The steppe zone in South America is called. steppes of south america

pampas, pampas(Spanish pampa, plural pampas, borrowed from the Quechua language)
1) the name of some flat areas with a predominance of herbaceous vegetation in South America.
2) Subtropical steppe vegetation, which occupies the plains in southern South America and consists of grasses and herbs.

The Pampas proper is a natural area in Argentina between 29-39 ° south latitude to the mountains of the Sierras de Córdoba in the west. The surface in the east is low (30-150 m) with flat depressions and ancient valleys. To the west there are dunes; in the southeast - the Sierra del Tandil and Sierra de la Ventana mountain ranges (height up to 1250 m). The climate is subtropical with increasing continentality towards the west. The average temperatures in January are from 19 to 24°C, and in July from 6 to 10°C. Precipitation in the east falls evenly, averaging 800–950 mm per year, and 300–500 mm in the west (falling in summer). Characterized by strong southerly winds pamperos. The main rivers are the Parana with tributaries of the Carcaranha and the Rio Salado.

In the east it is swampy and cut through by reclamation canals, in the west it is devoid of surface water are used underground. In the east, it was covered with forb-grass vegetation on reddish-black soils (analogous to the prairies in North America), in the west, dry shrub steppe with grey-brown soils. Currently, the pampa is plowed up (crops of wheat and corn) or used for pasture.
The Pampas is the main economic region of Argentina.

Of the cereals, the most typical are bluegrass, feather grass, aristida, pearl barley, bonfire, shaker, fescue, keleria; from other families, tar, gerbil, lupine, peas, red verbena are common; from Compositae - ragwort; many iris, myrtle, nightshade.
Representatives of the animal world of the pampas - white-tailed deer, puma, pampas cat, armadillos, viscacha.

prairies(French prairie, from Latin pratum - meadow) -
1. vast steppe plains in the North. America, in the Mississippi and Missouri river basins,
2. A group of formations of tall-grass vegetation in North America (Canada and the USA) of the steppe or (more rarely) savanna type.

The soils are chernozem-prominent. The natural herbaceous vegetation of the prairies, preserved in small areas, forms a dense and high (up to 1.5 m) cover, consisting mainly of perennial grasses with a deep root system.
Main plants: species of bearded vulture, feather grass, wheatgrass. Woody vegetation is found mainly in river valleys and in the most humid low-lying areas of the relief; in the north it is formed by aspen, poplar, willow, in the south - oak, hazel, poplar, etc.

In Canada, forest-steppe with birch, aspen and pine forests has been preserved in some places.
Prairie is also called flat areas in North America with rare woody and dense tall herbaceous vegetation. Typical representatives of the animal world: bison, prairie dog, pronghorn antelope.
Prairie air is extremely transparent, frequent mirages.

Due to the predominance of a hot, humid climate on the continent, forests are widespread and there are relatively few deserts and semi-deserts. On both sides of the equator in the Amazon basin is a zone of humid equatorial forests. The area occupied by them is larger than in Africa, they are more humid, their vegetation and animal world richer in species than African forests. The Portuguese called these forests the selva.

equatorial forests

The rainforests of South America are called "selva". According to its species composition (the number of plant species is 2500-3000), the Amazon selva ranks first in the world. Not by much, but still inferior to her African equatorial forests. The land in the rain forest is the realm of mosses, mushrooms, algae, plants with broad leaves that catch and retain moisture, insects, including poisonous ones. To survive in the jungle, travelers need the knowledge of local residents who build houses on stilts and sleep in hammocks.

All habitual life is concentrated "between heaven and earth", on the wide branches of trees intertwined with vines. Among such landscapes flow the most full-flowing rivers of our planet - the Amazon in the selva of South America, the Congo in Africa, the Brahmaputra in Southeast Asia.

Selva of the Amazon, as well as the equatorial forests of the Congo, Guinea, Uganda, the forests of the equatorial islands of Oceania, going to the sea coasts, create amazing natural communities in the tide zone - mangrove forests. The aerial roots of plants in such a forest are in themselves impenetrable thickets. Numerous aerial roots trap every opportunity to get air, making their way from wet sand and liquid mud, and at high tides - from sea ​​water. The width of such a mangrove border can reach 10-20 meters.

