited; technological, technical (reveals the suitability of resources for economic purposes, their condition and study, the degree of exploration and availability) and cost (in monetary terms).

The total value of explored and estimated mineral resources is 28.6 (or 30.0) trillion US dollars, of which one third is gas (32.2%), 23.3 is coal, 15.7 is oil, and the forecast potential is at 140.2 trillion US dollars (structure: 79.5% - solid fuel, 6.9 - gas, 6.5 - oil).

The natural resource potential of Russia is distributed unevenly across the territory. The main and most promising sources of natural wealth are located mainly in the East and North of the country and are removed from the developed areas at very considerable distances. The eastern regions account for 90% of the reserves of all fuel resources, more than 80% of hydropower, a high proportion of non-ferrous and rare metal ores.

Nature has a huge impact on human economic activity. Climatic features, relief, inland waters, permafrost, soils largely predetermine the specialization of agriculture. Natural conditions influence the development of many industries (mining, forestry, hydropower, etc.).

Human economic activity

For non-traditional types of energy - wind, tidal, geothermal, solar, the natural factor is generally decisive. The natural specificity of the territory affects the features of construction, the development of transport and the resort economy.

To prove this, let us cite as an example the types of human agricultural activities in the tundra and steppe zone.

In the tundra zone, located in the subarctic climatic zone, where the average July temperature hardly reaches + 8 ° C and the entire territory is covered with permafrost with an abundance of swamps and absolutely infertile waterlogged and frozen tundra-gley soils, crop production in open ground is impossible.

The most important branches of agricultural specialization here are the traditional occupations of the inhabitants of the Far North - reindeer herding, hunting and fishing.

In the steppe zone, located in the southern regions of the temperate climate zone, where the average July temperatures are + 22 ° C, with insufficient moisture, the most fertile black earth soils, crop production is becoming the leading branch of agricultural specialization.

Agriculture here is a developed and diversified form of activity. In the steppe zone, wheat, corn, sugar beet, sunflower, essential oil crops are grown, vegetable growing, melon growing, horticulture and partly viticulture are developed.

Among the branches of animal husbandry, dairy and meat and meat and dairy cattle breeding, horse breeding, pig breeding, sheep breeding and poultry farming have been developed here.

Nature has an impact on human economic activity.

Prove this by comparing the types of economic activities in different natural areas. For what types of economic activity is the importance of natural conditions especially great? wikipedia
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With the advent and improvement of man, the evolutionary processes of the biosphere have undergone a significant change. At the dawn of its appearance, man had a predominantly local impact on the environment. This was expressed, first of all, in meeting the minimum needs for food and housing.

Ancient hunters, with a decrease in the number of game animals, moved to hunt in other places. Ancient farmers and pastoralists, if the soil was depleted or there was less food, they developed new lands. At the same time, the population of the planet was small. Almost completely absent any industrial production. A small amount of waste and pollution generated at that time as a result of human activities did not pose a danger.

Everything could be utilized due to the destructive function of living matter.

The growth of the world's population, the successful development of animal husbandry, agriculture and scientific and technological progress determined the further development of mankind.

More than 7 billion people now live on Earth, by 2030

this number will grow to 10 billion, and by 2050 - up to 12.5 billion people. Providing the population of the Earth with food and energy resources is already an acute problem. Today, about 70% of the world's population lives in countries where there is a constant shortage of food. Non-renewable natural resources are declining catastrophically.

For example, according to scientists' forecasts, humanity will use up all the reserves of metals over the next 200 years.

Human economic activity at the present stage increasingly demonstrates negative examples of the impact on the biosphere. These include: environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, land desertification, soil erosion. Natural communities are also violated, forests are cut down, rare species of plants and animals disappear.

Environmental pollution

Environmental pollution- the entry into the environment of new, uncharacteristic for it solid, liquid and gaseous substances or the excess of their natural level in the environment, which has a negative impact on the biosphere.

Air pollution

Clean air is essential for the life of all living organisms.

In many countries, the problem of maintaining its purity is a state priority. The main cause of air pollution is the combustion of fossil fuels. Of course, he still plays a leading role in providing energy to all sectors of the economy. To date, the vegetation of the planet is no longer able to fully assimilate the combustion products of liquid and solid fuels.

Carbon oxides (CO and CO2) released into the atmosphere as a result of fuel combustion are the cause of the greenhouse effect.

Sulfur oxides (SO2 and SO3), formed as a result of the combustion of fuel containing sulfur, interact in the atmosphere with water vapor. The end products of such a reaction are solutions of sulfurous (H2SO3) and sulfuric (H2SO4) acids.

These acids fall on the surface of the earth with precipitation, cause acidification of the soil, and lead to human diseases. Forest ecosystems, especially conifers, suffer the most from acid rain. They have the destruction of chlorophyll, the underdevelopment of pollen grains, the drying and falling off of the needles.

Nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2), being exposed to ultraviolet rays, are involved in the formation of free radicals in the atmosphere.

Nitrogen oxides lead to the development of a number of pathological conditions in humans and animals. These gases, for example, irritate the respiratory tract, cause pulmonary edema, etc.

Chlorine compounds make a significant contribution to the destruction of the planet's ozone layer.

For example, one free chlorine radical can destroy up to 100,000 ozone molecules, which is the cause of the formation of ozone holes in the atmosphere.

The causes of radioactive contamination of the atmosphere are accidents at nuclear power plants (for example, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986).

Nuclear weapons testing and improper disposal of nuclear waste also contribute to this process. Radioactive particles that enter the atmosphere are dispersed over long distances, polluting the soil, air, and water bodies.

Transport should also be mentioned as a source of air pollution. The exhaust gases of internal combustion engines contain a wide range of contaminants.

Among them are oxides of carbon and nitrogen, soot, as well as heavy metals and compounds that have a carcinogenic effect.

Hydrosphere pollution

Fresh water scarcity is a global environmental problem. Along with the consumption and shortage of water, the growing pollution of the hydrosphere is a concern.

The main cause of water pollution is the direct discharge of industrial waste and municipal wastewater into aquatic ecosystems.

In this case, biological contaminants (for example, pathogenic bacteria) also enter the aquatic environment with chemicals.

When heated wastewater is discharged, physical (thermal) pollution of the hydrosphere occurs. Such discharges reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, increase the toxicity of impurities and often lead to slaughter (death of aquatic organisms).

Soil pollution

In connection with human activities, chemicals enter the soil that disrupt soil-forming processes and reduce fertility.

Soil pollution occurs with excessive use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Together with organic fertilizers (manure), biological pollutants can penetrate the soil.

What human economic activity has changed the face of the steppes

Depletion of natural resources

Natural resources are people's means of subsistence, which are not created by their labor, but are found in nature.

The main problem of their current state is the reduction in the number of exhaustible and the deterioration in the quality of inexhaustible natural resources. This is especially true for animal and plant resources.

Habitat destruction, environmental pollution, overuse of natural resources, poaching significantly reduce the species diversity of plants and animals.

During the existence of mankind, about 70% of forest land has been cut down and destroyed. This caused the extinction of plant species that lived in herbaceous and shrub layers. They could not exist in direct sunlight.

As a result of deforestation, the animal world has also changed. Animal species that were closely related to the tree layers either disappeared or migrated to other places.

It is believed that since 1600, as a result of human activity, about 250 animal species and 1000 plant species have completely disappeared from the face of the Earth. About 1,000 animal species and 25,000 plant species are currently threatened with extinction.

Animal and plant resources are capable of constant renewal.

If the rate of their use does not exceed the rate of natural renewal, then these resources can exist for a very long time.

However, the speed of their renewal is different. Animal populations can recover in a few years. Forests grow in several decades. And soils that have lost their fertility restore it very slowly - over several millennia.

A very important resource problem of the planet is the preservation of the quality of fresh water.

As you know, the total water reserves on the planet are inexhaustible. However, fresh water accounts for only about 3% of the entire hydrosphere. Moreover, only 1% of fresh water is suitable for direct human consumption without prior purification. Approximately 1 billion people on Earth do not have constant access to fresh drinking water. Therefore, humanity should consider fresh water as an exhaustible natural resource. The problem of fresh water is aggravated every year due to the shallowing of rivers and lakes as a result of reclamation measures.

The consumption of water for the needs of agriculture and industry is increasing, water bodies are being polluted by industrial and household waste.

The lack of fresh water and its poor quality also affects people's health.

It is known that the most dangerous infectious diseases (cholera, dysentery, etc.) occur in places where access to clean water is difficult.

desertification

desertification- a set of processes that lead to the loss of a continuous vegetation cover by a natural community with the impossibility of its restoration without human participation.

The causes of desertification are mainly anthropogenic factors. These are deforestation, irrational use of water resources for land irrigation, etc. For example, excessive felling of woody mountain vegetation causes natural disasters - mudflows, landslides, snow avalanches.

Excessive pressure on pastures with an increase in livestock farming can also lead to desertification. Vegetation cover eaten by animals does not have time to recover, and
soil is subject to various types of erosion.

Soil erosion is the destruction of the fertile soil layer under the influence of wind and water.

Soil erosion occurs due to the mass inclusion of more and more new lands in active land use by man.

To the greatest extent, desertification is typical for areas with an arid climate (deserts, semi-deserts) - the countries of Africa and Asia (especially China).

Today, this problem is international in nature.

Therefore, the UN adopted the International Convention to Combat Desertification, which was signed by almost 200 states.

The main consequences of human economic activity are environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and desertification of lands.

Preventing the destructive influence of the anthropogenic factor on the biosphere is today an important universal problem, in the solution of which every inhabitant of the Earth should participate.

