A
steppe in physical
geography refers to a
biome
region characterised by
grassland plain without
trees apart from
those near rivers and lakes. The
prairie
(especially the
shortgrass
prairie) can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-
desert, or covered with
grass
or
shrubs or both, depending on the
season and
latitude. The term
is also used to denote the
climate
encountered in regions too dry to support a
forest, but not dry enough to be a desert.
Steppe are characterized by a
continental and
semi-arid climate. Peaks can be recorded
in the summer of up to 40 °C (104 °F) and in winter -40 °C (-40
°F).Besides this huge difference between summer and winter, the
differences between day and night are also very great.In the
highlands of Mongolia, 30 °C (86 °F) can be reached during the day
with sub-zero °C (sub 32 °F) readings at night.
Also, the mid-latitude steppes can be summarized by hot summers and
cold winters, averaging 250–500 mm (10-20 inches) of rain
or equivalent in snowfall per year.
Etymology
Pronounced , from , "a flat and arid land"; ; ; and .
Two types of steppe
Southern Siberian steppe: windbreaker trees in the
wintertime.
Two types of steppe can be recorded:
- the temperate steppe, the "true" steppe, found in continental areas of the world; it can
be further subdivided; as seen here.
- the subtropical steppe, a similar association of plants that
can be found in the driest areas with a Mediterranean-like climate; it has
usually a short wet period.
Peculiar types of steppe include
Shrub-steppe and
Alpine-steppe.
Locations
Cold steppe
The
world's largest zone of all steppes, often referred to as "the
Great Steppe", is found in southwest
Russia
and neighbouring countries in Central Asia, stretching from Ukraine
in the west
through Turkmenistan
, Uzbekistan
and Kazakhstan
to the Altai
, Koppet Dag
and Tian
Shan
ranges. The vast Eurasian
Steppe, as it is called, is bordered in the north (on the
eastern side of the Urals
) by the
forested West Siberian Plain
taiga, extending nearly as far as the Arctic Ocean
.
Central
Anatolia
in Turkey
is a cold
steppe.
The
Pannonian Plain conforms another
steppe climate in South Eastern Europe.
Another
large steppe area (prairie) is located in
the central United
States
and western Canada
.
The
High Plains steppe is
the westernmost part of the Great Plains
region, and the Channeled Scablands
in Southern British Columbia
and Washington
State
.
Patagonia is another land dominated by a
steppe.
Relatively small steppes can be found in the
inner part of the South
Island
of New
Zealand
, and in Hungary
(the
Puszta).
Subtropical steppe
In
Europe, some Mediterranean areas have a steppe-like
vegetation, such as central Sicily and
central-eastern Spain
, especially
the southeastern coast (around Murcia
), and places
cut off from adequate moisture due to rain
shadow effects such as Zaragoza
.
In
Asia, a subtropical steppe can be found in
semi-arid lands that fringe the Thar
Desert of the Indian
subcontinent; in Australia it can be found
in a belt surrounding the most severe deserts of the continent and
around the Musgrave
Ranges
.
In
North America this environment is
typical of transition areas between zones with a Mediterranean
climate and true deserts, such as Reno, Nevada
, and the inner part of California
. In South
America the most important zone with a warm steppe is the
Pampa
.
Tropical grasslands and shrublands similar to steppe
Other zones dominated by grasslands and
shrublands similar to steppe can be found in
tropical areas of the world. In
these locations, necessary rainfall to separate steppes from true
deserts may be half as much again due to greater
evapotranspiration. These include
transition zones between
savanna and severe
desert such as the
Sahel that fringes the true
Sahara.
Another significant "tropical steppe", noteworthy for not grading
into desert, is the
Sertão of
northeastern Brazil.
See also
Notes
- Ecological Subregions of the United States
References
- Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-land
Birdsby Manuel B.Morales, Santi Mañosa, Jordi Camprodón,
Gerard Bota. International Symposium on Ecology and Conservation of
steppe-land birds. Lleida, Spain. December 2004.ISBN
84-87334-99-7
External links