The equatorial forests of our planet are often called its lungs. Indeed, a huge number of hylaea trees emit such an amount of oxygen into the atmosphere that their reduction threatens humanity with a significant deterioration in the composition of the air. Some of the rainforests have already been cleared. In their place, man cultivates various crops, including coffee, oil and rubber palms.

At present, the equatorial forests proper have survived only in South America, Central Africa, in the Malay Archipelago, which Wallace explored 150 years ago, and on some islands in Oceania. More than half of them are concentrated within just three countries: 33% - in Brazil and 10% each in Indonesia and Congo - a state that is constantly changing its name (more recently it was Zaire).

The rivers are called highroads tropical forest." Even the "forest" Indians avoid going far from the river valleys. Such roads must be periodically cut through with a machete, getting rid of fast-growing vines, otherwise they will overgrow.

In addition to the rivers in the selva, the Varadero paths laid in the forest are used for movement, leading from one river to another through the forest. The economic importance of the rivers is also great. Along the Marañon, ships rise to the rapids of Pongo Manserice, and the port and main economic center of the selva of Iquitos, located 3672 km from the mouth of the Amazon, receives large ships. Pucallpa, on Ucayali, is the second largest river port, yes, and actually the cities in the jungle of Peru.

The Indians have a saying: "The gods are strong, but the jungle is much stronger and more ruthless." However, for an Indian, the selva is both shelter and food, this is their life, their reality.

Tropical rainforest - a forest in equatorial (moist equatorial forest), subequatorial and humid tropical regions with a humid climate (2000-7000 mm of precipitation per year).

Tropical rainforests are characterized by continuous vegetation throughout the year.

The humid tropical forest is floristically very rich, dicotyledons predominate.

In the structure of the humid tropical forest there are 4-5 tree tiers, there are no shrubs, a lot of epiphytes, epiphalls and lianas. Evergreen trees with large evergreen leaves, poorly developed bark, buds not protected by bud scales predominate, deciduous trees in monsoon forests.

One of the features of tropical rainforests is the formation of flowers and then fruits directly on trunks and thick branches (caulifloria).

The inner, leeward regions of the eastern part of the Guiana Highlands again belong to the subzone of seasonally wet monsoon forests and, in part, even to the savannah zone. In the outer parts of the subequatorial belts, in the zones of savannahs, woodlands and shrubs of the northern and southern hemispheres lie the Llanos Orinoco, the north of the Interior Plains, and the interior of the Brazilian Highlands up to about 20°S. sh. These zones are characterized by a seasonally humid climate with the most abrupt and distinct change of dry (winter) and wet (summer) periods. In the winter months, with annual precipitation usually more than 1500 mm, not a drop of moisture often falls. The waterless period (K=0) can last up to 40-50 days, and the dry period (K=0-10) reaches 150 days. The seasonal rhythm of development affects all zonal components of landscapes. The regime of the rivers is characterized by extremely uneven discharge, strong summer-autumn floods and a sharp decline in winter until the shallow watercourses dry up. In the rainy season, there is an energetic planar washout of the soil and weathering products “prepared” during the drought. For the relief of plateaus and elevated plains, remnant forms are typical. On crystalline rocks - remnant cone-shaped hills, in areas of sandstone distribution - table island mountains - chapads, armored with lateritic crusts of characteristic "sugar loaves". Significant areas have been cleared for plantations of tropical crops. West of the coast tropical belt narrows sharply due to the deep penetration of the subequatorial belt to the south and the subtropical belt to the north. Only south of 20° S. sh. there is a direct transition from the eastern mountainous permanently humid tropical forests to the subzone of seasonally humid (deciduous-evergreen) forests, which occupies the plains of the upper Parana (where the main coffee plantations are concentrated) and further to the zone of savannahs, woodlands and shrubs, to which the Gran Chaco belongs . The climate of the last zone is similar to the subequatorial one, but differs from it by significant continentality, large temperature amplitudes (it is here that the absolute maximum reaches 47 ° C - the “heat pole of South America”). The duration of the dry period up to 9-10 months causes the almost complete drying up of watercourses in winter time, low annual flow (10-20 cm), the presence of eolian processes and forms in the driest, western regions, the formation of brown-red and even red-brown soils. The vegetation cover is dominated by dry light forests, represented by gnarled quebracho, algarrobo, chanyara, etc. trees with an admixture of succulents.

