The South Siberian forest steppe

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

(WWF ID: PA0817) is a patchwork of grasslands and forests in the low-lying areas of south central

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. The region is one of high biodiversity as a transition zone between the

West Siberian taiga West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

to the north, and the

Altai mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

to the south. There are also small patches to the east in

Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk Oblast (russian: Ирку́тская о́бласть, Irkutskaya oblast; bua, Эрхүү можо, Erkhüü mojo) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara, Lena, and Nizh ...

. The ecoregion is in the

temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to sem ...

biome, and the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

, with a Humid Continental climate. It covers .

Location and description

The ecoregion is a thin band of lowland terrain, long, stretching from

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...

in the west, to the east of

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

in southern Siberia. On the western edge there is a north-south extension that follows the

Tom River The Tom ( rus, Томь, p=tomʲ, cjs, Том) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in Central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.Kuznetsk Basin The Kuznetsk Basin (russian: Кузнецкий угольный бассейн, Кузбасс; often abbreviated as Kuzbass or Kuzbas) in southwestern Siberia, Russia, is one of the largest coal mining areas in Russia, covering an area of aroun ...

. In the middle is another extension, covering a low area along the

Yenisei River The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...

and some of its tributaries; this area is known as the

Minusinsk Hollow Minusinsk Basin or Khakass-Minusinsk Basin (russian: Минусинская (Хакасско-Минусинская) котловина, ''Minusinskaya (Chakassko-Minusinskaya) kotlovina'') is in Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia locate ...

. To the west is the

West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests The West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests, also known as the Western Siberian hemiboreal forests, is an ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0444) in Russia. It consists of a thin band of mixed forest along the southernmost edge of the West Siberian taiga (co ...

ecoregion, which is now mostly cultivated agricultural land.

Climate

The climate of the South Siberian forest steppe is '' Subarctic climate, without dry season'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Subartic climate (Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1–3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ). There is sufficient precipitation (averaging 200–400 mm/year) to support patchy forests. The mean January temperature at the center of the ecoregion is , and .

Flora and fauna

The region exhibits the typical forest steppe mix of grasslands and forest too sparse to create a full canopy. Typical trees are birch, aspen and willow, generally found along the streams and in low areas. Swamps are common. The region was about 15% forested; this has been reduced by human activity. The most common grass is ''

Calamagrostis epigejos ''Calamagrostis epigejos'', common names wood small-reed or bushgrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae which is native to Eurasia and Africa. It is found from average moisture locales to salt marsh and wet habitats.

'' (bushgrass).

Protections

There are no federally protected areas in the South Siberian forest steppe ecoregion.

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Russia Ecoregions of Asia Palearctic ecoregions Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

Location and description

Climate

Flora and fauna

Protections

See also

References