steppe

(stĕp)

[German, from Russian step'.]

View more Travel videos

The wild grasslands of central Europe and Asia. The natural vegetation has by now been removed or much altered by cultivation and grazing.

To the forest-dwelling, inland-looking Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarus), the steppes of Central Russia and Eurasia historically were much like the oceans and seas to maritime civilizations. In song and verse, these vast grasslands were the dikiye polya (wild fields) inhabited by the equivalent of untamed, bloodthirsty pirates. Between 700 B.C.E. and 1600 .E., the steppes were the realm of marauding horse-riding nomads, scions of the Völkerwanderungen (peoples' migrations), such as the Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Huns, Avars, Magyars, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, Mongol-Tatars, and multi-cultural free-booting Cossacks. Indeed, until the invention of the steel-tipped, moldboard plow in the nineteenth century, Eastern Slavic farmers were unable to cultivate the rich black-earths (chernozems) of the steppes, and they confined their settlements mainly to the forest zones.

Steppe climates are sub-humid, semiarid continental types. Summer lasts from four to six months. Average July temperatures range from 70 to 73.5 degrees Fahrenheit (21 to 23 degrees Celsius). Winter, by Russian standards, is mild, with January averaging between -4 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 and 0 degrees Celsius). It generally persists for three to five months. There is a distinctive lack of soil moisture. Average annual precipitation is 18 inches (46 centimeters) in the north and 10 inches (26 centimeters) in the south. Most of it derives from summer thunderstorms. The depth of snow cover in winter ranges from 4 inches (10 centimeters) in the south to 20 inches (50 centimeters) in the north.

Steppe ecology exhibits subtle diversity. Herbaceous vegetation abounds. The only natural forests follow the river valleys and ravines, but shelter-belts, planted since the 1930s, parallel the roads and farms to trap snow in winter. Salinized soils (solonets) occasionally interrupt the predominant chernozems and chestnut soils. Small mammals typify the steppe, including marmots, hamsters, social meadow mice, jerboas, and others.

This zone and the wooded-steppe to the north yield Russia's best farmland. Between 1928 and 1940, most of the steppe was converted to state and collective farms. In the 1950s, long-term fallow lands (perelog and zalezh) were plowed in Russia's Altay Foreland and in northern Kazakhstan (the "Virgin Lands"); thus most of the natural steppe is gone. Common crops are wheat, barley, sunflowers, and maize.

Bibliography

Gregory, James S. (1968). Russian Land, Soviet People. New York: Pegasus.

Jackson, W. A. Douglas. (1956). "The Virgin and Idle Lands of Western Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan." The Geographical Review 46:1 - 19.

Shaw, Denis J. B. (1999). Russia in the Modern World: A New Geography. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

—VICTOR L. MOTE

Vast grassy plains associated with eastern Russia and Siberia.

Several Russian breeds of cattle, e.g. Red Steppe, Grey Steppe.

• Plains and Marshes - steppe: vast plain of eastern Europe having few trees

This article is about the ecological zone type. For other uses, see Steppe (disambiguation).

Steppe in Mongolia

Steppe in Uzbekistan

In physical geography, steppe (from Russian степь, "steppe," further derivation unknown) is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrubland and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. The prairie (especially the shortgrass and mixed prairie) is an example of a steppe, though it is not usually called such. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude. The term is also used to denote the climate encountered in regions too dry to support a forest, but not dry enough to be a desert. The soil is typically of chernozem type.

Steppes are usually characterized by a semi-arid and continental climate. Extremes can be recorded in the summer of up to 40 °C (104 °F) and in winter, –40 °C (–40 °F). Besides this huge difference between summer and winter, the differences between day and night are also very great. In the highlands of Mongolia, 30 °C (86 °F) can be reached during the day with sub-zero °C (sub 32 °F) readings at night.

The mid-latitude steppes can be summarised by hot summers and cold winters, averaging 250–500 mm (10-20 inches) of precipitation per year. Precipitation level alone is not what defines a steppe climate, potential evapotranspiration must also be taken into account.