Savannas (llanos and campos)

Savannas are vast expanses in the subequatorial belt, covered with grassy vegetation with sparsely scattered trees and shrubs. They are typical for the subequatorial climate with a sharp division of the year into dry and rainy seasons.

Savannahs (otherwise campos or llanos) are steppe-like places characteristic of more elevated tropical countries with a dry continental climate. Unlike real steppes (as well as North American prairies), savannas, in addition to grasses, also contain shrubs and trees, sometimes growing in a whole forest, as, for example, in the so-called "campos cerrados" of Brazil. The herbaceous vegetation of the savannas consists mainly of tall (up to? -1 meters) dry and hard-skinned grasses, usually growing in tufts; grasses are mixed with turfs of other perennial grasses and shrubs, and in damp places flooded in spring, also various representatives of the sedge family. Shrubs grow in savannahs, sometimes in large thickets, covering an area of ​​many square meters. Savannah trees are usually stunted; the tallest of them are no taller than our fruit trees, to which they are very similar in their crooked stems and branches. Trees and shrubs are sometimes entwined with vines and overgrown with epiphytes. There are few bulbous, tuberous and fleshy plants in the savannas, especially in South America. Lichens, mosses and algae are extremely rare in savannas, only on rocks and trees.

The general appearance of the savannahs is different, which depends, on the one hand, on the height of the vegetation cover, and on the other hand, on the relative amount of grasses, other perennial grasses, semi-shrubs, shrubs and trees; for example, the Brazilian savannahs are actually light, rare forests, where you can freely walk and drive in any direction; the soil in such forests is covered with a herbaceous (and semi-shrub) cover even 1 meter high. In the savannahs of other countries, trees do not grow at all or are extremely rare and are very short. The grass cover is also sometimes very low, even pressed to the ground. A special form of savannas is the so-called llanos of Venezuela, where trees are either completely absent or are found in a limited number, with the exception of only damp places where palm trees and other plants form entire forests (however, these forests do not belong to savannas); in llanos there are sometimes single specimens of Rhopala (trees from the Proteaceae family) and other trees; sometimes the cereals in them form a cover as tall as a man; Compositae, leguminous, labiate, etc. grow between cereals. Many llanos in the rainy season are flooded by the floods of the Orinoco River.

The vegetation of the savannas is generally adapted to a dry continental climate and to periodic droughts, which occur in many savannas for whole months. Cereals and other grasses rarely form creeping shoots, but usually grow in tufts. The leaves of cereals are narrow, dry, hard, hairy or covered with a waxy coating. In grasses and sedges, young leaves remain rolled up into a tube. In trees, the leaves are small, hairy, shiny (“lacquered”) or covered with a waxy coating. The vegetation of the savannas generally has a pronounced xerophytic character. Many species contain a large number of essential oils, especially species of the Verbena, Labiaceae, and Myrtle families of South America. The growth of some perennial grasses, semi-shrubs (and shrubs) is especially peculiar, namely, that the main part of them, located in the ground (probably, the stem and roots), grows strongly into an irregular tuberous woody body, from which then numerous, mostly unbranched or weakly branched, offspring. In the dry season, the vegetation of the savannas freezes; savannahs turn yellow, and dried plants are often subjected to fires, due to which the bark of trees is usually scorched. With the onset of rains, the savannahs come to life, covered with fresh greenery and dotted with numerous different flowers.

