Agrolandscape-ecological zoning of natural forage lands in Russian regions

   Agrolandscape and ecological zoning of natural forage lands (NFL) has been developed at the Williams Federal Research Center of Forage Production & Agroecology for the information support of regionally, landscape and ecologically differentiated agriculture, rational nature management, preservation of soil fertility, and increase of productivity and sustainability of agroecosystems and agrolandscapes. The zoning covers 11 natural and economic (economic) regions of the country, i. e. Northern, Northwestern, Volga-Vyatka, Central, Central Chernozem, Volga Region, North Caucasian, Urals, West Siberian, East Siberian, Far Eastern. The set of documents for agro-landscape and ecological zoning of the NFL for each natural and economic region of Russia includes the following materials: map M 1:2 500 000, legend, database on lands, database on forage lands, database on negative processes, classification of forage lands, classification of deer pastures, strategy and promising ways of agricultural nature management. The NFL zoning was developed on the basis of the Map of Soil and Ecological Zoning of the Russian Federation M 1:2 500 000 elaborated at the MSU Faculty of Soil Science, which is used as a contour and information basis. Numerous cartographic and statistical data, and available literary and stock sources were used for the zoning, which was based on comparative geographical and agro-landscape-ecological methods. The agro-landscape and ecological zoning of the NFL provides zonal, regional, landscape and ecological adaptation and specialization for the development of agriculture, which allows using local natural resources with the greatest efficiency and minimizing the development of negative processes. The databases of the soil-ecological zoning map have been supplemented with new information and indicators characterizing the state of landscapes and their components, such as climate, relief, hydrological regime, soils, vegetation, NFL, the development of negative processes, ecological and economic conditions. This is a significant contribution to the inventory of lands and fodder lands, nature management and protection of agroecosystems and agricultural landscapes. In the future, it is advisable to combine materials and databases of the soil-ecological zoning of the Russian Federation and the agro-landscape-ecological zoning of NFL of different regions of the Russian Federation, created on a single basis, to assess and monitor the state of agrolandscapes, soils and forage lands, and take administrative decisions on nature management in agriculture.

1. Agrolandshaftno-ekologicheskoe raionirovanie i adaptivnaya intensifikatsiya kormoproizvodstva Tsentral’nogo ekonomicheskogo raiona Rossiiskoi Federatsii [Agrolandscape-ecological zoning and adaptive intensification of fodder production in the Central Economic Region of the Russian Federation], Moscow, FGNU “Rosinformagrotekh” Publ., 2005, 396 p. (In Russian)

2. Agrolandshafty Povolzh’ya. Raionirovanie i upravlenie [Agricultural landscapes of the Volga region, Zoning and management], V.M. Kosolapov, I.A. Trofimov, L.S. Trofimova, E.P. Yakovleva, Moscow, Kirov, Dom pechati – VYATKA Publ., 2010, 336 p. (In Russian)

3. Agrolandshafty Tsentral’nogo Chernozem’ya. Raionirovanie i upravlenie [Agrolandscapes of the Central Chernozem Region. Zoning and management], V.M. Kosolapov, I.A. Trofimov, L.S. Trofimova, E.P. Yakovleva (authors), Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2015, 198 p. (In Russian)

4. Dengler J., Janisova M., Torok P. and Wellstein C. Biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands: A synthesis, Agric. Ecoyst. Environ, 2014, 182, 1–14, DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2013.12.015.

5. Dokuchaev V.V. Nashi stepi prezhde i teper’ [Our steppes before and now], Moscow, Sel’khozgiz Publ., 1953, 152 p. (In Russian)

6. Ekologicheskaya karta Rossii, masshtab 1:8 000 000 [Ecological map of Russia, scale 1:8 000 000], Moscow, Cartography Publ., 1999, 1 sh. (In Russian)

7. Ekologo-geograficheskaya karta Rossiiskoi Federatsii. 1:4 000 000 [Ecological and geographical map of the Russian Federation. 1:4 000 000], Moscow, Federal Service of Geodesy and Cartography Publ., 1996, 4 sh. (In Russian)

8. Gosudarstvennyi (natsional’nyi) doklad o sostoyanii i ispol’zovanii zemel’ v Rossiiskoi Federatsii v 2019 godu [State (national) report on the state and use of lands in the Russian Federation in 2019], Moscow, Rosreestr Publ., 2020, 206 p. (In Russian)

9. Gosudarstvennyi (natsional’nyi) doklad o sostoyanii i ispol’zovanii zemel’ v Rossiiskoi Federatsii v 2020 godu [State (national) report on the state and use of lands in the Russian Federation in 2020], Moscow, Rosreestr Publ., 2021, 197 p. (In Russian)

10. Henwood W.D. Toward a strategy for the conservation and protection of the world’s temperate grasslands, Great Plains Res, 2010, 20, 121–134, URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23782179.

11. Holzel N., Haub C., Ingelfinger M.P. et al. The return of the steppe large-scale restoration of degraded land in southern Russia during the post-Soviet era, J. Nat. Conserv, 2012, 10, 75–85, DOI: 10.1078/1617-1381-00009.

12. Kämpf I., Mathar W., Kuzmin I. et al. Post-Soviet recovery of grassland vegetation on abandoned fields in the forest steppe zone of western Siberia, Biodivers. Conserv, 2016, 25, 2563–2580.

