Abstract
Intensive recreational, agricultural and logistics land use in uplands leads to their transformation and degradation. Subalpine meadow ecosystems of Central Caucasus are traditionally used for grazing and mowing. The work determined the current state of soils on pastures (mountain meadow-steppe subalpine soil and mountain meadow subalpine soil) and the level of changes of their properties under different stages of pasture degradation were defined. The efficacy of 4-stage assessment system for evaluating the pasture degradation of grasslands dominated by Bromus variegatus M. Bieb. was shown for the assessment of soil cover condition. The reduce of estimated soil indicators and degradation of soils under pastures with maximal degradation stage (DS3) of meadow ecosystems was statistically significant.
Highlights
Intensive recreational, agricultural and logistics land use in uplands leads to their transformation and degradation
Due to the huge scale of this influence, some researchers admit that all upland meadow ecosystems of Central Caucasus are semi-natural highly productive pasture ecosystems that were formed in the conditions of long-term grazing [1]
These soils are formed under steppe meadows, meadow steppes and in some xeromorphic areas within the range of mountain meadow subalpine soils
Summary
Agricultural and logistics land use in uplands leads to their transformation and degradation. Long term grazing activities deeply influence on vegetation and soil covers. Due to the huge scale of this influence, some researchers admit that all upland meadow ecosystems of Central Caucasus are semi-natural highly productive pasture ecosystems that were formed in the conditions of long-term grazing [1]. In the last 100 years the character of land use on upland pastures of Central Caucasus was changing; the grazing intensity varied according to economic situation. Research of upland meadow pastures in 1950-1980 shown that significant degradation changes of soil and plant cover happened due to unrestrained grazing [2]. Widespread land tenancy is common in Kabardino-Balkaria [3], what leads to inconsistent exploitation of pastures based on distantpasture type of livestock farming and intensive grazing [4]. Collection and systemization of detailed information for monitoring and assessment of the state of meadow ecosystems is relevant in existing conditions for conservation of natural resources of Central Caucasus uplands
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