pampas- steppe subtropical belt South America. Here warm winters and there are rarely frosts, there is little precipitation of only up to 500 mm per year. These steppes are treeless due to recurring dry periods and highly dense clay soils. Cereals suffer less from grazing and fires. Trees are found only on the slopes of the terraces along the river valleys. characteristic feature pampas is the presence of endorheic lakes, many of them dry up in summer. The water in them is alkaline, as soda accumulates in them. Today, the pampas are densely populated, the main part of the inhabitants of Argentina live here. Animal husbandry and agriculture are well developed. The soil is plowed up and the indigenous vegetation is almost not preserved, and there are no reserves. You can find some indigenous vegetation in isolated strips along the banks of rivers, roads and railways. The landscape of the pampas has changed, alternating arable land (corn, wheat), seeded pastures and strips of plantings of exotic trees. The former richest flora had about 1000 species of cereals and the same number of herbs. In this vast green sea, the rider could easily hide. Grasses predominated mainly: barley, bonfire, bearded vulture, feather grass, bluegrass, in the south tuesok. Also, the animal world was rich, many species of rodents, only one representative of the epidemic of the South American Vizcacha family has survived to this day. Most animals and birds are on the verge of extinction, for example, the pampian deer.
The Argentine Pampa stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the foothills of the Andes, from the La Plata River to the Rio Negro. "Pampa" - plain, translated from the language of the Quechua Indians. The landscape is deserted and sometimes monotonous, as if out of nowhere mountains rise in front of the traveler, like an island in the middle of the sea.
The pampa covers about 80 thousand square kilometers of territory, such a long stretch of the pampa arose as a result of the accumulation of loose rocks, destroyed rocks of the Andes. Brought to the pampa by mountain streams of rivers and the wind played its role, driving here small particles of destroyed rocks. Thick sedimentary strata up to 300 m are located near Buenos Aires, and in some places they completely cover ancient landforms. There are no slopes, which makes it difficult for the flow of water, so the pampa was formed due to the gigantic forces of nature itself, which sculpted the relief and many times reworked the work of its creation. Today, the Argentine pampa is similar to the Indus-Gangetic plain, but natural conditions South Asia are different from Argentina.
There are no slopes, and rainwater does not run off, rivers do not form. Rainwater accumulates in clay areas in depressions and forms Lagunas - marsh lakes. Most of the rivers originate in the Pampian Sierras, but the further they go into the valley they lose their strength and most of them dry up. Often they change the course of the river, leaving behind flood waters that become swampy over time. The difference in climate between the eastern and western parts explains the difference in the composition of their soils. In the western part, the climate is hot and arid, the vegetation is stunted, most of the land is completely bare. Eastern with a lot of rainfall - dense vegetation.

Tropical desert zone occupies a small coastal strip on the west coast. Here, not far from the ocean, lies the Atacama Desert - one of the most waterless deserts in the world. On the barren rocky soils, cacti and thorny cushion-like shrubs grow here and there. The zone of subtropical forests occupy the south of the Brazilian plateau. The landscape of the zone is formed by beautiful park-type forests of coniferous araucaria, and Paraguayan tea grows here.

steppe zone also located in the subtropical climate zone. Meadow steppes are called pampas in South America. In the conditions of a humid subtropical climate, very fertile reddish-black soils were formed in the steppes. The main vegetation is grasses, among which feather grass, wild millet and other types of cereals predominate. The open spaces of the pampas are characterized by fast-running animals - pampas deer, pampas cat, several types of llamas. There are many rodents (nutria, viscacha), as well as armadillos and birds.

semi-desert zone temperate zone is located in the south of the mainland, where dry cereals, thorny shrubs, often forming the shape of pillows, grow on poor soils. The same animals live in the semi-deserts as in the pampas.

Altitudinal zonality in the Andes, which are located at different latitudes, differs in the number of altitudinal zones. The number of these belts depends on the geographical latitude and the height of the mountains. Their greatest number is observed at the latitude of the equator. On the plateaus of the Central Andes, isolated from the influence of the oceans, there are dry mountain steppes and semi-deserts called Puna. Among the animals living in the Andes, there are endemics: spectacled bear, chinchilla rodent, wild llama, etc.

There are places that we have heard a lot about, but have little idea what it is. The same can be said about the pampas in South America. An interesting name is known to many by the lines from the song. But, as it turned out, there are no bison in the pampas, but there are many other interesting animals and plants.

What is a pampa (pampas)?

Under so much interesting name hides quite a common concept for us - the steppe. They, in fact, are the pampas. The only difference is that they are located in only one place on the planet - in South America. The Pampa extends in the southern part of the meridional trough between the Brazilian Highlands and the Andes. It surrounds the La Plata estuary on all three sides, and in the southeast and east it goes to the waters Atlantic Ocean. Most of the territory of the pampas falls on Uruguay, as well as the northeastern region of Argentina and southern Brazil.

Relief and geological structure

Steppes (pampas) are flat or hilly flat terrain. The relief is characterized by the alternation of meridional Hercynian and Precambrian ridges, which is expressed in a combination of deep basins and flat plains. The eastern pampa gradually merges with the so-called Western, or Dry, which is bounded from the west by the blocky ridges of the Precordillera. They are separated from each other by low sections. earth's crust(grabens). Their bottom drops to a depth of 2000 meters, they can be completely or partially filled with salt marshes, salt lakes or swamps.

