Vegetation landscape around the Arkaim eco-preserve, southeastern Ural, Russia

Cool temperate semi-arid vegetation landscape around the Arkaim eco-preserve was introduced and the phytogeographical differences between forest steppe in and around the Arkaim, south-eastern Ural, and semi-arid subtropical savanna in south-western Africa were discussed. We considered forests of Betula pendula and Pinus sylvestris, instead of some types of steppe, as potential natural vegetation in and around the Arkaim, because of relatively sufficient water supply to the vegetation. Both the Betula forest and Pinus forest will be climax vegetation in a cool temperate semi-arid zone characterized by the severe condition as arid and/or low temperature. People who occupied around the Arkaim in the Bronze Age are assumed to have used forests and changed them into steppe. Forest area in south-eastern Ural is usually bounded clearly by the area of grass steppe. Contrarily semi-arid subtropical woody vegetation, savanna, is represented by open woodland with sparse distribution of trees. Forest vegetation accompanying with water deficiency in sub-tropical zone shows open and sparse forest type because root competition among individual roots from insufficiency of soil water should reduce density of stands.