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Physical geography - Russian (East European) Plain. East European Plain: climate, waters, flora and fauna

In zoogeographical terms, almost the entire Russian Plain belongs to the European-Siberian zoogeographical subregion of the Palearctic region. Only a small southeastern section of it is semi-desert and desert Caspian lowland- belongs to the Central Asian subregion. In accordance with the prevailing landscapes, three main groups of animals are represented on the Russian Plain: arctic (tundra), forest and steppe. Forest animals are the most widespread: some of their species range through floodplain and island forests to Barents Sea in the north and to the Black Sea in the south.

As in the vegetation cover, in the animal world of the Russian Plain there is a mixture of western and eastern species. The western border of the range is on the Russian Plain, for example, such eastern species as lemmings (ungulate and Ob) - representatives of the tundra, weasels and chipmunks - inhabitants of the taiga, the marmot (baibak) and the reddish ground squirrel, inhabiting the open Steppes, the saiga antelope, found in Caspian semi-desert and desert, and many others. Western species gravitate towards mixed and deciduous forests. These will be: pine marten, mink, forest cat, wild boar, garden dormouse, forest dormouse, hazel dormouse, polecat, black polecat.

The fauna of the Russian Plain, more than any other part of the USSR, has been changed by human intervention. The modern ranges of many animals are not determined by natural factors, but by human activity - hunting or changes in the habitat of animals (for example, deforestation).

Hardest hit fur animals and ungulates, the former for their valuable fur, the latter for their meat. River beaver, marten and squirrel were the main items of fur trade and trade among the Eastern Slavs in the 9th-13th centuries. Even then, a thousand years ago, the beaver was highly valued, and as a result of unregulated hunting, by the beginning of the 20th century, only a few individuals of this animal survived.

Sable in the 16th century. was mined in the forests of Belarus and Lithuania. Several centuries ago, a common animal in the island forests of the forest-steppe and steppes was the brown bear.

Before late XVIII V. The wild forest horse, the tarpan, lived in mixed and deciduous forests. Another subspecies of tarpan was found in the steppes; in the 60s of the XVIII century. it was described in detail by S. Gmelin.

In the west mixed and deciduous forests met a tour and a bison. Tur - the founder of the gray Ukrainian breed cattle- like the tarpan, it has long been completely exterminated, and bison have survived to this day in very small numbers, are taken under protection and are not found in the wild.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. The common animal of the steppes of the Russian Plain was the saiga antelope, which now lives only in semi-deserts and deserts. Caspian lowland. Wild ungulates were characterized by seasonal migrations. Huge herds of saigas at the end of spring, when the sun began to burn out southern steppe, moved north to the forest-steppe rich in grasses, I in the fall, under the influence of cold weather, they returned to the south again. According to P. S. Pallas V In 1768, numerous herds of saigas, under the influence of drought, reached the Samara River in the Volga region and even moved further north. Back in the middle of the 19th century, according to E. A. Eversmann, mass migrations of saigas were observed from the semi-deserts of Kazakhstan to the Ural valley in the north.

Others were seasonal migrations of roe deer in the west of the forest-steppe. In the spring they headed south, from the forests to the steppes, and in the fall they moved back north, into the forests.

As a result, centuries-old economic activity person animal world The Russian Plain was greatly depleted. IN Soviet years done big job to enrich the animal world: hunting is strictly regulated, reserves for the protection of rare animals have been created, re-acclimatization and acclimatization of valuable species is carried out.

Of the nature reserves located on the Russian Plain, the most interesting are: Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Voronezh, Askania-Nova, Astrakhan. In the dense mixed forests Bison are protected in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Western Belarus). IN Voronezh Nature Reserve For the first time in world practice, beavers were successfully bred in captivity. From here, from the Voronezh Nature Reserve, beavers are exported for reacclimatization to various regions of the USSR. The Askania-Nova steppe reserve (southern Ukrainian SSR) is known for its work on the acclimatization and hybridization of a wide variety of animals from Asia, Africa and even Australia. The reserve is under the jurisdiction of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Animal Acclimatization and Hybridization named after. M. F. Ivanov, whose employees removed valuable species domestic sheep and pigs. The Astrakhan Nature Reserve was created in the Volga delta to protect waterfowl and fish spawning grounds.

The experience of acclimatization of such valuable fur-bearing animals on the Russian Plain was successful. North America, like muskrat and mink, South American nutria, Ussuri raccoon and Far Eastern sika deer.

Thanks to conservation, the moose population has increased dramatically. IN last years elk, marten and some other forest animals are energetically moving south, which is obviously facilitated by the research conducted here large areas forest plantings. Elk appeared, for example, in the Stalingrad and Voronezh regions. In many forests, previously killed wild boar is also being restored (Voronezh, Lipetsk, Belgorod and other regions).

Despite severe human disturbance, the wild fauna of the Russian Plain retains its great economic importance. Many animals are hunted (squirrel, fox, marten, ermine, mole, white hare and hare, birds - wood grouse, hazel grouse and many others).

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In the vegetation cover of the Russian Plain there are zones of coniferous-deciduous forests, spruce forests and pine forests of the southern taiga type are found next to clean oak forests. At the same time, mixed plantings consisting of European spruce, common oak, heartleaf linden, Norway maple, smooth elm, elm, common ash.
European spruce, widespread in the zone of coniferous-deciduous forests of the Russian Plain, also forms highly productive plantations with large reserves of wood. Associations of spruce-sorrel and spruce-blueberry are characteristic; on more fertile soils there are complex (shrub) and grass-oak spruce forests. Spruce forests grow on poor podzolic soils, mainly on slopes with a northern exposure. The slopes of southern exposure and areas with the most fertile soils are covered with clean oak forests. All other habitats with loamy soils are covered with forests, the upper layer of which consists of spruce and broadleaf species. Pine forests dominate on sandy and sandy loam soils.

