Steppes

We explain what the steppes are and what the fauna and flora of this biome consist of. Also, what is its climate and its relationship with the prairie.

steppes
The steppes are home to small, thick forms of plant life.

What are the steppes?

A steppe is known as a terrestrial biome (ecological zone or biotic area), far from the seas and flat, whose dry soils due to low rainfall are rich in minerals and poor in organic matter, and can host forms of plant life of very little. size and thickness. Steppes are often considered cold deserts contrary to the usual hot and sandy deserts.

The steppes are relatively abundant on our planet in tropical, subtropical and temperate latitudes, and are distributed in our geography as follows:

  • Eurasian steppe Known as The Great Steppe, it is located between the continents of Europe and Asia, stretching from Moldova in Eastern Europe to Siberia, north of Russia, through Ukraine and Hungary.
  • North American steppe Known as The Great Plains, they are located from southern Canada to northern Mexico, crossing the states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming in the United States. .
  • Subtropical steppe Located in some regions close to the European Mediterranean, such as Sicily (Italy), Zaragoza or Almería (Spain).
  • Puno steppe Also called the Andean Desert, it is located in the heart of South America, joining the north of Argentina and Chile with the Bolivian highlands. It is a high-altitude steppe, better considered as a high Andean plateau or high Andean tundra.
  • South African steppe Known as the Veld, spread to the north and northeast of the country.
  • Patagonian steppe Located in southern Argentina, in the region called Patagonia, which extends to the end of the southern South American cone (Tierra del Fuego).
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See also: Coniferous forest

steppe fauna

Steppe - fauna - horse
Herbivores tend to form herds to resist hunting by predators.

The fauna of the steppes has adapted to the aridity of the region, as well as the vegetation on which it feeds. However, biodiversity in these regions is rather low, with few herbivorous species and those capable of burying themselves or digging tunnels to escape adverse climatic conditions. Many medium-sized predators feed on them, and can in turn dig them up, or hunt them in the open, such as birds of prey. Herbivores tend to form large herds to resist hunting by predators, since there is no vegetation or mountains to hide.

Some common species of this biome are antelopes, eagles, wild horses, condors, rheas, wolves, buffaloes, marmots, wild rats, cranes, moles and certain types of gopher tortoise. Also numerous species of insects and arachnids, such as scorpions, beetles and ants.

steppe flora

Steppe - flora
The flora of the steppes is small in size, with little foliage and little greenery.

The steppe flora has adapted to the low humidity of the soil, tending to be of the grass type (herbs, shrubs at most) or scrub, that is, small in size, little foliage and little greenery. Their deep roots allow them to search for better soil layers and it is common to find rhizomatic species capable of storing water in their tissues, just as in hot deserts.

Some common plant species in the steppe are cardón, rhubarb, poplars, cacti, cistus and various types of grasses, some capable of resisting even temperatures of -20 °C.

steppe climate

The distance from large bodies of water makes the steppes dry, temperate regions, sometimes with rainfall of less than 250mm per year. Its climates are extreme and mid-latitudes characterized by a lot of thermal variation between day and night, and between summer and winter (very hot and very cold respectively).

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steppe and grassland

meadow - steppe
The name “prairie” is preferred in American terminology (prairie).

The terms steppe and grassland become more or less synonymous, since In both cases, they are temperate grasslands and shrublands dry, that share climatic characteristics and fauna and vegetation. However, the name “prairie” is preferred in American terminology (prairie). In other regions the name pampas, grasslands or savannahs can also be used.

Steppe in Mexico

The Mexican grasslands, which is how the steppes are known locally, are part of the conglomerate of the North American Great Plains. They occupy 6.1% (118,320 km2) of the Mexican territory and extend over the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Jalisco, covering a good part of their territories.

Although they can be found at low altitudes, the majority are between 1,100 and 2,000 meters high, and have annual temperatures between 12 and 20 degrees Celsius, with annual rainfall between 300 and 600 mm per year. In some cases they have soils with a high abundance of gypsum, and in others they have a higher organic content, especially when they are found at the bottom of valleys and on the slopes of hills.

Patagonian Steppe

Argentine steppe
The Patagonian steppe covers almost all of Santa Cruz, Chubut and Río Negro.

The steppes of Patagonia, also called semi-deserts, are enormous flat extensions in southern Argentina, in an area close to 800 km2 that covers almost all of the territories of the provinces of Santa Cruz, Chubut and Río Negro.

It is about a region of many biological endemisms especially among fish and amphibians, despite the fact that the region was colonized during the 19th century with sheep and cattle, which constitutes the main way of using the region, which is very sparsely populated. The extensive plain suggests the possibility of wind exploitation.

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References

  • “Steppe” on Wikipedia.
  • “Steppe” in Encyclopedia.us.
  • “The steppes” (video) in Biomundos.
  • “Steppe (Grassland)” at Slater Museum of Natural History.
  • “Steppe” in National Geographic.
  • “Grassland” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.