Steppe- a plain in temperate and subtropical zones, overgrown with grassy vegetation.

The steppes play an important role in the life of nature in Russia. They are located in the south of the country, in particular, near the Black Sea and the Caucasus, as well as in the Ob valley and in Transbaikalia.

The soil is chernozem, lying most often on a layer of loess-like clays with a significant lime content.

This chernozem in the northern strip of the steppe reaches the greatest thickness and obesity, as it sometimes contains up to 16% of humus. To the south, the chernozem becomes poorer in humus, becomes lighter and turns into chestnut soils, and then completely disappears.

Steppe climate

In the steppe regions, the climate is temperate continental, winters are cold, sunny and snowy, and summers are hot and dry. The average temperature in January is -19 °C, in July - +19 °C, with typical deviations up to -35 °C and +35 °C. The climate of the steppes is also characterized by a long frost-free period, high average annual and average monthly temperatures.

Human activity in the steppes

There is little precipitation here - from 300 to 450 mm.

Vegetable world

The vegetation consists mainly of grasses growing in small tufts, between which bare soil is visible. The most common are various types of feather grass, especially pinnate feather grass with silky white feathery awns. It often covers large areas. On very fat steppes, species of feather grass develop, differing in much larger sizes.

Smaller feather grass grows on dry barren steppes. After feather grass, the most important role is played by various species of the genus Tonkonog ( Koeleria). They are found everywhere in the steppe, but play a special role east of the Ural Mountains, some species are excellent food for sheep.

The stock of plant mass in the steppes is much less than in the forest zone.

See also: steppe plants

Animal world

Both in terms of species composition and some ecological features, the fauna of the steppe has much in common with the fauna of the desert.

Just like in the desert, the steppe is characterized by high aridity, only slightly less than in the desert. Animals are active in summer, mostly at night. Many of them are drought-resistant or active in spring, when there is still moisture left after winter. Of the ungulates, species are typical that are distinguished by sharp eyesight and the ability to run quickly and for a long time; from rodents - building complex holes (ground squirrels, marmots, mole rats) and jumping species (jerboas).

Most of the birds fly away for the winter. The steppe eagle, bustard, steppe harrier, steppe kestrel, and lark are common for the steppe. Reptiles and insects are numerous.

Soils

The climate of the steppes is very dry, so the steppe lands suffer from a lack of moisture. Due to the fertility of the land, there are many arable lands and places for grazing livestock, so the steppes suffer.

The soil in the steppe is chernozem, lying most often on a thickness of loess-like clays, with a significant content of lime. This chernozem in the northern strip of the steppe reaches the greatest thickness and obesity, as it sometimes contains up to 16% of humus. To the south, the chernozem becomes smaller, it becomes lighter and turns into chestnut soils, and then completely disappears.

Economic activity

Human economic activity in the steppe zone is limited by natural conditions.

Common cattle breeding and agriculture. Mainly grown cereals, vegetables, melons culture. But, often, irrigation is required.

bred cattle of meat and dairy breeds, sheep and horses. Settlements are common along water bodies - rivers or artificial ponds.

The steppe is an excellent area for agriculture, both for crop production, growing crops such as wheat, corn, sunflower, and for grazing, thanks to the presence of grasses.

Agricultural activity is traditionally developed in the steppe regions.

Role in literature

N. V. Gogol described the steppe very vividly and picturesquely in his story "Taras Bulba":

Never has a plow passed over immeasurable waves of wild plants; only the horses, hiding in them, as in a forest, trampled them. Nothing in nature could be better: the entire surface of the earth seemed to be a green-gold ocean, over which millions of different colors splashed.

Through the thin, tall stalks of grass, blue, blue and purple hairs showed through; yellow gorse jumped up with its pyramidal top; white porridge was full of umbrella-shaped caps on the surface; brought in, God knows where, an ear of wheat poured into the thick. Partridges darted under their thin roots, stretching out their necks.

The air was filled with a thousand different bird whistles. The hawks stood motionless in the sky, spreading their wings and motionlessly fixing their eyes on the grass. The cry of a cloud of wild geese moving to the side resounded in God knows what distant lake.

A gull rose from the grass with measured waves and luxuriously bathed in the blue waves of the air; there she disappeared in the sky and only flickers like one black dot! There she turned her wings and flashed before the sun! Damn you, steppes, how good you are!”

Khomutovskaya steppe.

A herd of horses grazes in freedom

CC © wikiredia.ru

Economic use of the steppe zone

The steppe zone, together with the forest-steppe, is the main granary of the country, the area of ​​cultivation of wheat, corn, sunflower, millet, gourds, and in the west - industrial horticulture and viticulture.

Agriculture in the steppe zone is combined with a developed animal husbandry (cattle, horse breeding, sheep breeding and poultry farming). In the west of the zone, the development of land for arable farming can be considered complete: the plowing of the territory has reached 70-80% here. In Kazakhstan and Siberia, the percentage of plowing is much lower. And although here not all land funds suitable for plowing have been exhausted, the percentage of plowing of the Kazakh and Siberian steppes will continue to be lower compared to the European steppes due to increased salinity and stony soils.

