The forest-steppe is understood as a natural zone, which consists of steppes and is interspersed with forest areas. A feature of such territories is the absence of characteristic species of flora and fauna. In the steppe you can meet squirrels, martens, hares, elk and roe deer, and at the same time see hamsters, mice, snakes, lizards, prairie dogs and various insects. Animals perfectly master in the forest-steppe zones and adapt to the climate that is inherent in these areas. Mostly such terrain can be found in Europe and Asia. The forest-steppe zone consists of transitional regions, for example, originating in temperate grasslands and ending in broadleaf and coniferous forests.
Animals
saiga
Saiga is a steppe antelope with a characteristic proboscis. It belongs to the family of bovids and the order of artiodactyls. This representative is considered a unique animal that made the era of mammoths and survived to this day. However, the species is endangered. The saiga lives in steppe and semi-desert natural areas.
prairie dog
Prairie dogs were nicknamed rodents, which are related to dogs by a sound that resembles barking. Rodents are in the Belish family and have many external similarities with marmots. An adult reaches a height of 38 centimeters with a maximum body weight of 1.5 kilograms. Most often they can be found in the steppe and semidesert zones of North America.
Jerboa
Tushkans are rather small animals that belong to the rodent detachment. They live in the deserted, semidesert and steppe regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The appearance of the carcass resembles a kangaroo. They are endowed with long hind legs, with which they can make jumps at a distance exceeding their body length by 20 times.
Giant blind
The giant blind is the endemic of the half-deserts of the Caspian region of the North-East of the Predechaucasia. The size of these representatives can vary in the range from 25 to 35 centimeters of body length with a weight of about one kilogram. The color of their body can be light or buffy-brown with a white tummy. There are representatives with spots in the forehead and abdomen.
Korsak
Korsak is also known as the steppe fox. This animal has become an object of commercial hunting because of its valuable fur. Since the last century, the intensity of corsac hunting has decreased, as their number has declined sharply. The appearance of the corsac resembles a small copy of an ordinary fox. In addition to size, the difference lies in the dark tip of the tail. You can meet the corsac in most of Eurasia and in several regions of Eurasia.
Baibak
Baibak is one of the largest representatives of the squirrel family. It lives on the virgin steppes of Eurasia, and also widely spread in the territory of Eurasia. The body length of the bobak reaches 70 centimeters and weighs up to 6 kilograms. It is common for him to spend the winter in deep hibernation, before which he intensively accumulates fat.
Kulan
Kulan is a kind of wild species of donkeys. In another way it is called the Asian donkey. It belongs to the horse family and is related to the African species of wild donkeys, as well as zebras and wild horses. There are a large number of varieties of kulans, which differ in habitat and external features. The largest kulan is the kiang, which weighs about 400 kilograms.
eared hedgehog
This representative differs from the usual hedgehog in his five-centimeter ears, for which he received the name “eared”. These animals are also remarkable for the fact that they can do without food and water for a very long time. In a period of danger, they do not curl up into a ball, but bend their heads down and hiss, trying to prick the enemy with their needles. You can meet an eared hedgehog from North Africa to Mongolia in areas with arid climates.
Gopher
Gopher is an animal from the order of rodents and the squirrel family. They are widely distributed throughout Eurasia and North America. They prefer to live in the steppes, forest-steppes and forest-tundras. The gopher genus includes about 38 species, 9 of which can be found in Eurasia. Adults can reach a body length of 25 centimeters with a weight of up to one and a half kilograms.
Hamster
The common hamster is the largest of all relatives. It can reach a body length of 34 centimeters. He attracts the attention of many animal lovers with his cute appearance, funny habits and unpretentiousness. Common hamsters are found in the steppe and forest-steppe of Western Siberia, Northern Kazakhstan and southern Europe.
Marmot
Wildebeest
Buffalo
Caracal
Jeyran
Steppe cat Manul
hare
Fox
weasel
Ferret steppe
bison
Tarpan
wild donkey
Plants
Common mullein
Common mullein is a biennial herbaceous plant, which is characterized by dense pubescence. Inflorescences of yellow color with a fruit in the form of a box. This plant is found almost everywhere. The flowers are widely used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory and expectorant. Separately spread as an ornamental plant.
