On the steppes and shrub thickets in onon Dahuria

Abstract

Onon Dahuria is a mountain area with ranges of 1000–1700 (rarely to 2500) meters oriented mainly from southwest to northeast. The ranges are separated by wide inter-mountain depressions with rolling hills and plains. Two vegetation belts are differentiated in these mountains, namely taiga (smaller area) and forest-steppe (larger, reaching up to 1000–1500 m). In the forest-steppe belt, forests dominated by Larix dahurica, Pinus sylvestris and Betula platyphylla grow mainly on the much more humid northern slopes. Steppes are confined to low mountain massifs and the lower parts of mid-height ranges, where they occupy southern, southwestern and southeastern slopes, and sometimes north slopes in the southern part of the region. A specific feature of the forest-steppe belt of Onon Dahuria is the presence of plant communities with many shrubs, i.e. shrub steppes and shrub thickets.