The reserves of arable land in the steppe zone are insignificant.

In the northern, chernozem subzone, they make up about 1.5 million hectares (development of solonetsous chernozems, meadow-chernozem and floodplain soils). In the southern subzone, plowing of 4-6 million hectares of solonetzic chestnut soils is possible, but this will require complex anti-saline measures, and irrigation to obtain sustainable crops.

In the steppe zone, the problem of combating droughts and wind erosion of soils is more acute than in the forest-steppe. For this reason, snow retention, field-protective afforestation, and artificial irrigation are of particular importance here.

The rich soil and climatic resources of the zone are complemented by a variety of minerals.

Among them are deposits of iron ores (Krivoy Rog, Sokolovsko-Sarbaiskoe, Lisakovskoe, Ayatskoe, Ekibastuz), manganese (Nikopol), coal (Karaganda), natural gas (Stavropol, Orenburg), chromites (Mugodzhary), rock salt (Sol- Iletsk), phosphorites (Aktyubinsk).

Located on the territory of one of the natural zones most developed by man, many mineral deposits are quite well studied and widely developed, contributing to the industrial development of the steppe regions of the USSR.

Literature.

Economic activity of people in the steppe. Help!

Milkov F.N. Natural zones of the USSR / F.N. Milkov. - M .: Thought, 1977. - 296 p.

More articles about the steppe

The forest-steppe is a natural zone, which is characterized by the alternation of forest and steppe. Accordingly, both the flora and fauna of the designated zones alternate. From here it is easy to see that this territory got its name precisely because of this feature.

The definition of "forest-steppe" came into wide use not so long ago: after the publication of Dokuchaev's works. Prior to this, the term "pre-steppe" was popular (it was introduced by Beketov).

The geographical position of the forest-steppes of Russia

Considering Eurasia, we can say that this natural zone extends from the Carpathian ridge (the territory of Europe) and ending with the Altai Territory, passing through the lands of Ukraine and, in part, through the territories of Kazakhstan and Russia.

Separate forest-steppe zones exist, for example, in the intermountain depressions of Siberia, in Mongolia, in the Far East and in Northeast China. You should know that, for example, North America also has a forest-steppe zone.

In Russia, the forest-steppe zone is located mainly in the south, in the southern part of the Urals, in the Altai Territory. The border of the forest-steppe in the Russian Federation is marked by such cities as Kursk and Ryazan, since beyond them the forest zone begins.

Forest-steppe - a characteristic of the natural zone

The description of this natural area includes information about the relief, climate, basic soils, flora and fauna.

Relief

The relief of the forest-steppe is flat, with small lowlands and slight slopes. There are beams and ravines. Sometimes the monotony of the forest-steppe is broken by hollows and mounds.

A characteristic feature of this territory are steppe saucers - hollows of a rounded shape.

Soils

The best type of soil dominates here - black soil. Due to the different composition of the flora, carbonates and negative moisture balance, these soils are manifested here.

It is worth noting: the forest-steppe is characterized by a rapid and abundant humus-accumulative process, so here the highest rates of humus content.

Also in the forest-steppe there are such types of soils:

• sulfur forest soils;
• dark gray forest soils;
• podzolized chernozems;
• leached chernozems;
• typical chernozems;
• chernozems are medium humus.

Soil composition changes as you move from north to south.

Climate and climate zone

This area is characterized by a rather warm and dry climate: the so-called frost-free period lasts from 105 to 165 days.

The highest temperature for the forest-steppe is plus forty degrees (in the shade), and the lowest temperature is minus thirty-six degrees, but this is rare.

Most often, moderate temperatures prevail here, so this type of climate is called temperate continental. The annual amount of precipitation is approximately equal to the amount of evaporated moisture.

Plants

There is a wide variety of flora in the forest-steppe zone. Deciduous forests predominate (the most common tree is oak), there are also many types of grasses and shrubs here, and in Western Siberia there are also many birch trees.

The special climatic conditions of the forest-steppe have a positive effect on vegetation.

Animals

It can be said that both steppe and forest fauna live in the forest-steppe, and the diversity of animals changes as you move from south to north.

Typical inhabitants of the forest-steppe:

• earth hare;
• jerboa;
• marmot;
• bobak;
• ferret;
• rodents;
• bustard;
• fox;
• wolf;
• squirrel;
• black grouse and others.

Birds in the forest-steppe:

• stork;
• hawk;
• eagle;
• partridge;
• lark;
• thrush;
• woodpecker and others.

Ecological problems of the forest-steppe

Unfortunately, today more and more trees are being cut down, and steppes are being plowed up, which leads to the disappearance of the unique flora of the forest-steppe.