A significant part of the forests in the zone has long been cut down, and its forest cover currently averages about 30%. As a result, the role of birch and aspen sharply increased, instead of oak forests and spruce forests, low-productive young forests became predominant, and in some places, shrub thickets with a predominance of hazel became dominant.
Among the animal world of the zone, along with species widespread in Eurasia, are: brown bear, wolf, fox, elk, weasel ermine - there are many animals that gravitate mainly to western broad-leaved and coniferous-deciduous forests. These are, for example, European roe deer pine marten, European mink, black, dormouse, garden dormouse, forest dormouse, yellow-throated mouse, green and common woodpeckers, gray owl.
Some animals disappeared without a trace, others became very rare.

In the 16th century In the forests of Belarus and Lithuania, sable was hunted, which is no longer found west of the Urals. Until the end of the 18th century. Tarpan was found in coniferous-deciduous forests and lived in the west of the zone.
During the Soviet years, in many areas of the mixed (coniferous-deciduous) forest zone of the Russian Plain, the river beaver was successfully reacclimatized; Far East raccoon dog, thanks to protection the number of moose has increased sharply.

Home > Wiki-textbook > Geography > 8th grade > East European Plain: relief, natural areas, flora and fauna

Relief of the Russian Plain

This plain is dominated by gently sloping terrain. There is a lot here natural resources Russia. Hilly areas on the Russian Plain arose as a result of faults. The height of some hills reaches 1000 meters.

The height of the Russian Plain is approximately 170 meters above sea level, but there are some areas that are 30 meters below sea level.

what animals live in the Russian Plain?

As a result of the passage of the glacier, many lakes and valleys arose in this area, and some tectonic depressions expanded.

Rivers

The rivers flowing along the East European Plain belong to the basins of two oceans: the Arctic and the Atlantic, while others flow into the Caspian Sea and are not connected with the world ocean. The most long river— The Volga flows through this plain.

Natural areas

On the Russian Plain there are all types natural areas, as on the territory of Russia. There are no earthquakes or volcanic eruptions in this area. Tremors are quite possible, but they do not cause harm.

The most dangerous phenomena nature on the East European Plain - tornadoes and floods. Main ecological problem— soil and atmosphere pollution by industrial waste because There are many industrial enterprises in this area.

Flora and fauna of the Russian Plain

On the Russian Plain there are three main groups of animals: arctic, forest and steppe. Forest animals are more common. Eastern species - lemmings (tundra); chipmunk (taiga); marmots and gophers (steppes); saiga antelope (Caspian deserts and semi-deserts). Western species - pine marten, mink, forest cat, wild boar, garden dormouse, forest dormouse, hazel dormouse, black polecat (mixed and broad-leaved forests).

The fauna of the East European Plain is greater than that of any other part of Russia. Due to hunting and changes in the habitat of animals, many fur-bearing animals suffered for their valuable fur, and ungulates for their meat. River beaver and squirrel were trade items among the Eastern Slavs.

Almost until the 19th century, the wild forest horse, the tarpan, lived in mixed and deciduous forests. Bison are protected in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Nature Reserve. Beavers have begun to be successfully bred in the Voronezh Nature Reserve. IN steppe reserve Askania-Nova is home to a variety of animals from Africa, Asia and Australia.

IN Voronezh regions An elk appeared and the previously destroyed wild boar was restored. The Astrakhan Nature Reserve was created in the Volga delta to protect waterfowl. Despite bad influence people, the fauna of the Russian Plain is still great.

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Ombrophila -

plains dwellers

Georgy Aleksandrovich Zavarzin, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the department of microbial communities at the Institute of Microbiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His main scientific interests are related to the study of the functional diversity of microbial communities. Member of the editorial board of the Nature magazine since 1982. Our regular author.

G.A.Zavarzin

Plains as a typical relief element are common on all continents (Eurasia, Northern and South America) and occupy more than 60% of all land. One of the world's greatest plains - territory Northern Eurasia. It stretched within one climate zone from the Atlantic all the way to the Yenisei, where precipitation exceeds evaporation. The Russian Plain is located on the passive edge of the continent, covered by a thick layer of sedimentary deposits with an extremely small slope to the north (0-2%). This slope, turning into a slightly undulating post-glacial landscape (Fig. 1), determines stagnant conditions: slowly flowing rivers, soils saturated with moisture, and swamping.

The plain is fed by rainwater and serves as a habitat for ombrophytes. With sufficient water supply plant communities do not need roots and the cost of a transport system, so mosses grow here, and in high humidity - sphagnum. However, vascular plants win the competition for light by rising above the moss meadow. Their development is associated with the inclusion of evapotranspiration in addition to free evaporation from the water surface, which corresponds to a first approximation to evaporation from swamps.

The East European Plain is one of the largest plains on the globe

Abundant moisture and slow river flow are provided underground© Zavarzin G.A., 2009

nal runoff, which indicates the flushing regime of the region with rainwater (Fig. 2). Water mode plains differs from the foothill regions where alkalophiles develop*

From microbial communities here highest value They inhabit wetlands and ultra-fresh stagnant waters with extremely low mineralization. They live off rain nutrition, and therefore it is convenient to call them ombrophiles (from the Greek otsRrod - rain and fgHsh - affection). This term allows us to distinguish ombrophiles from oligotrophs, characterized by limited carbon nutrition. The reservation about the stagnant nature of water separates ombrophiles from

* Zavarzin G.A., Zhilina T.N. Soda lakes - a natural model of the ancient biosphere of continents // Nature. 2000. No. 2. P.45-55.

organisms living in streams flowing from under glaciers - crenophiles. At fast current The constant supply of substances from the outside creates conditions for crenophilic microorganisms that usually inhabit streams and key springs. Ombrophiles who create autonomous communities cannot in any way be classified as extremophiles. On the contrary, they are inhabitants of the most typical subaerial habitat on land. Low mineralization necessitates efficient transport systems for the absorption of substances in minimal concentrations, but this concentration is maintained by a reservoir of minerals, usually weathered, in clay rocks.

