L5: Central Russian-Volgian meadow steppes and steppe-like meadows (Stipa tirsa, Stipa pennata) alternating with pertrophytic steppes (Helictotrichon desertorum, Carex pediformis) with Artemisia latifolia, Artemisia sericea, Campanula wolgensis and with ash-oak forests (Quercus robur, Fraxinus excelsior)

Title

Central Russian-Volgian meadow steppes and steppe-like meadows (Stipa tirsa, Stipa pennata) alternating with pertrophytic steppes (Helictotrichon desertorum, Carex pediformis) with Artemisia latifolia, Artemisia sericea, Campanula wolgensis and with ash-oak forests (Quercus robur, Fraxinus excelsior)

Geographical distribution

Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)

Herbeto-Stipeta pennatae; Herbeto-Stipeta tirsae; Herbeto-Festuceta valesiacae; Herbeto-Helictotricheta desertorum; Herbeto-Cariceta humilis (all Lavrenko 1940); Acereto-Tilieto-Quercetum graminosum, Acereto-Tilieto-Quercetum aegopodiosum, Acereto-Tilieto-Quercetum caricosum pilosae (all Kleopov 1941).

Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)

Vegetation complex of oak-pedunculate oak, small-leaved lime-pedunculate oak and (pine-)pedunculate oak forests and meadow steppes as well as petrophytic steppes with regionally different combinations and a specific, climatically-determined vegetation gradient from north to south and from west to east. In the northern range steppe-like meadows are distributed in which not only meadow steppe and steppe grasses (Festuca valesiaca, Poa angustifolia, Phleum phleoides, Helictotrichon schellianum etc.) but also meadow grasses (Agrostis vinealis, Koeleria delavignei, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Festuca pratensis, Briza media etc.) occur. Often meadow steppe and meadow herbs (Ranunculus polyanthemos, Fragaria viridis, Salvia pratensis, Trifolium pratense, Filipendula vulgaris, Potentilla humifusa, Leucanthemum vulgare etc.) are also present. In the southern part of the range meadow steppes with feather grasses (Stipa tirsa, Stipa pennata), Bromus riparius and Carex humilis dominate, while meadow grasses are on the other hand absent. Intermingled herbs typical for the East European meadow steppes include Volgian-south-Siberian-Kazakh (Campanula wolgensis, Artemisia latifolia, Artemisia sericea) as well as other "eastern" species.Ash-oak forests (Quercus robur, Fraxinus excelsior) and oak forests with ash and lime (Tilia cordata) with numerous mixed tree species and shrubs in the undergrowth dominate in the western range, and to the south and east various mixed tree species disappear and light pedunculate oak-steppe forests start to form sometimes with admixtures of pine and steppe elements in the understorey, including also south-Siberian elements.

Dominant and most frequent species in different layers

Diagnostically important species

in meadow steppes: Stipa tirsa, Stipa pennata, Helictotrichon desertorum, Artemisia latifolia, Artemisia sericea, Campanula wolgensis

Ecological variants

Different forms according to substrate and situation.

Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)

In the northern part apart from meadow steppes also steppe-like meadows are present, and in the south meadow steppes with Stipa species; forests in the east (Volga plateau) with dominant oak and additions of pine and steppe plants.

Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)

Petrophytic steppes (Stipa capillata, Scutellaria chitrovoi, Potentilla pimpinelloides, Dendranthema zawadskii) on limestone in the area of the upper Don; Meadow steppes on limestone (Stipa capillata, Stipa pennata, Daphne cneorum, Androsace koso-poljanskii, Bupleurum multinerve, Dendranthema zawadskii) in the area of the upper Oskol and Don; tomillares and tomillares steppes (Koeleria talievii, Stipa cretacea, Erysimum cretaceum, Daphne sophia, Thymus calcareus, Hyssopus cretaceus, Artemisia hololeuca) on chalk and marl in the catchment area of the rivers Donets and Don; east European raised bog complexes (Sphagnum angustifolium, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum majus, Sphagnum fuscum, Sphagnum magellanicum, Eriophorum vaginatum, Andromeda polifolia), northern and north-east European tree-poor transitional mires; small area occurrences of alder carrs.

Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)

spruce forests (D19), pine forests (D55, D57), acidophilous oak forests (F13), lime-pedunculate oak forests (F70, F71, F72), forest steppes (L3, L4), steppes (M2, M7), alder carrs (T1), alluvial forests (U12, U14).

Land use, substitute communities

Site conditions of the mapping unit

Importance for nature protection

Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection

Most important references (author, year)

Alechin 1925; Alechin 1931; Alechin 1934; Dochman 1968; Keller (Red.) 1931; Kozo-Poljanskij 1931; Lavrenko 1940; Lavrenko 1980

Compiled by

Z. Neuhäuslová based on documents of Z.V. Karamyševa