Home

Physical Geography
  Tectonics and Geology
  Climatic Change
  Climate at Present and in the Past
  Soils
  Rivers, Lakes, Seas and Wetlands
  Permafrost
  Biodiversity

Biomes & Regions
  Arctic Environments
  Boreal Forests
  Mixed and Deciduous Forests
  Steppe and Forest-steppe
  Arid Environments
  The Mountains of Northern Russia
  The Mountains of Southern Siberia
  The Caucasus
  The Mountains of Central Asia
  Lake Baikal
  The Far East

Environmental Problems
  Radioactive Contamination
  Oil and Gas Development
  Air Pollution
  The Aral Sea Problems
  Deforestation and Degradation of Forests
  Nature Protection and Conservation

Images of Russian Nature
  Geographic Index
  Systematic Index
  Alphabetical Index

Nature Reserves
  Northern Russia
  Central Russia
  Povolzhye (Volga river basin)
  Southern Russia
  Ural Mountains
  Western Siberia
  Eastern Siberia
  Far East


Ôîòîãðàôèè ïðèðîäû Ðîññèè
  Ãåîãðàôè÷åñêèé êàòàëîã
  Ñèñòåìàòè÷åñêèé êàòàëîã
  Àëôàâèòíûé êàòàëîã


Nature Landscapes of the World
  Europe
  Asia
  North America
  South America
  Africa
  Australia
  Antarctic

Field Ecology Education
  Instructive Videos
  Instructive Manuals


Ýêîëîãè÷åñêèé Öåíòð Ýêîñèñòåìà íà Facebook Ýêîëîãè÷åñêèé Öåíòð Ýêîñèñòåìà ÂÊîíòàêòå

Þòóá êàíàë Ýêîñèñòåìà YouTube EcosystemaRu

Ñêà÷àòü íàøè ïðèëîæåíèÿ èç ìàãàçèíà RuStore
Ñêà÷àòü íàøè ïðèëîæåíèÿ èç ìàãàçèíà RuMarket Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû èç ìàãàçèíà NashStore
Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû èç ìàãàçèíà GetApps Xiaomi
Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû ÝêîÃèä èç ìàãàçèíà Google Play / Play Market
Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû ÝêîÃèä èç AppStore / iTunes
Âèäåî-360 ïî ýêîëîãèè íà íàøåì Youtube êàíàëå

Bird Decoys for European Birds: Songs, Calls, Sounds, Bird voices - application for Android download from Google Play / Play Market for free



Share this page with your friends:



( ) : : = = + +


Russian Nature

Home | Physical Geography | Biomes & Regions | Environmental Problems | Images of Russian Nature | Nature Reserves

Our Field Ecology Center published more than 180 methodical materials for nature studies. Some of them are in English:
Mobile educational application: Ecological Field Studies Techniques on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of North America: Songs and Calls Decoys on Play.Google WILD FLOWERS OF RUSSIA Field Identification Guide on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Russia on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Russia Songs, Calls and Voices on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Europe Songs, Calls and Voices on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Europe Songs, Calls and Voices on Play.Google
Mobile Educational Apps and Field Identification Guides for Russian, European and American Birds
Applications for Android and iOS are available at GooglePlay and AppStore


Please put an active hyperlink to our site (www.rusnature.info) when you copy the materials from this page

Biomes and Regions of Northern Eurasia

Mixed and Deciduous Forests

<<< Boreal Forests: Conclusions | Biomes & Regions Index | Mixed and Deciduous Forests of the East European Plain >>>

Introduction

Mixed (coniferous-deciduous) and deciduous forests occupy the middle part of the East European plain and extend as a wedge-shaped belt from the Gulf of Finland and the Carpathian foothills to the southern Urals (Figure 10.1). Mixed forests dominate on watersheds in the northern and central parts of this belt. Deciduous forests extend further south and gradually give way to forest-steppes.