13. Karta “Rossiya i sopredel’nye gosudarstva”. Masshtab 1:2 500 000 [Map “Russia and neighboring states”. Scale 1:2 500 000], Moscow, Roskartografiya Publ., 1999, 16 sh. (In Russian)

14. Karta pochvenno-ekologicheskogo raionirovaniya Rossiiskoi Federatsii. Masshtab 1:2 500 000 [Map of soil-ecological zoning of the Russian Federation. Scale 1:2 500 000], I.S. Urusevskaya, I.O. Alyabina, V.P. Vinyukova [et al.], G.V. Dobrovol’skii, I.S. Urusevskaya (еds.), Moscow, Talka+ Publ., 2013, 16 sh. (In Russian)

15. Karta pochvenno-ekologicheskogo raionirovaniya Vostochno-Evropeiskoi ravniny. Masshtab 1:2 500 000 [Map of soil-ecological zoning of the East European Plain. Scale 1:2 500 000], G.V. Dobrovol’skii, I.S. Urusevskaya (eds.), Moscow, EKOR Publ., 1997. (In Russian)

16. Kochurov B.I. Geografiya ekologicheskikh situatsii (ekodiagnostika territorii) [Geography of ecological situations (ecological diagnostics of territories)], Moscow, Institute of Geography RAS Publ., 1997, 132 p. (In Russian)

17. Moon D. The Plough that Broke the Steppes: Agriculture and Environment on Russia’s Grasslands, 1700–1914, 2013, OUP, Oxford, 319 p., DOI: 10.5612/slavicreview.73.4.903.

18. Natsional’nyi atlas pochv Rossiiskoi Federatsii [National Soil Atlas of the Russian Federation], Moscow, Astrel’, AST Publ., 2011, 632 p. (In Russian)

19. Nikolaev V.A. [Fundamentals of the doctrine of agrolandscapes], Agrolandshaftnye issledovaniya. Metodologiya, metodika, regional’nye problemy [Agrolandscape research. Methodology, technique, regional problems], Moscow, Moscow St. Univ. Publ., 1992, p. 4–57. (In Russian)

20. Odum Yu.P. Fundamentals of ecology, Moscow, Mir Publ., 1975, 740 p.

21. Odum Yu.P. [Properties of agroecosystems], Sel’sko khozyaistvennye ekosistemy [Agricultural ecosystems], Moscow, Agropromizdat Publ., 1987, p. 12–18. (In Russian)

22. Pankova E.I., Novikova A.F. Karta pochvenno-agroekologicheskogo raionirovaniya sel’skokhozyaistvennykh zemel’ Rossii [Map of soil-agroecological zoning of agricultural lands in Russia], Ekologiya, 1998, no 1, p. 28–35. (In Russian)

23. Prirodno-sel’skokhozyaistvennoe raionirovanie i ispol’zovanie zemel’nogo fonda SSSR [Natural and agricultural zoning and the use of the land fund of the USSR], A.N. Kashtanov (еd.), Moscow, Kolos Publ., 1983, 336 p. (In Russian)

24. Prirodno-sel’skokhozyaistvennoe raionirovanie zemel’nogo fonda SSSR. Karta masshtab 1:8 000 000 [Natural and agricultural zoning of the land fund of the USSR. Map scale 1:8 000 000], Moscow, Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography Publ., 1984, 1 sh. (In Russian)

25. Prirodnye kormovye ugod’ya Rossiiskoi Federatsii i sopredel’nykh gosudarstv (karta m 1:4 000 000) [Natural forage lands of the Russian Federation and neighboring states (map scale 1:4 000 000)], Moscow, Federal Service of Geodesy and Cartography Publ., 2001, 4 sh. (In Russian)

26. Raikil Dzh. [Agroecosystem Modeling: Lessons from Ecology], Sel’skokhozyaistvennye ekosistemy [Agricultural ecosystems], Moscow, Agropromizdat Publ., 1987, p. 155–177. (In Russian)

27. Shashko D.I. Agroklimaticheskie resursy SSSR [Agro-climatic resources of the USSR], Leningrad, Gidrometeoizdat Publ., 1985, 247 p. (In Russian)

28. Sochava V.B. Vvedenie v uchenie o geosistemakh [Introduction to the study of geosystems], Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1978, 320 p. (In Russian)

29. Spedding K.R.V. [Agricultural systems and the role of modeling], Sel’skokhozyaistvennye ekosistemy [Agricultural ecosystems], Moscow, Agropromizdat Publ., 1987, p. 178–185. (In Russian)

30. Zemel’nyi fond Rossiiskoi Federatsii na 1 yanvarya 2001 goda [Land fund of the Russian Federation as of January 1, 2001], Roszemkadastr, Federal Cadastral Center “Zemlya”, Moscow, Ekos Publ., 2001, 230 p. (In Russian)

31. Zhuchenko A.A. Strategiya adaptivnoi intensifikatsii sel’skogo khozyaistva (kontseptsiya) [Strategy for adaptive intensification of agriculture (concept)], Pushchino, Department of Scientific and Technical Information of the Pushchino Scientific Center RAS Publ., 1994, 148 p. (In Russian)