Secondary vegetation of fixed deflation foci in Black Lands

UDC 634.92:634.95:634.99
DOI: 10.34736/FNC.2024.127.4.008.58-65
Baatr V. Kishtanov, e-mail: kalmniaglos@mail.ru, Director of Kalmyk NIAGARA, ORCID: 0000-0002-7860-2795
Vladimir E. Badmaev, Cand. Sci. (Bio.), Senior researcher, ORCID: 0009-0008-1365-8529
Nikolay F. Zhilin,Research engineer, ORCID: 0009-0007-5489-458X
Kalmyk NIAGLOS-branch of the Federal Research Center for Agroecology, Land Reclamation and Protective Afforestation of the Russian Academy of Sciences, e-mail: kalmniaglos@mail.ru 63 Mayakovsky St., 358000, Elista, Russia
Abstract.One of the key issues of restoration of Black Lands pastures is the development of vegetation cover in severely compacted and degraded areas subjected to deflation. Observations show that communities of annuals, turf and loose-leaf cereals in a metastable state are developing on phytomeliorated lands. This stage of succession lasts for more than 30-40 years and does not lead to further fundamental changes and restructuring of the vegetation structure. To address this issue and propose methods for accelerating the restoration of arid pastures, long-term phytoecological monitoring on fixed sites in former deflation centers in the Black Lands can be used. To this end, work was carried out on five sites of Black Land pastures with varying degrees of anthropogenic disturbance. The aim of the study is to examine the structure and productivity of secondary vegetation cover of forest-pastures in the Black Lands in order to develop methods and technologies to increase the forage capacity of such areas to obtain highly profitable livestock products. The objective of the study is to assess the soil and geobotanical characteristics of different areas of "inactive" deflation centers, identify the directions of vegetation succession in these areas, and develop recommendations for the ecological rehabilitation of low-productivity arid lands. As a result of the research, new data have been obtained on the state of the vegetation cover of phytomeliorated lands and its development under increased grazing pressure. Natural seeding of degraded pastures is possible only if there are valuable perennial natural grasses within a radius of 0.5-1.0 km. Otherwise, progressive successional changes are delayed, and overgrowth of disturbed soils with ruderal species occurs. Therefore, it is important to assess the surrounding pastures for the presence in natural phytocenoses of white and sandy wormwood, prutnyak, kiyak, tipchak, zhitnyak and others. In the absence of these valuable herbs, they should be artificially planted in a reclaimed area. The results of the study can be used in the preparation of a complex of phytomeliorative measures to enhance the productivity of arid pastures.
Keywords:phytomelioration, ecological and morphological areas of deflation centres, phytocenoses, forage productivity, shrub-grass forest-pastures.
Funding: : The research was carried out within the framework of the State assignment of the Federal Research Center of Agroecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Formation of polyfunctional cluster dendrological expositions and their renovation into bioresource artificial and greened landscape spaces of recreational type in low-forest regions of Russia” (№ FNFE-2020-0004).
Citation:Kishtanov B. V., Badmaev V. E., Zhilin N. F. Secondary vegetation of fixed deflation foci in Black Lands // Scientific and Agronomic Journal. 2024. 4(127). С. 58-65. DOI: 10.34736/FNC.2024.127.4.008.58-65.