The main negative factors contributing to the emergence of environmental problems in the forest-steppe zone:

• plowing land in the steppes;
• grazing;
• deforestation;
• fires.

This leads to the depletion of the soil and the extinction of the flora, which leads to the fact that the animals also die.

Economic activity in the forest-steppes and steppes

The main industries and occupations of the population:

1. This is the "breadbasket" of Russia: thanks to favorable conditions for agricultural production, sunflower, sugar beet, fruit and berry crops are grown here. But due to the high degree of plowing, the use of new arable land on the territory of the Russian Plain has been stopped.
2. In comparison with the steppe, the forest-steppe land contains the richest mineral resources: iron ores, oil, coal, oil shale, gas, phosphorites and more.
3. Many inhabitants of the forest-steppe are engaged in sheep and poultry farming, which distinguishes this zone as developed in the dairy and meat industry.
4. Breeding yaks, goats.

In addition to the main activities, people in this climatic zone are engaged in fishing, hunting, breeding camels, goats, yaks and horses.

An interesting feature of this zone is the presence of both powerful forests and a developed grass cover, which creates a unique terrain.

Plants in the steppe regions of this natural zone can easily tolerate both high humidity and drought.

Conclusion

The forest-steppe is an important geographical area: the main reserves of many minerals are located in this territory, thanks to the most fertile soils, irreplaceable crops grow here. This territory is one of the main producers of meat, milk and wool.

How is the use of the steppe by man, you will learn from this article.

Human use of the steppe

What is a steppe?

Steppe- This is a natural zone, which is located in the temperate and subtropical zones of the Earth. Its main feature is the almost complete absence of woody vegetation. This is due to the low amount of precipitation, usually 250-500 mm per year. As a rule, the steppes are located in the interior regions of the continents, since their formation took place under the influence of a strong continental climate. Steppes occupy vast expanses of North America and Eurasia, the eastern part of the South American subtropical belt (here they are called pampas), the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Steppe zone: human use

The economic use of the steppe takes place in the most active way. The zone contains the most important areas of agriculture in the world. Its soils are the most fertile on the planet. Among them are the chernozems of the steppes of Southern Siberia and Eastern Europe, the brown soils of America. The only problem that farmers face is the lack of moisture, the inability to grow plants in winter. The steppe is an excellent area for growing agricultural crops: corn, wheat, sunflowers, as well as eggplants and fruits.

The possibility of using the resources of the steppe by man consists in the development of mineral deposits. The salt lakes of Ulzhay, Ebeyty and the Medet group are rich in reserves of therapeutic mud, mineral salts, and brine. They are actively used in health resorts of the region for balneological purposes. Steppe lakes produce millions of tons of salt per year. This is table salt, soda, Glauber's salt (mirabilite). Lake silt is used to make medicines for the treatment of nervous and skin diseases, bone tuberculosis and rheumatism.

The steppe zone, together with the forest-steppe, is the main granary of the country, the area of ​​cultivation of wheat, corn, sunflower, millet, gourds, and in the west - industrial horticulture and viticulture. Agriculture in the steppe zone is combined with a developed animal husbandry (cattle, horse breeding, sheep breeding and poultry farming). In the west of the zone, the development of land for arable farming can be considered complete: the plowing of the territory has reached 70-80% here. In Kazakhstan and Siberia, the percentage of plowing is much lower. And although here not all land funds suitable for plowing have been exhausted, the percentage of plowing of the Kazakh and Siberian steppes will continue to be lower compared to the European steppes due to increased salinity and stony soils.

The reserves of arable land in the steppe zone are insignificant. In the northern, chernozem subzone, they make up about 1.5 million hectares (development of solonetsous chernozems, meadow-chernozem and floodplain soils). In the southern subzone, plowing of 4-6 million hectares of solonetzic chestnut soils is possible, but this will require complex anti-saline measures, and irrigation to obtain sustainable crops. In the steppe zone, the problem of combating droughts and wind erosion of soils is more acute than in the forest-steppe. For this reason, snow retention, field-protective afforestation, and artificial irrigation are of particular importance here.

The rich soil and climatic resources of the zone are complemented by a variety of minerals. Among them are deposits of iron ores (Krivoy Rog, Sokolovsko-Sarbaiskoe, Lisakovskoe, Ayatskoe, Ekibastuz), manganese (Nikopol), coal (Karaganda), natural gas (Stavropol, Orenburg), chromites (Mugodzhary), rock salt (Sol- Iletsk), phosphorites (Aktyubinsk). Located on the territory of one of the natural zones most developed by man, many mineral deposits are quite well studied and widely developed, contributing to the industrial development of the steppe regions of the USSR.

1. Conditions of soil formation in the steppe zone.

Soils, like other biological components of the landscape, are characterized by latitudinal zonality. From meadow steppes to desert steppes, the following types and subtypes of soils successively change: typical, ordinary and southern chernozems, dark chestnut, chestnut and light chestnut soils. The regular change in soil types is associated with the action of three leading processes of steppe soil formation: humus accumulation, carbonatization, and solonetzization.

