The Steppe

Abstract

The wetness of the soil surface, at least for a given period of the year, is the factor necessary for the development of a Gramineae formation, or better a grassland, in which generally only some shrubs or small scattered trees can thrive. These elements constitute immense prairies (or rather grasslands, since the former name is generally reserved for the North American formations) and steppes in places where — as we shall see later — neither a forest nor a desert can develop. The roots of the Graminoid plants constitute a compact superficial mat which continuously absorbs water, even where rainfall is scarce, water must not be absent during the development period, because the soil absorbs it very rapidly and evaporation (or in this case évapotranspiration) is generally high. In this period the temperature must be mild, but very cold winters, as well as prolonged periods of drought, do not effect the dormant phase of the vegetation.

‘…Und wie sie selbst diese Csárda so sichts auch um sie aus, Ringsherum endlose Sandbuzken¹ Im nackten Sande kommt kaum fort Ein Fliederbusch², Der seine schwarzen Früchte allsommerlich unlustig bringt… bei der Csárda ist ein gelber Wald aus zwergigen Pappelbäumen³ In mit Königsmelonen⁴ bewachsenem Sand … Dort blüht das melancholische Waisenmädchenhaar⁵ und die blaue Blüte des Eselsbrodes⁶’. A. v. Petöfi