Compound fresh water plains are formed in the catchment area, and water with surface

Fig.1. The slope angle of the Russian Plain (0-2%) is shown, turning into a slightly undulating landscape with a slope of less than 5%, which causes the stagnant nature of the waters. (By: StoLbovoi V., McCallum I., 2002. IIASA-RAS. CD-ROM “Land resources of Russia”, Laxeuburg)

Fig.2. A map on which the areas of formation of underground runoff, which correspond to the creation of a leaching regime, and the areas of preferential development of ombrophilic microbial communities in watersheds are highlighted.

runoff enters reservoirs where they are transformed. A quick glance at hydrological factors allows one to assess the significance and scale of the formation of lowland waters and understand the role of their biota in the catchment area. On the-

initial stage of transformation atmospheric precipitation, continuing in the soil, determines the microbiota. This type of water is the main source of water for water use in the European territory of Russia.

Biocenoses of the Russian Plain

On the plains, three categories of landscapes are distinguished: forest, swamp, algal or cyanobacterial meadow and puddle. On the Russian Plain the forest is usually coniferous, often swampy. Raised sphagnum bogs accumulate rainwater, and lower bogs of river valleys transform runoff and enter the system of watercourses and lakes as final reservoirs. Cyanobacterial and algobacterial biotopes are currently of subordinate importance (Fig. 3). However, only 300 million years ago, before the appearance of vascular plants, such biotopes apparently prevailed on humid plains. That is why their local manifestations are interesting for the modern interpretation of the terrestrial conditions of the Precambrian. Dry lands before the Silurian were probably covered with lichens, which now occupy about 8% earth's surface, especially places unsuitable for higher vegetation (outcrops rocks, tundra).

In biocenoses located on weathered rocks and poor in soluble minerals, ultra-fresh waters with low content minerals- 10-100 mg/l. The stagnant nature of water increases the deficiency of mineral substances with a possible excess of organic substances. Therefore, the organisms living here are classified as organotrophs, and the microbiota involved in the decomposition of organic matter residues are classified as oligotrophs. The lack of minerals limits the presence of lithotrophs. The exception is iron bacteria in slightly acidic waters. The transformation of rainwater in these biocenoses, which occurs under the influence of microbiota, leads to the formation of so-called dis-

Fig.3. Scheme of the main biocenoses of a humid climate plain using the example of the boreal zone and their connection with hydrogeological conditions. From left to right: cyanobacterial meadow (1), convex sphagnum bog (2), wetland forest (3). Arrows (4) indicate seepage surface waters in ground (5).

trophic waters. They belong to the ultra-fresh category and are highly concentrated organic matter and minimal mineral content.

Each biocenosis has its own type of water. In the forest, thanks to fungi, mainly basidiomycetes, which decompose solid organic residues (mortmass), humus is formed. It enters watercourses with humic acids, the source of which is lignin, an important component of wood. In a forest, with sufficient aeration, wood-decomposing fungi create a complete trophic system of the mycosphere. The products of their metabolism, for example oxalate, as well as their mortmass are used by other fungi. Only part of the metabolic products ends up in the water, where conditions for fungi are not so favorable. They are replaced by planktonic bacteria, as well as organisms that use fungal metabolic products.

In sphagnum bogs there is relatively little woody vegetation and lignin; acidic brown peaty water is saturated with soluble fulvic acids. These final products decomposition of sphagnum during coagulation settles in runoff reservoirs. In a sphagnum bog, incomplete decomposition of plant residues leads to the formation of peat - evidence of the incompleteness of the trophic system of destructors. Decomposition occurs mainly in top layer moss (feather) under a living photosynthetic layer with a dominant group of actinobacteria. In dystrophic peat waters, a unique community develops, which includes many poorly cultivated and unknown microorganisms; in an acidic environment at pH<5 больше всего ацидофилов.

There are no humic compounds in cyanobacterial communities, and the water remains clear at high concentrations.

research on bacterial mucus. But if there are a lot of green algae with cellulose shells in the ecosystem, the formation of aqueous humus is possible, especially in the organic silt (sapropel) of lakes where pelophyles live. The cyanobacterial community of ultra-fresh waters is especially characteristic of the puddle. an ephemeral body of water emerging from atmospheric precipitation. Puddles complete the atmospheric hydrological cycle and begin the terrestrial one. They are favorable for prokaryotes with their short life cycle, but primarily for cyanobacteria.

The lifespan of a rain puddle is determined by the weather and is weeks. In humid climates, it is a characteristic element of the landscape in watersheds. Rain puddles are mosaic, but their seasonal accumulations saturate the upper horizons with water. When water leaves a puddle as a result of evaporation and seepage, water-saturated layers form underneath it. A puddle constitutes a transition to natural ponds as more stable bodies of water, and a pond constitutes a transition to a lake with a long residence time of water in it.

In a humid temperate climate zone, puddles form, as a rule, on a clay surface, but possibly also on other aquifers. Rainwater is ultra-fresh, its composition depends on precipitation, and has an electrical conductivity of about 30 µS (it may be different depending on the soil). Since a puddle periodically appears in places where the relief is low, in addition to rainwater it contains surface washout with a suspension of clay. Clay particles form the bottom of the puddle and create the necessary water resistance for it.

In a humid climate and leaching regime, an algal community develops in puddles, the organic matter of which passes into clayey bottom sediments. Oscillatory cyanobacteria form a bottom biofilm, the basis of which is polysaccharide dense mucus (gels). They hold mineral particles at the bottom of the puddle and prevent sedimentation. Over time, a leathery cyanobacterial mat appears, which is in close contact with the mineral particles at the bottom.