The scale of the first process - humus accumulation - is evidenced by the thickness of the humus horizon, which in the north of our steppes reaches 130 cm, but decreases to 10 cm in the south. Accordingly, the concentration of humus decreases from 10-12% to 2-3%, and its reserves - from 700 t to 100 t per ha. The decrease in the intensity of steppe humus accumulation is affected by an increase in the deficit of soil moisture, a decrease in active biomass, and a quantitative impoverishment of soil flora and fauna.

The second leading process of steppe soil formation - carbonatization - ensures the carbonate content of soils, i.e. the increased content of carbonic lime in them forms the most important features of steppe biogeocenoses, causing xerophytization of vegetation. The carbonatization of steppe soils is manifested in the formation of a special soil horizon saturated with calcium carbonates. This layer of "lime" underlies the humus horizon from below and serves as a screen for substances carried out of it by a descending water flow. Carbonates can occur either in the form of large mealy layers, or disperse in the form of the so-called "white-eye" - small local inclusions of a rounded shape.

The widespread development of carbonates is due, firstly, to their high content in the rocks underlying the steppes, and, secondly, to their accumulation by the vegetation itself. Migrating down with aqueous solutions, carbonates accumulate in the subhumus horizon.

The influence of the process of carbonatization on steppe soil formation sharply increases to the south. In forest-steppe chernozems, carbonates have the form of thin white threads; in ordinary chernozems, “white-eye” is added to them, which in southern chernozems becomes the only form of existence of carbonates. In the zone of development of chestnut soils, carbonates often form continuous interlayers. The depth of occurrence of carbonates depends on the depth of soil wetting and, therefore, decreases to the south as the annual precipitation decreases. The presence of carbonates is revealed by the action of a weak solution of hydrochloric acid on the steppe soil. Carbonates boil violently in typical chernozems at a depth of about 70 cm, in ordinary chernozems - 50 cm, in southern chernozems - 40 cm, in dark chestnut soils - 20 cm. In the south of the steppes, there are carbonate varieties of steppe soils that boil from the surface.

The third important process of steppe soil formation is solonetzization. It is often called the dispatcher of humus accumulation in steppe soils. The solonetzization process is expressed in the southward increase in the content of the sodium ion in soils. Displacing calcium in the soil complex, sodium combines with humus and moves down the profile together with water. The resulting compounds are deposited in the subhumus layer, forming a kind of solonetzic horizon. With good moisture, this horizon swells and becomes viscous and soapy to the touch. With a lack of moisture, it cracks into pronounced columnar separations. At the same time, dense and hard, like a stone, multifaceted slender columns often form under the humus layer.

The farther to the south of the steppe zone, the more pronounced is the process of alkalinization, which prevents the process of humus accumulation. In the desert steppe subzone, light chestnut soils developed on clayey rocks are almost all solonetzic. Solonetzic horizons, either excessively wet or excessively dry and dense, are unfavorable for soil animals, making it difficult for them to participate in soil formation.

An interesting feature of solonetzes is their thermoregulatory role, due to their ability to accumulate heat. An important feature of solonetsous horizons is their ability to swell, due to which moisture is retained longer and better in the root layer. And, finally, another remarkable ecological property of the swollen solonetzic horizon is its ability to screen the upward flow of moisture with sodium salts and thereby protect the upper humus horizon from excessive salinization.

The processes of humus accumulation, carbonatization and alkalinization are called the three "whales" of steppe soil formation. In regular interaction with each other, they form the structure of the soil cover of the steppes, reflecting the main zonal features of the steppe landscape.

2. The essence of the podzolic process of soil formation.

Soddy-podzolic soils are the soils of the southern taiga region of the taiga-forest zone. This zone is located south of the tundra zone and occupies a vast territory in Europe, Asia and North America. In our country, soddy-podzolic soils are common in the East European and West Siberian plains.

2.1 Climate

The climate of the taiga-meadow zone is moderately cold and rather humid, but here it is necessary to take into account the length of this zone, and, accordingly, the climatic conditions are very diverse. The climate of the southern taiga is more differentiated from west to east. Annual precipitation in the European part varies between 500-700 mm, in the Asian part - 350-500 mm. The maximum precipitation occurs in the second half of summer (July-August), the minimum - in the winter. In the European part, the average annual temperature is about +4 o in Siberia below 0 o. The duration of the frost-free period is 3.5-5 months. For the European part of the forest zone, the climate is greatly influenced by cyclones periodically coming from the west, from the Atlantic Ocean (the appearance of cool, cloudy and rainy days in summer and thaws with snowfalls in winter). In the eastern parts of the zone, the weather is more stable and the climate acquires a continental character.