Adonis spring
Spring adonis is a perennial herb that belongs to the buttercup family. It can reach a height of 50 centimeters. Features large yellow flowers. The fruit is a collection cone-shaped dry achene. Spring adonis is used in folk medicine as a sedative and anticonvulsant.
comb-legged
The slender-legged comb is a perennial plant, the stem of which can reach a height of 40 centimeters. Spikelets have a purple hue and appear, as a rule, in the middle of summer. It occurs in the southern part of Eurasia, and grows mainly in the steppes and dry meadows. Used as an ornamental plant.
Schizonepeta multinotched
Schizonepeta multinotch is a species of perennial herbaceous plant. It has a woody root and a low stem. The flowers are blue-violet and collected in spike-shaped inflorescences. In medicine, this plant has gained recognition as an antimycotic, analgesic and healing agent.
Iris leafless
Leafless iris is a perennial herb with a very thick and creeping rhizome. The peduncle can reach a height of 50 centimeters. The flowers are quite large and solitary, painted in a bright blue-violet color. The fruit is a box. The plant is listed in the Red Book of Eurasia.
Cornflower blue
Blue cornflower is most often an annual herbaceous plant. It is distinguished by a thin and erect stem, prone to lodging. Flowering begins in May and lasts until June. Flowers bright blue. It is used in medicine because it has a number of medicinal properties: laxative, antimicrobial and diuretic.
Bluegrass meadow
Meadow bluegrass is a perennial plant that belongs to the grass family and the bluegrass genus. It is distinguished by ovoid spikelets with green or purple flowers. In nature, meadow bluegrass are found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Grow in meadows, fields and forest edges. Widely used as fodder plant.
White sweet clover
White sweet clover is a one- or two-year-old herbaceous plant that belongs to the legume family. It is distinguished by its honey-bearing properties, as it secretes nectar in almost any weather, thanks to which the bees can work all day. The flowering period lasts from May to August. Honey is made from sweet clover, which has medicinal properties and a pleasant taste.
steppe sage
Steppe sage is a perennial hairy plant that can reach heights ranging from 30 to 50 centimeters. Leaves are ovate or oblong. The flowers are collected in false whorls, and the corolla is blue-violet. Grows in steppes, clearings, edges and rocky slopes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Feather grass
Feather grass is a perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to the grass family and the bluegrass subfamily. It is distinguished by a short rhizome, a narrow bunch and leaves twisted into a tube. Inflorescence silky in the form of a panicle. The feather grass received great importance as a feed for livestock. Its stems are used as food for horses and sheep.
tulip shrenka
Iris dwarf
steppe cherry
Cutter
Hairy feather grass
Kermek
Astragalus
Don sainfoin
Strawberry
Siberian snakehead
Zopnik tuberous
steppe thyme
Kotovnik
Aster Altai
Khatma ordinary
Slime Bow
Onion
Alfalfa crescent
Ural licorice
Veronica spiky
Scabiosa yellow
Steppe carnation
Siberian pomegranate
Morison’s maid
Lumbago
Starodubka
Hogweed Siberian Puchka
Sow thistle field
Tsmin sandy
Daisy
Elecampane
Saxifrage Thigh
Stonecrop tenacious
Stonecrop purple
Parsnip forest
common flax
palm-shaped meadowsweet
Pharmacy burnet
Lemon catnip
strawberries
Birds
steppe gull
demoiselle crane
steppe eagle
Marsh harrier
steppe harrier
black-headed gull
shelduck
Bustard
Kobchik
black lark
field lark
lark
Quail
gray partridge
gray heron
Kestrel
Hoopoe
Bittern
Roller
Pastor
golden bee-eater
wagtail
Lapwing
Avdotoka
red duck
Conclusion
The vegetation of the forest-steppe is relatively moisture-loving. On the territory of the steppes you can find a varied number of herbs, shrubs, lichens, mosses and other representatives of the flora. Favorable climate (average annual temperature ranges from +3 degrees to +10) contributes to the development of temperate broad-leaved and coniferous forests. Forest islands in most cases consist of lindens, birches, oaks, aspens, larches, pines and herbaceous plants. The most frequent inhabitants of the forest-steppe zone are rodents, birds, moose and wild boars. Currently, a large number of forest-steppes are plowed up and turned into agricultural land.