The puddle biocenosis was a common object of observation by naturalists. Hydrobiologists characterize puddles as temporary bodies of water. The producers in them are most often cyanobacteria.

teria. The flushing of water from the soil ensures the colonization of the puddle with a variety of invertebrates, which survive drying in the form of cysts and quickly awaken when flooded (for example, testate amoebae, known from the early Proterozoic). Fossilized cyanobacterial mats, stromatolites, are a product of lithification in supersaturated solutions - the direct opposite of fresh water. Can analogues of stromatolite precursors develop in fresh water bodies? Or biofilms of freshwater puddles - precursors of layered clay shale

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Geographical position of the plain

The East European Plain, or Russian, occupies territories in eastern Europe. In Russia, these are its extreme western lands. In the northwest and west it is limited by the Scandinavian Mountains, the Barents and White Seas, the Baltic coast and the Vistula River. In the east and southeast it neighbors the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus. In the south, the plain is limited by the shores of the Black, Azov and Caspian seas.

Relief features and landscape

The East European Plain is represented by a gently sloping relief, formed as a result of faults in tectonic rocks. Based on relief features, the massif can be divided into three stripes: central, southern and northern. The center of the plain consists of alternating vast hills and lowlands. The north and south are mostly represented by lowlands with rare low altitudes.

Although the relief is formed in a tectonic manner and minor tremors are possible in the area, there are no noticeable earthquakes here.

Natural areas and regions

(The plain has planes with characteristic smooth drops)

The East European Plain includes all natural zones found in Russia:

Tundra and forest-tundra are represented by the nature of the north of the Kola Peninsula and occupy a small part of the territory, slightly expanding to the east. The vegetation of the tundra, namely shrubs, mosses and lichens, is replaced by birch forests of the forest-tundra.
Taiga, with its pine and spruce forests, occupies the north and center of the plain. On the borders with mixed broad-leaved forests, areas are often swampy. A typical Eastern European landscape - coniferous and mixed forests and swamps give way to small rivers and lakes.
In the forest-steppe zone you can see alternating hills and lowlands. Oak and ash forests are typical for this zone. You can often find birch and aspen forests.
The steppe is represented by valleys, where oak forests and groves, forests of alder and elm grow near the river banks, and tulips and sages bloom in the fields.
In the Caspian lowland there are semi-deserts and deserts, where the climate is harsh and the soil is saline, but even there you can find vegetation in the form of various varieties of cacti, wormwood and plants that adapt well to sudden changes in daily temperatures.

Rivers and lakes of the plain

(River on a flat area of the Ryazan region)

The rivers of the “Russian Valley” are majestic and slowly flow their waters in one of two directions - north or south, to the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, or to the southern inland seas of the continent. Northern rivers flow into the Barents, White or Baltic seas. Rivers in the southern direction - into the Black, Azov or Caspian Seas. The largest river in Europe, the Volga, also “flows lazily” through the lands of the East European Plain.

The Russian Plain is the kingdom of natural water in all its manifestations. A glacier that passed through the plain thousands of years ago formed many lakes on its territory. There are especially many of them in Karelia. The consequences of the presence of the glacier were the emergence in the North-West of such large lakes as Ladoga, Onega, and the Pskov-Peipus reservoir.

Under the thickness of the earth in the localization of the Russian Plain, reserves of artesian water are stored in the amount of three underground basins of huge volumes and many located at shallower depths.

Climate of the East European Plain

(Flat terrain with slight drops near Pskov)

The Atlantic dictates the weather regime on the Russian Plain. Western winds, air masses that move moisture, make summers on the plain warm and humid, winters cold and windy. During the cold season, winds from the Atlantic bring about ten cyclones, contributing to variable heat and cold. But air masses from the Arctic Ocean also tend to the plain.

Therefore, the climate becomes continental only in the interior of the massif, closer to the south and southeast. The East European Plain has two climatic zones - subarctic and temperate, increasing continentality to the east.

1. Geographical location.

2. Geological structure and relief.

3. Climate.

4. Inland waters.

5. Soils, flora and fauna.

6. Natural areas and their anthropogenic changes.

Geographical position

The East European Plain is one of the largest plains in the world. The plain opens to the waters of two oceans and extends from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains and from the Barents and White Seas to the Azov, Black and Caspian Seas. The plain lies on the ancient East European platform, its climate is predominantly temperate continental and natural zoning is clearly expressed on the plain.

Geological structure and relief

The East European Plain has a typical platform topography, which is predetermined by platform tectonics. At its base lies the Russian plate with a Precambrian foundation and in the south the northern edge of the Scythian plate with a Paleozoic foundation. At the same time, the boundary between the plates is not expressed in the relief. On the uneven surface of the Precambrian basement lie strata of Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks. Their power is not the same and is due to the unevenness of the foundation. These include syneclises (areas of deep foundation) - Moscow, Pechersk, Caspian and anticlises (protrusions of the foundation) - Voronezh, Volga-Ural, as well as aulacogens (deep tectonic ditches, in place of which syneclises arose) and the Baikal ledge - Timan. In general, the plain consists of hills with heights of 200-300m and lowlands. The average height of the Russian Plain is 170 m, and the highest, almost 480 m, is on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland in the Ural part. In the north of the plain there are the Northern Uvals, the Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow stratal uplands, and the Timan Ridge (Baikal folding). In the center are the elevations: Central Russian, Privolzhskaya (stratal-tiered, stepped), Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt and lowlands: Oksko-Donskaya and Zavolzhskaya (stratal). In the south lies the accumulative Caspian Lowland. The formation of the plain's topography was also influenced by glaciation. There are three glaciations: Oka, Dnieper with the Moscow stage, Valdai. Glaciers and fluvioglacial waters created moraine landforms and outwash plains. In the periglacial (pre-glacial) zone, cryogenic forms were formed (due to permafrost processes). The southern border of the maximum Dnieper glaciation crossed the Central Russian Upland in the Tula region, then descended along the Don valley to the mouth of the Khopra and Medveditsa rivers, crossed the Volga Upland, the Volga near the mouth of the Sura, then the upper reaches of the Vyatka and Kama and the Ural in the region of 60°N. Iron ore deposits (IOR) are concentrated in the foundation of the platform. The sedimentary cover is associated with reserves of coal (eastern part of Donbass, Pechersk and Moscow region basins), oil and gas (Ural-Volga and Timan-Pechersk basins), oil shale (northwestern and Middle Volga region), building materials (widespread), bauxite (Kola Peninsula), phosphorite (in a number of areas), salts (Caspian region).

