Steppe

As steppe (from Russian степь step) is a semi-arid (up semihumide ), treeless grass and herbaceous landscape of temperate latitudes called on both sides of the equator.

Typical features include a continental climate with winter cold and summer drought, fine earthy soils (often loess ) and more uniform growth.

Forest-steppe

At the junction of the Eurasian steppe region to the deciduous forest zone there is a designated as a forest-steppe zone in the grass steppe is interspersed near water and permeable soils of forest islands. The sometimes referred to in older literature as " forest-steppe " tropical forms of vegetation is, however, to savannas.

Types

Can be divided as follows steppes about the reasons of your creation:

• Primary steppe: this guy is an atmospheric condition and occurs where a bulk dry climate with rainfall below 250 millimeters per year there. The soils on which they arise, can be quite profound and rich in nutrients and give an excellent farmland, provided they are artificially irrigated. Thus, the former primary steppes in Ukraine, which consist on Tschernosemen, today often exploited as agricultural land.
• Secondary steppe: these originated on forest -enabled sites by human deforestation and use as grazing land for the livestock of the people. An example is the Puszta, which would be forested by nature.
• Substrate steppe regions where the soil does not allow high vegetation: Rocky steppe, there are places where the rock is enough to just below or up to the surface.
• Sepentinvegetation created on ultrabasic rocks that are thought to inhibit the separation of toxic heavy metals plant growth.
• Gravel steppes occur on gravel deposits.
• Lösssteppen exist, loess, a sediment that has been transported and deposited during the cold periods of the wind.
• Sand steppes occur on sandy soils.
• Salt steppes form over salt-containing soils. It may be sodium chloride, but also other salts such as sodium sulfate.

The steppes of the temperate zone include:

• The Eurasian steppe, which extends from the Burgenland on the Puszta in Hungary and in Romania Bărăgan up in the eastern Mongolia.
• Parts of the semi-desert Gobi
• The prairies and Great Plains in North America
• The pampas in South America
• Subregions of the Outback in Australia
• The High Country of New Zealand
• The veld in South Africa

Characteristics of the steppe

A steppe is a semi-arid, treeless grasslands of the temperate zone. The plant growth is limited by water shortage. In the steppes of Eurasia lie in the interior of the continent at a great distance from the oceans, where the annual rainfall is very limited ( continentality ). The steppe areas in North and South America caused by the Leelage the territories. Due to the seasonal distribution of rainfall, the growing season is often interrupted by summer drought and winter cold. The vegetation phases are only in spring and autumn.

The zonal soils of the plains are the most fertile humus accumulation soils with profound, humus- rich topsoil. In Germany they are called black earth.

Flora

The dominant plant communities of the steppe consist of grasses. It is found next to primarily mosses and lichens, but also lower shrubs such as heather plants and isolated forest islands in favorable areas. Originally, most cereal crops steppe dwellers.

Although in the steppe covered the most rainfall in the summer months, the plant is in the other seasons more water available. This is due to that in the summer the evaporation is very large. But that still does not explain fully the extent of these grasslands. Maybe playing fire since prehistoric times deliberately set by people or caused by lightning, a role. In the North American prairies probably have prevented the emergence of forest the great herds of bison.

Fauna

For typical steppe species are eg

• The Saiga ( a species of antelope ) in Asia,
• The pronghorn and the plains bison in the North American Plains or
• The root form of the Lamas, the guanaco (Lama guanicoe ) in the pampas of South America.
• Also found in all the steppes often rodents that live in large underground colonies, such as the prairie dogs in North America.

Agriculture

In the steppe of the temperate zone much farming is done. Because of the short growing season, corn and wheat are grown mostly. Large parts of the world wheat production comes from the plains of North America and Eurasia. The arid climate of the steppe is, the more uncertain are the returns.

Where the water conditions only permit extensive agriculture, dominated the livestock. Breeds are eg buffalo, cattle, horse, sheep, goat, camel and yak. In addition, a nomadic cattle breeding is traditionally used in the steppes of Eurasia.