Natural zones of the middle belt of Northern Eurasia

Fig. 10.1 Natural zones of the middle belt of Northern Eurasia

The main stand species in mixed forests are spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus), oak (Quercus), lime (Tilia), beech (Fagus), and birch (Betula). A relatively high proportion of conifers is characteristic of the region. The biomes of mixed and deciduous forests have a relatively mild climate and fertile soils. Four great ancient cities (Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, and Moscow) are located here. Both crafts and agriculture began developing in the earliest days of Russia's history and primary forests were therefore heavily cleared and tilled. Mixed and deciduous forests also widely occur in the southern Far East. In other regions of Northern Eurasia, the occurrence of deciduous and mixed forests is mainly linked to altitudinal zonation. Deciduous forests usually develop in intermountain depressions, while mixed forests occupy foothills and the lower and middle sections of mountain slopes. This distribution is clearly expressed in the mountainous regions of the Caucasus, Carpathians, and Crimea.

Controversial assessments have appeared concerning the origin of small-leaved forests in the southern part of the West Siberian plain. The formation of Betula pendula, B. krylovii, and Populus tremula stands, which dominate the area, has been traditionally attributed to such human impacts as fires and felling. However, pollen analysis has shown that these forests existed at least throughout the Holocene (Neistadt, 1976). According to these data, the small-leaved forests of Western Siberia are original forests which form an ecotone between taiga and forest-steppe. Pure deciduous forests are absent in Western Siberia. Among deciduous species only Tilia cordata occurs locally in a subordinate forest tier in the south-west of the Transurals region, extending to Tobolsk (58°15'N; 68°12'E) in the north, and in some isolated habitats in the Kuznetsky Alatau. The extremely severe winters and lack of moisture prevent mixed and deciduous forests from developing in Eastern Siberia, where taiga borders directly with the forest-steppe biome.

Traditionally, mixed and deciduous forests have been treated as two separate zones (Lavrenko and Sochava, 1956). However, because in many areas coniferous species penetrate far south and deciduous forests do not form a continuous belt, it was suggested by some physical geographers (Milkov and Gvozdetsky, 1976) that only one biome of mixed forests should be recognized. It was also proposed that deciduous forests, together with meadow steppes, should be viewed as a part of the forest-steppe zone (Milkov, 1986). It is necessary to recognize, however, that the belt of deciduous forests is distinctly marked in the middle part of the East European plain where deciduous species are dominants and edificators. This fact supports the original and independent ordinance of the deciduous forest zone and in this chapter I will approach mixed and deciduous forests of the European territory as two different biomes. However, it should be acknowledged that composition of tree species in the East European forests changes gradually in a sub-meridional direction, from the north-north-west (where mixed forests dominate) to south-south-east (where deciduous forests gradually give way to forest-steppes). Vegetation distribution is complex, with transitional areas, and was best defined by Agakhanyants (1986) as a mosaic. It is, therefore, difficult to draw precise boundaries between the mixed and deciduous forest zones.

In this chapter, I will focus on the woodlands of plains and lower mountains. Although primary forests still occupy vast areas, much of the woodlands have been degraded by human impact throughout their history. Many areas, heavily forested in the past, have been transformed. Here, I will concentrate on those areas where natural forests survived and address the issue of the changing nature of forests in the concluding sections of the chapter.

In the history of Northern Eurasia, forests have always played a very special role. They provided food and shelter to its dwellers for centuries, from the times of the nomad invasions to the Second World War. Hunting still is one of the main occupations for many indigenous people and later settlers in the Far East. I will discuss the role of forests in human history (concentrating on the European territory) and human impact on forests.

A comprehensive survey of mixed and deciduous forests was published by Kurnaev (1968) and Agakhanyants (1986). Forests of the European territory are reviewed by Gribova et. al. (1980). Walter (1974) provides a review in German and Jahn (1991) may be helpful to English-speaking readers.

<<< Boreal Forests: Conclusions | Biomes & Regions Index | Mixed and Deciduous Forests of the East European Plain >>>

 

 


Recommend this page to your friends:


* *