Climate

The climate of the plain is influenced by its geographical location, the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Solar radiation varies dramatically with the seasons. In winter, more than 60% of radiation is reflected by snow cover. The western transport dominates over the Russian Plain all year. Atlantic air transforms as it moves east. During the cold period, many cyclones come from the Atlantic to the plain. In winter, they bring not only precipitation, but also warming. Mediterranean cyclones are especially warm when the temperature rises to +5˚ +7˚C. After cyclones from the North Atlantic, cold Arctic air penetrates into their rear part, causing sharp cold snaps all the way to the south. Anticyclones provide frosty, clear weather in winter. During the warm period, cyclones mix to the north; the northwest of the plain is especially susceptible to their influence. Cyclones bring rain and coolness in the summer. Hot and dry air forms in the cores of the spur of the Azores High, which often leads to droughts in the southeast of the plain. January isotherms in the northern half of the Russian Plain run submeridianally from -4˚C in the Kaliningrad region to -20˚C in the northeast of the plain. In the southern part, the isotherms deviate to the southeast, amounting to -5˚C in the lower reaches of the Volga. In summer, isotherms run sublatitudinally: +8˚C in the north, +20˚C along the Voronezh-Cheboksary line and +24˚C in the south of the Caspian region. The distribution of precipitation depends on westerly transport and cyclonic activity. There are especially many of them moving in the zone 55˚-60˚N, this is the most humidified part of the Russian Plain (Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow Uplands): the annual precipitation here is from 800 mm in the west to 600 mm in the east. Moreover, on the western slopes of the hills it falls 100-200 mm more than on the lowlands lying behind them. Maximum precipitation occurs in July (in the south in June). In winter, snow cover forms. In the northeast of the plain, its height reaches 60-70 cm and it lies for up to 220 days a year (more than 7 months). In the south, the height of the snow cover is 10-20 cm, and the duration of occurrence is up to 2 months. The humidification coefficient varies from 0.3 in the Caspian lowland to 1.4 in the Pechersk lowland. In the north, the moisture is excessive, in the upper reaches of the Dniester, Don and Kama rivers it is sufficient and k≈1, in the south the moisture is insufficient. In the north of the plain the climate is subarctic (the coast of the Arctic Ocean); in the rest of the territory the climate is temperate with varying degrees of continentality. At the same time, continentality increases towards the southeast

Inland waters

Surface waters are closely related to climate, topography, and geology. The direction of rivers (river flow) is predetermined by orography and geostructures. The flow from the Russian Plain occurs into the basins of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and into the Caspian basin. The main watershed passes through the Northern Uvals, Valdai, Central Russian and Volga Uplands. The largest is the Volga River (it is the largest in Europe), its length is more than 3530 km, and its basin area is 1360 thousand sq. km. The source lies on the Valdai Hills. After the confluence of the Selizharovka River (from Lake Seliger), the valley widens noticeably. From the mouth of the Oka to Volgograd, the Volga flows with sharply asymmetrical slopes. In the Caspian lowland, the Akhtuba branches are separated from the Volga and a wide strip of floodplain is formed. The Volga Delta begins 170 km from the Caspian coast. The main supply of the Volga is snow, so high water is observed from the beginning of April to the end of May. The height of the water rise is 5-10 m. 9 nature reserves have been created on the territory of the Volga basin. The Don has a length of 1870 km, the basin area is 422 thousand sq. km. The source is from a ravine on the Central Russian Upland. It flows into the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov. The food is mixed: 60% snow, more than 30% groundwater and almost 10% rain. Pechora has a length of 1810 km, begins in the Northern Urals and flows into the Barents Sea. The basin area is 322 thousand km2. The nature of the flow in the upper reaches is mountainous, the channel is rapid. In the middle and low reaches, the river flows through a moraine lowland and forms a wide floodplain, and at the mouth a sandy delta. The diet is mixed: up to 55% comes from melted snow water, 25% from rainwater and 20% from groundwater. The Northern Dvina has a length of about 750 km, formed from the confluence of the Sukhona, Yuga and Vychegda rivers. Flows into the Dvina Bay. The basin area is almost 360 thousand sq. km. The floodplain is wide. At its confluence, the river forms a delta. Mixed food. The lakes on the Russian Plain differ primarily in the origin of the lake basins: 1) moraine lakes are distributed in the north of the plain in areas of glacial accumulation; 2) karst - in the basins of the Northern Dvina and Upper Volga rivers; 3) thermokarst - in the extreme northeast, in the permafrost zone; 4) floodplains (oxbow lakes) - in the floodplains of large and medium-sized rivers; 5) estuary lakes - in the Caspian lowland. Groundwater is distributed throughout the Russian Plain. There are three artesian basins of the first order: Central Russian, East Russian and Caspian. Within their boundaries there are artesian basins of the second order: Moscow, Volga-Kama, Pre-Ural, etc. With depth, the chemical composition of water and the temperature of the water changes. Fresh waters lie at depths of no more than 250 m. Salinity and temperature increase with depth. At a depth of 2-3 km, the water temperature can reach 70˚C.

Soils, flora and fauna

Soils, like vegetation on the Russian Plain, have a zonal distribution. In the north of the plain there are tundra coarse humus gley soils, there are peat-gley soils, etc. To the south, podzolic soils lie under forests. In the northern taiga they are gley-podzolic, in the middle - typical podzolic, and in the southern - soddy-podzolic soils, which are also typical for mixed forests. Gray forest soils form under broad-leaved forests and forest-steppe. In the steppes, the soils are chernozem (podzolized, typical, etc.). In the Caspian lowland, the soils are chestnut and brown desert, there are solonetzes and solonchaks.

