The Kulunda Steppe as Part of the Eurasian Steppe Belt

Abstract

The Eurasian steppes represent the continent’s share of the world’s temperate grasslands and once have formed one of the largest continuous terrestrial biomes at an extent of ca. 10 Mio km². The present chapter describes key aspects of steppes and puts the study region Kulunda in context giving overview data and maps on climate, flora and vegetation. Relatively dry conditions render tree growth limited throughout the biome, while grasses typically have high abundance. Major vegetation classes include meadow steppes often intersected with forest outposts (and then called forest steppe landscapes), typical steppes and dry steppes, all of which are present in the study region. Kulunda thus is a typical example of western Eurasian steppes, which receive a relatively large share of precipitation in winter. Spring conditions are not as dry as in neighbouring regions of Mongolia and China, resulting in a rich and partly specialised flora. Grasslands in the Kulunda region belong to the phytosociological class Festuco-Brometea, also highlighting similarities to western Eurasia rather than to the Mongolian plateau eastwards. The western Eurasian steppes have been subject to large-scale conversion to arable lands, and Kulunda is no exception. Less than 17% (ca. 28,000 km²) of the potential grassland cover still is extant. These sites contain a high number of locally threatened plant species and still reflect most of the former diversity of vegetation types found in this key Middle Asian steppe region.