Impact of Land Conservation Regimes on the Health of Meadows in the Ob Forest-Steppe
Galina K. Zvereva, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher
Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk, Russia; Siberian Federal Scientific Center of Agro-Bio Technologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoobsk, Novosibirsk region, Russia, labspp@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6282-8688
Abstract
The article compares the vegetation status and the aboveground phytomass dynamics of meadow communities in the Ob forest-steppe under various land conservation regimes. The study was conducted in the Novosibirsk Region using five meadow communities previously used for pastures and hayfields. It examined the impact of absolute land conservation for 6—12 years and grass stand isolation with irregular spring fires for 16 years. The determination of aboveground phytomass reserves and vegetation description were carried out according to generally accepted methods. Absolute conservation of degraded pasture communities for 2—4 years promotes a sharp increase in aboveground phytomass, mainly due to the growth of degradation-resistant grasses. When degraded meadow communities are preserved for 16 years with spring burning in certain seasons, the aboveground mass increases by 1.4—3.6 times due to an increase in the total projective cover, species diversity, and plant height. In the absence of initial degradation, absolute conservation of meadows for 7—12 years leads to an increase in aboveground mortmass by 1.8—8.4 times, which is accompanied by a decrease in the mass of green shoots by 1.5—3.4 times, a decrease and unevenness of the projective cover, while the participation of leguminous grasses is significantly reduced.
Key words
Ob forest-steppe, meadow, conservation, pasture digression, structure and reserves of aboveground phytomass, spring fires.
For citation:
Zvereva G. K. Impact of Land Conservation Regimes on the Health of Meadows in the Ob Forest-Steppe. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2026, no. 1 (57), pp. 28—41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2026.57.2.
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