The vegetation of the Russian Plain differs from the cover vegetation of other large regions of our country. Broad-leaved forests are common on the Russian Plain and only here are semi-deserts. In general, the set of vegetation is very diverse, from tundra to desert. The tundra is dominated by mosses and lichens; to the south, the number of dwarf birch and willow increases. The forest-tundra is dominated by spruce with an admixture of birch. In the taiga, spruce dominates, to the east there is an admixture of fir, and on the poorest soils - pine. Mixed forests include coniferous-deciduous species; in broad-leaved forests, where they are preserved, oak and linden dominate. The same breeds are also typical for the forest-steppe. The steppe here occupies the largest area in Russia, where cereals predominate. The semi-desert is represented by cereal-wormwood and wormwood-hodgepodge communities.

In the fauna of the Russian Plain there are western and eastern species. The most widely represented are forest animals and, to a lesser extent, steppe animals. Western species gravitate towards mixed and deciduous forests (marten, black polecat, dormouse, mole, and some others). Eastern species gravitate towards the taiga and forest-tundra (chipmunk, wolverine, Ob lemming, etc.). Rodents (gophers, marmots, voles, etc.) dominate in the steppes and semi-deserts; the saiga penetrates from the Asian steppes.

Natural areas

Natural zones on the East European Plain are especially clearly expressed. From north to south they replace each other: tundra, forest-tundra, taiga, mixed and broad-leaved forests, forest-steppe, steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. The tundra occupies the coast of the Barents Sea, covers the entire Kanin Peninsula and further east, to the Polar Urals. The European tundra is warmer and more humid than the Asian one, the climate is subarctic with marine features. The average January temperature varies from -10˚C near the Kanin Peninsula to -20˚C near the Yugorsky Peninsula. In summer about +5˚C. Precipitation 600-500 mm. The permafrost is thin, there are many swamps. On the coast there are typical tundras on tundra-gley soils, with a predominance of mosses and lichens; in addition, arctic bluegrass, pike, alpine cornflower, and sedges grow here; from bushes - wild rosemary, dryad (partridge grass), blueberry, cranberry. To the south, shrubs of dwarf birch and willow appear. The forest-tundra extends south of the tundra in a narrow strip of 30-40 km. The forests here are sparse, the height is no more than 5-8 m, dominated by spruce with an admixture of birch and sometimes larch. Low places are occupied by swamps, thickets of small willows or birch berries. There are a lot of crowberries, blueberries, cranberries, blueberries, mosses and various taiga herbs. Tall forests of spruce with an admixture of rowan (here its flowering occurs on July 5) and bird cherry (blooms by June 30) penetrate the river valleys. Typical animals in these zones are reindeer, arctic fox, polar wolf, lemming, mountain hare, ermine, and wolverine. In summer there are many birds: eiders, geese, ducks, swans, snow bunting, white-tailed eagle, gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon; many blood-sucking insects. Rivers and lakes are rich in fish: salmon, whitefish, pike, burbot, perch, char, etc.

