Biological and Ecosystem Diversity in the Steppe Agricultural Landscape of Southern Russia

Abstract

The purpose is to assess the biological and ecosystem diversity in the southern steppe agricultural landscapes with a high proportion of arable lands on the example of the Beloglinsky district of the Krasnodar Region for the development of environmental approaches and measures. Materials and methods. Field surveys were conducted in 2023 using route fl oristic and faunistic surveys, geobotanical descriptions and registration of visual encounters and traces of animal activity. Regional Red Data Books, cartographic modeling, remote sensing and GIS technologies were used when processing the material. Results and discussion. For the fi rst time, a comprehensive biogeographical study and mapping of natural ecosystems in the steppe agricultural landscape was carried out. Most of the preserved fragments (forest and steppe areas, fl oodplains and slopes of river valleys, overgrown ravines and gullies, forest belts, boundaries, wastelands) occupy no more than 7 % of the area, but fulfi l a variety of ecological roles: biocenotic, refugium, buff er, transit. As characteristic landscape elements of the steppe agrocenosis, they, along with natural monuments, support a diversity of plant and animal communities, including rare species, and can form the basis of the ecological network of the region. Conclusion. Ecological approaches and low-cost measures for the conservation of biodiversity in the agricultural landscape of southern Russia have been developed on the basis of cartographic models of three large-scale levels (regional, basic and local). They are applicable in the steppe and forest-steppe agricultural regions of Russia.