The moderate temperature of this area excludes the possibility of intensive evaporation, therefore, precipitation exceeds the evaporability K y 1.0-1.3. Thus, most of the atmospheric precipitation enters the soil and the development of soils occurs under conditions of their systematic moistening - the water regime of the leaching type. This condition is one of the main conditions for the development of the podzol formation process in soils.

2.2 Vegetation

The vegetation of the southern taiga is represented by mixed coniferous-deciduous forests with a rich herbaceous cover. The main forest-forming species are larch, pine, spruce, less often white birch, pine. Along with pure larch and pine forests, larch-pine-white-birch forest stands are widespread. Pine-larch-oak forests also predominate here, which include larch, oak, pine, white, black and yellow birch. In the floodplains of the rivers grow: Amur velvet, elm, maples, linden, willow, lemongrass and grapes are found. The herbaceous cover is very rich and varied. Most of it is made up of: zelenchuk, lungwort, hoof, gout, fragrant woodruff and other plants characteristic of broad-leaved forests. The annual litter is 5-6 t/ha. A significant part of the litter comes in the form of roots to the upper soil layers. In the southern taiga, the process of litter decomposition is more intense than in the northern and middle taiga. Stocks of litter exceed the value of the annual litter by 4-8 times. With the litter, up to 300 kg/gas of ash elements and nitrogen enter the soil.

2.3 Relief and parent rocks.

The European part of the zone is represented by dissected plains (alternation of finite moraine ridges with flat moraine plains). Within the Russian Plain and the Pechora Plain, glacial and water-glacial accumulative relief prevails.

The plain background is diversified in places by slight undulations and hillockiness, in places by rather strong hilliness, as well as by dissection by river and river valleys, the channels of which often cut through the entire thickness of the Quaternary sediments and go deep into the bedrock of a more ancient origin.

The alluvial plains (Yaroslavsko-Kostroma, Mari) are poorly dissected and are composed of alluvial deposits. In Karelia and on the Kola Peninsula, a selga relief is common with an amplitude of relative fluctuations of 100-200 m. For the uplands (Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Northern Uvaly), an erosion type of relief with varying degrees of dissection is characteristic. Absolute heights reach 300-450 m. The lowlands (Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya, etc.) are characterized by weakly dissected flat and slightly undulating plains with heights of 100-150 m, with extensive swampy massifs and a large number of small lakes.

Soil-forming rocks in the European part are represented by moraine loams, sometimes carbonate, mantle loams, fluvioglacial deposits, and two-membered deposits are often found. In the northwestern part, lacustrine deposits are common - banded clays; in the south of the zone - loess-like carbonate loams. The terraces of the rivers are sometimes composed of limestone, which in some places comes to the surface. The predominant part of soil-forming rocks does not contain carbonates, has an acid reaction of the environment and a low degree of saturation with bases.

The West Siberian lowland is characterized by a flat-plain, slightly dissected relief with reduced drainage of watershed spaces, a high level of groundwater, and a strong swampiness of the territory. Soil-forming rocks are represented by moraine and water-glacial deposits, and in the south - by loess-like loams and clays.

To the east of the Yenisei River, the taiga-forest zone is located in the region of the Central Siberian Plateau and the mountain systems of Eastern Siberia and the Far East. This entire territory has a complex geological structure and predominantly mountainous terrain. Soil-forming rocks are represented by eluvium and deluvium of bedrocks. Vast territories here are occupied by the Leno-Vilyui, Zeya-Bureinskaya, Lower Amur lowlands, which are characterized by a flat relief. Soil-forming rocks are represented by clayey and loamy ancient alluvial deposits.

3. Agricultural use of gray forest soils.

The gray forest soils are actively used in agriculture for the cultivation of forage, grain and fruit and vegetable crops. To increase fertility, the systematic application of organic and mineral fertilizers, grass sowing and the gradual deepening of the arable layer are used. Due to the weak ability of gray forest soils to accumulate nitrates, nitrogen fertilizers are recommended to be applied in the early spring.

They are distinguished by rather high fertility and, if used correctly, give good crop yields. Particular attention in the zone of gray forest soils must be paid to measures to combat water erosion, since it covered large areas of arable land. In some provinces, soils eroded to varying degrees make up 70-80% of the arable land. As a result of insufficient application of organic fertilizers, the humus content in the arable layer of gray forest soils decreases. For optimal humus content, organic fertilizers should be applied. The average annual dose is 10 tons per 1 ha of arable land, which is achieved by using manure, peat, various organic composts, green manure, straw and other organic materials. An important measure in the agricultural use of gray soils is liming. Liming neutralizes the excess acidity of gray forest soils and improves the supply of nutrients to plant roots. Lime mobilizes soil phosphates, which leads to the entrainment of plant-available phosphorus; when lime is added, the mobility of molybdenum increases, microbiological activity increases, the level of development of oxidative processes increases, more calcium humates are formed, the soil structure and quality of crop production improve. a factor in increasing crop yields. Of essential importance for increasing the fertility of gray forest soils is the regulation of their water regime.

