East European forest steppe
| East European forest steppe | |
|---|---|
The Central Black Earth Nature Reserve, an example of forest steppe terrain, in Kursk Oblast, Russia | |
Ecoregion territory (in purple) | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Palearctic |
| Biome | temperate broadleaf and mixed forests |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 727,269 km2 (280,800 sq mi) |
| Countries | |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | Critical/endangered |
| Protected | 35,989 km² (5%) |
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The East European forest steppe ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0419) is a patchwork of broadleaf forest stands and grasslands (steppe) that stretches 2,100 km across Eastern Europe from the Ural Mountains in Ural, through Povolzhye, Central Russia to the middle of Ukraine. There are isolated areas of similar character off the western end in eastern Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria.
The region forms a transition zone between the temperate forests to the north, and the steppe to the south. The forest-steppe is an area of Russia in which precipitation and evaporation are approximately equal. The ecoregion is in the Palearctic realm, with a Humid Continental climate. According to one definition of its boundaries, it covers 727,269 km2 (280,800 sq mi).