The taiga extends south of the forest-tundra, its southern border runs along the line St. Petersburg - Yaroslavl - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan. In the west and in the center, the taiga merges with mixed forests, and in the east with forest-steppe. The climate of the European taiga is moderate continental. Precipitation on the plains is about 600 mm, on the hills up to 800 mm. Excessive moisture. The growing season lasts from 2 months in the north and almost 4 months in the south of the zone. The depth of soil freezing is from 120 cm in the north to 30-60 cm in the south. The soils are podzolic, in the north of the zone they are peat-gley. There are many rivers, lakes, and swamps in the taiga. The European taiga is characterized by dark coniferous taiga of European and Siberian spruce. To the east fir is added, closer to the Urals cedar and larch. Pine forests form in swamps and sands. In clearings and burnt areas there are birch and aspen, along the river valleys there is alder and willow. Typical animals are elk, reindeer, brown bear, wolverine, wolf, lynx, fox, mountain hare, squirrel, mink, otter, chipmunk. There are many birds: capercaillie, hazel grouse, owls, in swamps and reservoirs ptarmigan, snipe, woodcock, lapwing, geese, ducks, etc. Woodpeckers are common, especially three-toed and black, bullfinch, waxwing, bee-eater, kuksha, tits, crossbills, kinglets and others. Of reptiles and amphibians - viper, lizards, newts, toads. In summer there are many blood-sucking insects. Mixed and, to the south, broad-leaved forests are located in the western part of the plain between the taiga and forest-steppe. The climate is moderate continental, but, unlike the taiga, softer and warmer. Winters are noticeably shorter and summers longer. The soils are soddy-podzolic and gray forest. Many rivers begin here: the Volga, Dnieper, Western Dvina, etc. There are many lakes, swamps and meadows. The boundary between forests is poorly defined. As you move east and north in mixed forests, the role of spruce and even fir increases, and the role of broad-leaved species decreases. There is linden and oak. Towards the southwest, maple, elm, and ash appear, and conifers disappear. Pine forests are found only on poor soils. In these forests there is a well-developed undergrowth (hazel, honeysuckle, euonymus, etc.) and a herbaceous cover of honeysuckle, hoofed grass, chickweed, some grasses, and where conifers grow, there is sorrel, oxalis, ferns, mosses, etc. Due to the economic development of these forests, the fauna has sharply declined. Elk and wild boar are found, red deer and roe deer have become very rare, and bison are found only in nature reserves. The bear and lynx have practically disappeared. Foxes, squirrels, dormouse, polecats, beavers, badgers, hedgehogs, and moles are still common; preserved marten, mink, forest cat, muskrat; muskrat, raccoon dog, and American mink are acclimatized. Reptiles and amphibians include snakes, vipers, lizards, frogs, and toads. There are many birds, both resident and migratory. Woodpeckers, tits, nuthatch, blackbirds, jays, and owls are typical; finches, warblers, flycatchers, warblers, buntings, and waterfowl arrive in the summer. Black grouse, partridges, golden eagles, white-tailed eagle, etc. have become rare. Compared to the taiga, the number of invertebrates in the soil increases significantly. The forest-steppe zone extends south of the forests and reaches the Voronezh-Saratov-Samara line. The climate is temperate continental with an increasing degree of continentality to the east, which affects the more depleted floristic composition in the east of the zone. Winter temperatures vary from -5˚C in the west to -15˚C in the east. The annual amount of precipitation decreases in the same direction. Summer is very warm everywhere +20˚+22˚C. The moisture coefficient in the forest-steppe is about 1. Sometimes, especially in recent years, droughts occur in the summer. The relief of the zone is characterized by erosional dissection, which creates a certain diversity of soil cover. The most typical gray forest soils are on loess-like loams. Leached chernozems are developed along the river terraces. The further south you go, the more leached and podzolized chernozems, and gray forest soils disappear. Little natural vegetation has been preserved. Forests here are found only in small islands, mainly oak forests, where you can find maple, elm, and ash. Pine forests have been preserved on poor soils. Meadow herbs were preserved only on lands that were not suitable for plowing. The fauna consists of forest and steppe fauna, but recently, due to human economic activity, the steppe fauna has become predominant. The steppe zone extends from the southern border of the forest-steppe to the Kuma-Manych depression and the Caspian lowland in the south. The climate is moderate continental, but with a significant degree of continentalism. Summer is hot, average temperatures +22˚+23˚C. Winter temperatures vary from -4˚C in the Azov steppes, to -15˚C in the Volga steppes. Annual precipitation decreases from 500 mm in the west to 400 mm in the east. The humidification coefficient is less than 1, and droughts and hot winds are frequent in summer. The northern steppes are less warm, but more humid than the southern ones. Therefore, the northern steppes have forbs and feather grasses on chernozem soils. The southern steppes are dry on chestnut soils. They are characterized by solonetzity. In the floodplains of large rivers (Don, etc.) floodplain forests of poplar, willow, alder, oak, elm, etc. grow. Among the animals, rodents predominate: gophers, shrews, hamsters, field mice, etc. Predators include ferrets, foxes, and weasels. Birds include larks, steppe eagle, harrier, corncrake, falcons, bustards, etc. There are snakes and lizards. Most of the northern steppes are now plowed. The semi-desert and desert zone within Russia is located in the southwestern part of the Caspian lowland. This zone adjoins the Caspian coast and borders the deserts of Kazakhstan. The climate is continental temperate. Precipitation is about 300 mm. Winter temperatures are negative -5˚-10˚C. The snow cover is thin, but remains for up to 60 days. The soil freezes up to 80 cm. Summer is hot and long, average temperatures are +23˚+25˚C. The Volga flows through the zone, forming a vast delta. There are many lakes, but almost all of them are salty. The soils are light chestnut, in some places desert brown. The humus content does not exceed 1%. Salt marshes and solonetzes are widespread. The vegetation cover is dominated by white and black wormwood, fescue, thin-legged grass, and xerophytic feather grass; to the south the number of saltworts increases, tamarisk bushes appear; In spring, tulips, buttercups, and rhubarb bloom. In the floodplain of the Volga - willow, white poplar, sedge, oak, aspen, etc. The fauna is represented mainly by rodents: jerboas, gophers, gerbils, many reptiles - snakes and lizards. Typical predators are the steppe ferret, corsac fox, and weasel. There are many birds in the Volga delta, especially during migration seasons. All natural zones of the Russian Plain have experienced anthropogenic impacts. The zones of forest-steppes and steppes, as well as mixed and deciduous forests, are especially strongly modified by humans.

The Russian, or East European, plain is the second largest (after the Amazon) plain on Earth. Most of it is located within Russia. The length of the plain from north to south is more than 2500 km, from west to east - about 1000 km.

Features of nature. At the base of the East European Plain lies the ancient Precambrian Russian Platform, which determines the main feature of the relief - flatness. The folded foundation lies at various depths and comes to the surface within the plain only on the Kola Peninsula and in Karelia (Baltic Shield). On the rest of its territory, the foundation is covered by a sedimentary cover of varying thickness. To the south and east of the shield there are its “underground” slopes and the Moscow depression (more than 4 km deep), bounded in the east by the Timan Ridge.

The unevenness of the crystalline foundation determines the location of the largest hills and lowlands. The Central Russian Upland and the Timan Ridge are confined to the foundation uplifts. The depressions correspond to the Caspian and Pechora lowlands.

The varied and picturesque relief of the Russian Plain was formed under the influence of external forces, and above all the Quaternary glaciation. Glaciers advanced onto the Russian Plain from the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Urals. Traces of glacial activity appeared everywhere in different ways. At first, the glacier “plowed out” 11-shaped valleys along its path and expanded tectonic depressions; polished the rocks, forming the relief of “mutton foreheads”. Narrow, winding, long and deep bays that protrude far into the land on the Kola Peninsula are the result of the “plowing out” activity of the ice.

At the edge of the glacier, clay, loam and sandy loam were deposited along with rubble and boulders. Therefore, in the north-west of the plain, hilly-moraine relief predominates, as if superimposed on the protrusions and depressions of the ancient relief; for example, the Valdai Upland, reaching a height of 343 m, is based on rocks of the Carboniferous period, on which the glacier deposited moraine material.

When the glacier retreated, huge dammed lakes formed in these areas: Ilmen, Chudskoye, Pskovskoye. Along the southern edge of the glaciation, glacial meltwater deposited masses of sandy material. Flat or slightly concave sandy depressions arose here. The southern part of the plain is dominated by erosional relief. The Valdai, Central Russian, and Volga uplands are especially strongly dissected by ravines and gullies. Between them are lowlands through which large rivers such as the Volga, Dnieper, and Don flow.