Steppes are endless plains covered with herbaceous plants.

The steppe zone is characterized by an almost complete absence of trees, dense grass cover and increased soil fertility.

Steppes of Russia - location and description of the natural zone

The steppe zone is located just south of the forest zone, but the transition from zone to zone stretches for several kilometers.

The territory of the steppe zone is located on the territories of the East European Plain, Western Siberia, and is also included in the geographical regions of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov.

Plants of the steppe zone

As soon as spring comes, the steppe is covered with a colorful carpet. These are early flowering flowering plants: tulips, forget-me-nots, poppies. As a rule, they have a short growing season and bloom only a few days a year.

The steppe zone is characterized by conditional "forbs", when up to eighty plant species grow on one square meter of land.

Many steppe plants have hairs, thorns (thistle), or essential oil (wormwood) on their leaves to protect them from excessive evaporation. Therefore, steppe grasses smell strongly.

Shrubs are typical for the northern steppe: almonds, steppe cherries, and for the southern steppe - cereals: oats, feather grass.

Animals living in the steppes

Animals of the steppe zone are distinguished by their ability to run: these are steppe hares, whose hind legs are much longer than those of their forest brothers, and ungulate animals such as saiga, bison, antelope, roe deer and even some birds, such as bustards.

The most common inhabitants of the steppe are rodents: marmots, ground squirrels, field mice. Many are endemic, meaning they do not occur in any of the other zones.

Gopher at the hole

Due to the abundance of rodents, the entire underground section of the steppe is pitted with burrows, which save not only from bad weather, but also from attacks by predators. Burrows are also characteristic of some birds: hoopoes, wheatears, but most of the birds that live here nest right on the ground.

It often happens that other people's burrows are occupied by other animals. For example, wolves capture the dwellings of foxes and badgers, ferrets and ermines inhabit the burrows of large rodents, and minnows, lizards, and some species of snakes live in the burrows of small ones.

Ecological problems of the steppe zone

In ancient times, the steppes occupied gigantic territories, but now they are almost completely plowed up. Fertile steppe soils are occupied by agricultural crops, while the natural vegetation of the steppes is almost non-existent.

The predecessors of domestic animals have long disappeared: the bull tour, tarpan horses, which can now only be seen in the photo.

Many species of steppe animals are under the threat of extinction, their names are listed in the Red Book, for example, bustard, saiga, ground squirrels, bison, antelopes and so on.

Human economic activity continues, and every day new species of animals are under threat. Some of them can be found only in nature reserves and reserves.

Climate features

The steppes are located in the subtropical and temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres, this is studied in grades 3-4 of elementary school.

The steppe zone includes the classic characteristics of the temperate zone: summers are warm, dry, hot winds often blow, called dry winds.

At the end of summer, dry grass and dust make the steppe look gray. Heavy rains are rare, after which the water quickly evaporates, not having time to saturate the soil.

Winter stops life in the steppe: the vast expanses of the steppes are covered with a thick layer of snow, piercing winds blow.

Steppe Zone Power Scheme

Insects feed on steppe grasses: grasshopper, praying mantis, bees. The life of animals and birds directly depends on their quantity.

Rodents and insectivorous birds are eaten by carnivores, such as the steppe eagle., which is the top of the steppe food chain, as well as predatory animals: badgers, hedgehogs, martens.

The soil of the steppes and their properties

The main difference of the steppe from other natural zones is the increased fertility of the soil.

The humus layer here can reach 50 cm or more, while in the neighboring forest zone its thickness is only about 15 cm.

Steppe reserves of Russia

In Russia, 28 reserves have been created with a steppe or mixed-steppe zone, which are under special protection.

Among them are a reserve in Khakassia or the Taiga Museum of Nature, in which such rare animals as deer, musk deer, American mink and so on live.

Przewalski's horse in the Orenburg Reserve

Also the Orenburg Nature Reserve, the territory of which is 47,000 hectares. There are endangered designations of plants, for example, burnet, valerian, celandine, as well as 98 species of Red Book animals and birds.

Human activity in the steppe

Due to the fertility of the soil, the steppe is used by man to grow various crops, mainly drought-resistant plants: sunflower, cereals, corn, millet, and various melons. The unplowed area is given over to pastures.

Finally, some interesting facts:

1. Steppe zones are found on the map of all the continents of the world, except for Antarctica.
2. There are practically no trees in the steppe due to the lack of moisture necessary for their vital activity.
3. Only in the steppe zone grows tumbleweed - a spherical shrub that is carried by the wind over long distances and scatters its seeds at this time.
4. The South American Plain in America also includes the steppes, which are called differently - prairies.

Conclusion

The steppe is a unique natural zone, a storehouse of unique species of plants and animals that are under the threat of extinction and need our enhanced protection. Looking at the boundless steppe with its vast expanses, you understand that this territory with its incalculable wealth must be preserved for future generations.