RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST SCIENCE, 2021, No. 3, P. 240–249 FEATURES OF ROBINIA PSEUDOACACIA GROWTH IN STEPPE ZONE CONDITIONS N. V. Ivanisova, R. G. Sedoy, O. I. Baboshko, L. V. Kurinskaya Novocherkassk engineer-meliorative institute – a branch of the Don State Agrarian University Pushkinskaya st. 111, Novocherkassk 346428, Rostov Oblast, Russia E-mail: lyubov.kurinskay@mail.ru Received 21 January 2020 Robinia pseudoacacia L . is a widespread species in protective plantations in southern Russia. The rapidity of growth and the ease of cultivation made it one of the most popular species in protective forestry. But at the same time there are a number of authors who continue to consider it a low-value and unpromising species due to its short life in the steppe zone. Changes in climatic conditions that have been observed in recent decades are gradually shifting the boundaries of agroclimatic zones. So, for example, the territory where the study objects are located ‑ the arid steppe of the Stavropol Krai, has acquired the features of a very arid zone by now. Changes in climatic conditions entail a change in the adaptive mechanisms of tree and shrub vegetation. As a result of the studies, it was found that the survival rate of robinia in the arid steppe conditions in the first year is affected by the amount of precipitation, and in subsequent years - by the presence of sharp temperature fluctuations in the spring-autumn period and high temperatures in the summer. The extremums of high or low temperatures are not as dangerous for this species as the frequency of their fluctuations from negative to positive. The growth of pseudoacacia robinia stands is determined by a combination of factors, such as precipitation + soil fertility + air temperature. In recent years, there has been a tendency towards a decrease in the amount of precipitation, which significantly affects the survival rate and growth of robinia. Biological resistance is determined not only by the meteorological conditions of the winter period, but also to a large extent by the physiological state of plants in the previous spring-summer season. Analysis of data on the course of robinia growth showed that the development of plantations in the steppe zone of the Stavropol Krai is relatively slow in the first years and gets faster in subsequent years, provided there is enough available soil moisture in summer and there are no sharp temperature fluctuations in the autumn-spring period. Key words: Robinia pseudoacacia, protective plantations, growth, resilience, adaptational mechanisms, steppe zone. 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