Climatic conditions

Pampa is located in the subtropical climate zone, therefore, almost throughout the year, this territory is influenced by air masses coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Precipitation (about 2000 mm per year) is distributed evenly, droughts are extremely rare. However, the plains of the Dry Pampas begin to experience the influence of the continental climate. Precipitation decreases (300-500 mm), becomes less uniform, most of it occurs in summer.

Having an idea of ​​what a pampa is and where it is located, it is easy to guess that this area is characterized by hot summers: the temperature ranges from 25 to 45 °C. It reaches its maximum value in the interfluve of Parana and Uruguay. The area is characterized by hot and humid winds from the north. Average temperatures in winter are also positive, but in some places there may be frosts and even frosts (up to -10 ° C in the territory of the humid pampas). Snow falls very rarely and immediately melts, no cover is formed.

The territory between the rivers is well watered by the numerous tributaries of the Uruguay and the Parana. However, moving further, it can be noted that on the territory of the wet pampas, the number of rivers is much less, and in the dry, they are completely temporary and full-flowing only during heavy rains. But there are many salty reservoirs and groundwater, which could not but affect the flora and fauna.

The flora of the pampas

Now the pampas of South America are almost completely used for agricultural purposes (arable land, pastures and villages near them). Natural vegetation and ecosystems are preserved only in a small area. The flora is rich, here the dominant position is occupied by cereal plants (about 1000 species). Vegetation is directly dependent on soil and rainfall. So in Uruguay and southern Brazil, forests predominate. They are formed mainly in river valleys. The forest is characterized by evergreen species (araucaria, bamboo, rhomboid yodina, quebracho, etc.) and creepers.

In the open spaces between the rivers, they are replaced by cereal plants, and the territory of the wet pampas is completely occupied by them. Of particular note is such a view as or cortaderia Sello (pictured above). It is a perennial plant reaching a height of up to 4 meters. Forms large tufts resembling bumps. For its high external decorativeness and spectacular flowering (panicles can be white, pinkish or purple in size up to 40 cm), it has gained high popularity among gardeners and flower growers. Dry pampas are characterized low level rainfall, therefore it looks like a typical semi-desert, the soils are less and less fertile, a large number of salt marshes appear. Here the vegetation is very poor and is represented by thorny bushes, cacti.

Animal world of the pampas

The fauna has also been big changes in connection with economic activity person. To not herself large group it is worth including those that are able to move quickly (in search of food, water and shelter). These are a few predators (including puma and pampas deer, mustangs (once introduced by the Spaniards and feral horses), azar opossums, etc.

For pampas in more characterized by an abundance of species of birds and rodents. Most of the birds are classified as migratory. They come to the pampas to nest and hatch chicks. We will mention only a few species: ipikaha, ibis, tinama, etc. last view Outwardly, it resembles the familiar partridge, only the color of the plumage is brighter. Also, one of the ancient birds, the Nandu ostrich (pictured), belongs to the inhabitants of the pampas. Of the rodents, it is worth noting the nutria, viscacha.

Pampas and human activities

For the first time, Europeans learned about what a pampa was at the beginning of the 15th century. The local population was engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding in this territory long before that. Approximately in the 16-17 centuries, a special stratum of the population formed - the shepherds of the gauchos. They led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and are most often compared to North American cowboys. The first gauchos were the children of the locals from the Spaniards. By now, as already mentioned, human activity has changed the ecosystem beyond recognition, there are practically no untouched corners left. Now it is one of the most important agricultural regions, as well as the main economic region of Argentina. Pampa is characterized by its dense population. So, 75% live in this territory. Most big cities- Rosario, La Plata, Luján, Santa Fe.

About 85% of corn and wheat are planted on the territory of the pampas, more than 60% of the total livestock is grown. Most of these products are exported from Argentina to European countries.

To the question of what the pampas are, now we can safely answer: agricultural land. In this connection, there were two reductions in natural vegetation and degradation of the steppe from overgrazing. But the authorities of several countries are trying to improve the situation and preserve the ecosystem, at least in protected areas.