Contents 1 Two types of steppe 2 Locations 2.1 Cold steppe 2.2 Subtropical steppe 3 Tropical grasslands and shrublands similar to steppe 4 See also 5 References 5.1 Notes 5.2 Sources 6 External links

Two types of steppe

Southern Siberian steppe: windbreaker trees in the wintertime

Two types of steppe can be recorded^[1]:

• Temperate steppe: the "true" steppe, found in continental areas of the world; it can be further subdivided as seen here
• Subtropical steppe: a similar association of plants that can be found in the driest areas with a Mediterranean-like climate; it has usually a short wet period

Peculiar types of steppe include shrub-steppe and alpine-steppe.

Locations

Cold Patagonian steppe near Fitz Roy, Argentina

Cold steppe

The world's largest steppe region, often referred to as "the Great Steppe", is found in southwestern Russia and neighbouring countries in Central Asia, stretching from Ukraine in the west through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the Altai, Koppet Dag and Tian Shan ranges.

The inner parts of Anatolia in Turkey, Central Anatolia and East Anatolia in particular and also some parts of Southeast Anatolia, as well as much of Armenia and Iran are largely dominated by cold steppe.

The Pannonian Plain is another steppe region in eastern Europe, primarily Hungary.

Another large steppe area (prairie) is located in the central United States and western Canada. The shortgrass prairie steppe is the westernmost part of the Great Plains region. The Channeled Scablands in Southern British Columbia and Washington State is an example of a steppe region in North America outside of the Great Plains.

In South America, cold steppe can be found in Patagonia and much of the high elevation regions east of the southern Andes.

Relatively small steppe areas can be found in the interior of the South Island of New Zealand.

Subtropical steppe

In Europe, some Mediterranean areas have a steppe-like vegetation, such as central Sicily, parts of Greece in the southern Athens area,^[2] and central-eastern Spain, especially the southeastern coast (around Murcia), and places cut off from adequate moisture due to rain shadow effects such as Zaragoza.

In Asia, a subtropical steppe can be found in semi-arid lands that fringe the Thar Desert of the Indian subcontinent.

In Australia, "subtropical steppe" can found in a belt surrounding the most severe deserts of the continent and around the Musgrave Ranges.

In North America this environment is typical of transition areas between zones with a Mediterranean climate and true deserts, such as Reno, Nevada, the inner part of California, and much of West Texas and adjacent areas in Mexico.

In South America the most important zone with a warm steppe is the Pampa.

Tropical grasslands and shrublands similar to steppe

Other zones dominated by grasslands and shrublands similar to steppe can be found in tropical areas of the world. In these locations, necessary rainfall to separate steppes from true deserts may be half as much again due to greater evapotranspiration. These include transition zones between savanna and severe desert such as the Sahel that fringes the true Sahara.

Another significant "tropical steppe", noteworthy for not grading into desert, is the Sertão of northeastern Brazil.

See also

Kazakh Steppe Eurasian Steppe Pontic-Caspian Steppe Mongolian-Manchurian grassland Great Plains Canadian Prairies High Plains Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Puszta Great Hungarian Plain Shrub-steppe Steppe-tundra Alpine-steppe Coastal plain Coastal prairie Desert

Field (agriculture) Flooded grasslands and savannas Flood-meadow Forest steppe Grassland Meadow Pasture Plain Prairie Rain shadow Rangeland Savanna Tundra Water-meadow Wet meadow Veld

References

Notes

1. ^ Ecological Subregions of the United States
2. ^ [1]

Sources

• Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-land Birds by Manuel B.Morales, Santi Mañosa, Jordi Camprodón, Gerard Bota. International Symposium on Ecology and Conservation of steppe-land birds. Lleida, Spain. December 2004.ISBN 84-87334-99-7

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steppes

• "The Steppes". barramedasoft corporation. 1998-2008. http://www.barrameda.com.ar/ecology/the-steppes.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - steppe

Nederlands (Dutch)
steppe

Français (French)
n. - steppe

Deutsch (German)
n. - Steppe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (γεωγρ.) στέπα

Italiano (Italian)
steppa

Português (Portuguese)
n. - estepe (m)

Русский (Russian)
степь

Español (Spanish)
n. - estepa

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - stäpp, grässlätt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
特指西伯利亚一带没有树木的大草原

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 特指西伯利亞一帶沒有樹木的大草原

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 스텝, 대초원지대

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ステップ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سهول روسيا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ערבה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.