Despite the fact that, with the exception of the Far North, the entire territory of the Russian Plain is located in a temperate climate zone, the climate here is varied. The continental climate increases towards the southeast. The Russian Plain is influenced by the western transport of air masses and cyclones coming from the Atlantic, and receives the largest amount of precipitation compared to other Russian plains. The abundance of precipitation in the north-west of the plain contributes to the widespread occurrence of swamps and full-flowing rivers and lakes.

The absence of any obstacles in the path of Arctic air masses leads to the fact that they penetrate far to the south. In spring and autumn, the arrival of arctic air is associated with a sharp drop in temperature and frost. Along with Arctic air masses, polar masses from the northeast and tropical masses from the south enter the plain (the latter are associated with droughts and hot winds in the southern and central regions).

Many rivers and streams flow along the Russian Plain. The most abundant and longest river on the Russian Plain and in Europe is the Volga. The major rivers are the Dnieper, Don, Northern Dvina, Pechora, Kama - the largest tributary of the Volga.

The most characteristic feature of the nature of the Russian Plain is the well-defined zoning of its landscapes. In the Far North, on the cold, heavily waterlogged summer coasts of the Arctic Ocean, there is a tundra zone with thin and nutrient-poor tundra gley or humus-peaty soils,

with the dominance of moss-lichen and shrub plant communities. To the south, near the Arctic Circle, forest-tundra appears first in river valleys, and then along the interfluves.

Forest landscapes predominate in the middle zone of the Russian Plain. In the north it is dark coniferous taiga on podzolic, often swampy soils, in the south it is mixed and then broad-leaved forests of oak, linden and maple. Even further south they are replaced by forest-steppes and steppes with fertile, mainly chernozem soils and herbaceous vegetation. In the extreme southeast, in the Caspian lowland, under the influence of a dry climate, semi-deserts with chestnut soils and even deserts with gray soils, solonchaks and solonetzes were formed. The vegetation of these places bears pronounced features of aridity.

Natural resources. The long geological history of the ancient platform that lies at the base of the plain has predetermined the richness of its plain in various minerals. The crystalline foundation and sedimentary cover of the platform contain mineral reserves that are important not only for our entire country, but also for the world. First of all, these are the rich iron ore deposits of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA). Associated with the sedimentary cover of the platform are deposits of hard coal (Vorkuta) and brown coal - the Moscow basin and oil - the Ural-Vyatka, Timan-Pechora and Caspian basins. Oil shale is mined in the Leningrad region and in the Samara region on the Volga. Ore minerals are also known in sedimentary rocks: brown iron ores near Lipetsk, aluminum ores (bauxite) near Tikhvin. Construction materials (sand, gravel, clay, limestone) are distributed almost everywhere. Deposits of apatite-nepheline ores and beautiful building granites are associated with outcrops of crystalline Precambrian rocks of the Baltic Shield on the Kola Peninsula and Karelia. In the Volga region, deposits of table salt (lakes Elton and Baskunchak) and potassium salts in the Kama Cis-Urals have long been known. Diamonds were discovered relatively recently in the Arkhangelsk region. In the Volga region and Moscow region, valuable raw materials for the chemical industry - phosphorites - are mined.

The northwestern and central regions of the Russian Plain are best provided with water resources. The abundance of lakes and high-water rivers means not only reserves of fresh water and hydropower, but also cheap transport routes, fisheries, and recreational areas. The dense river network of the plain and the location of watersheds on low flat hills are favorable for the construction of canals, of which there are so many on the Russian Plain. Thanks to the system of modern canals - Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic and Volga-Don, as well as the Moscow-Volga canal, Moscow, located on the relatively small Moscow River and relatively far from the seas, has become a port of five seas.

The agroclimatic resources of the plain are of great value. The predominant part of the Russian Plain receives sufficient heat and moisture for the cultivation of many agricultural crops. In the north of the forest zone, fiber flax, a crop that requires cool, cloudy and humid summers, rye and oats are grown. The middle strip of the plain and the southern regions are distinguished by fertile soils: sod-podzolic chernozems, gray forest and chestnut soils. Soil plowing is facilitated by the conditions of a calm, flat topography, which makes it possible to cut fields into large tracts that are easily accessible for machine cultivation. In the middle zone, mainly grain and fodder crops are cultivated, in the south - grain and industrial crops (sugar beets, sunflowers), gardening and melon growing are developed. Everyone knows and loves the famous Astrakhan watermelons.

The forest resources of the plain are both taiga and mixed forests, rich in valuable timber, fur-bearing game animals, mushrooms, berries, and medicinal plants.

The recreational resources of the plain are diverse, but not yet very well developed. The rivers and lakes of Karelia, its white nights, the museum of wooden architecture in Kizhi, the magnificent Solovetsky Monastery, and pensive Valaam attract tourists. Lakes Ladoga and Onega, Valdai and Seliger, the legendary Ilmen, the Volga with Zhiguli and the Astrakhan delta, ancient Russian cities included in the Golden Ring of Russia - this is not a complete list of areas developed for tourism and recreation.

Problems of rational use of natural resources. The Russian Plain is distinguished by a variety of natural resources and favorable living conditions, which is why it has the highest population density in Russia and the largest number of large cities with highly developed industry.

Currently, work is increasingly being carried out on land reclamation, that is, to return territories to their original appearance, bringing the devastated landscape to a productive state. Near major cities, a lot of work is being done to improve the cultural landscape. Green belts and forest parks are being created, as well as suburban water basins - picturesque reservoirs, which are used as recreation areas.

In large industrial cities, more and more attention is being paid to measures to purify water and air from industrial emissions, combat dust and noise. Environmental control over vehicles has been strengthened and tightened, including private cars, which are becoming more and more numerous.

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