Entrance to the Kiik-Koba cave (photo panoramio.com)
Sights of the foothills
Among the attractions of the foothills, the first to attract attention are the original forms of weathering in the valley of the Churuksu River, the table mountain-remnant of Chufut-Kale, the Kiik-Koba cave, the remains of oak forests of the foothill forest-steppe (“oaks”), etc.
"Sphinxes" of the river valley Churuksu. The small river Churuksu, the right tributary of the Kacha, cut across the Inner Cuesta Ridge and formed a deep rocky gorge. Its left sides are dissected by a series of transverse ravines and beams, the right sides are steep, decorated with many rocky rocks of bizarre shapes and different sizes. Some of them reach a height of 20 m. They were formed as a result of weathering of Eocene nummulitic limestones of varying resistance.
Table mountain-remnant and the cave city of Chufut-Kale. If you go upstream from Bakhchisarai. Churuksu at 3.5 km, you can find yourself in the medieval cave city of Chufut-Kale. This is a typical outlier mountain, separated by the waters of Churuksu and its tributaries from the southern rocky edge of the Inner Ridge. In places where the ridge is intersected by transverse canyon-like valleys, other mountains-remnants of the Crimean foothills were formed. Breaking off into rocky rapids, they rise in the form of steep ledges and walls. These inaccessible fortresses, created by nature, were used by the local population as fortified points.
The cave city of Chufut-Kale was inhabited until the end of the 18th century. In the early Middle Ages there was a city of Fulla, and in the last years of the Crimean Khanate there was a fortress and a state prison.
Kiik-Koba Cave. 8 km from the village of Zuya, located on the Simferopol - Feodosia highway, upstream of the river. Zuya near the village. Lesnoye, surrounded by forested mountains, is the famous Kiik-Koba cave. This is more likely not a cave, but a large grotto formed in the upper limestone strata of the right slope of the Zui valley.
The cave has gained fame as a monument of national and world significance. Here in 1924-1925. They excavated the oldest site of primitive man (Neanderthal) with a large number of primitive tools that were used about 100 thousand years ago, as well as the bones of extinct animals (mammoth, rhinoceros, giant deer, saiga, wild horse, wild donkey, cave bear, etc. ).
The remains of oak forests of the foothill forest-steppe are “oaks”. These are small islands of forest vegetation, a kind of relict of oak forests that were more common in the past in the foothill forest-steppe, destroyed by cutting down and grazing. Single small low-growing forests, mainly of coppice origin, are scattered among the open steppe spaces.
Oak is represented by three types: fluffy, rocky and petiolate. Downy oak dominates over others and often forms pure thickets. Less than four dozen such “oak trees” have survived within the Outer and Inner foothill ridges. They occupy small areas - from several hectares to several square kilometers. Among them are the Osminskie, Near, Dalnie, Simferopol "oaks" and others. Representatives of the formerly dense forests of the foothill forest-steppe are single oaks in Simferopol. They are several hundred years old.
Among the interesting geographical objects of the Crimean foothills, one cannot fail to mention the outlier mountains and cave cities of Tepe-Kermen and Mangup-Kale, the “sphinxes” of the Karalez Valley near the village of Krasny Mayak in the Kuibyshevsky district, the Chokurchinskaya cave with the site of a Paleolithic man, deep canyon-like areas dissecting the Inner Ridge (“Gates” of Belbek, Kacha, Alma), and many other monuments created by the tireless sculptor - nature.
REPORT
ON EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
IN THE DISCIPLINE FOREST ZOOLOGY
STUDENTS OF GROUP LH-21
SAKHNO TATYANA MIKHAILOVNA
SIMFEROPOL 2011
Goal and tasks:
Target: consists in consolidating the theoretical knowledge acquired during classroom training. Gaining research skills; expanding the student’s understanding of faunal complexes.
Tasks:
1- prepare the student for a deeper assimilation of knowledge about animals, their life activities, habitats, and significance in nature;
2- consolidate and expand knowledge of forest zoology;
3- familiarize the student with animals in their natural habitat; learn basic methods of field study of animals;
4- improve the ability and skills of research work;
5- to form an active, environmental consciousness and caring attitude towards living nature.
General characteristics of the fauna of the Crimean Foothills.
Crimea stretches from north to south for 195 km. The northern point of Crimea is the Perekop Isthmus; southern - Cape Sarych.
And from west to east for 325 km. Western point – Cape Kara-Mrun; eastern point – Cape Lantern.
Crimea consists of two interconnected parts. Most of Crimea is flat, and a smaller part is mountainous. These parts differ in their origin, their geological history, historical development and natural features.
Mountain Crimea consists of:
From the Crimean foothills;
From the main ridge of the Crimean mountains;
From the south coast.
Within the Crimean foothills there is an internal ridge (height 738 m) and an outer ridge (height 344 m)
The Crimean foothills cover an area of 3945 km.
The uniqueness of this territory lies in the fact that it combines the features of the plain and mountainous Crimea. Forest alternates with steppe, and landscape diversity increases from north to south, and decreases from east to west.
Average July temperature +21-22; average January temperature -5-1.5 Annual precipitation 300-450 mm. Zonal soil types are foothill carbonate chernozems and soddy-carbonate soils under loess.
The Crimean foothills stretches in a wide strip from 12 to 40 km, and the length of this territory is 180 km.
The Crimean foothills have been developed by humans. From a geobotanical point of view, the Crimean foothills belong to the Mediterranean forest region.
The gentle northern and northwestern slopes of the outer ridge are characterized by a mosaic combination of steppe areas and small groves, dominated by low-growing oak. There are 37 such groves in the foothills. Forests dominate the Crimean foothills. In terms of fauna, a number of biotopes are distinguished in the Crimean foothills; they are closely related to landscape features.
1- open biotope
2- forest biotopes
3- forest-steppe biotopes
4- rock formations and cliffs
5- dungeons
6- semi-aquatic biotopes.
Open biotope - areas of plains or mountains devoid of trees and shrubs. The vegetation appears to be desert, steppe and meadow associations.
Forest-steppe biotopes include foothill forest-steppe. In nature, it is expressed in mosaic areas that surround forests. They are characterized by birds such as pheasant, magpie, and blackbird, starling, chaffinch, and tree sparrow.
Tree and shrub biotope is located along river valleys and has a large composition of faunas. Birds - common kestrel, cuckoo, roller, hoopoe, oriole, common starling. Mammals - hedgehog, bats, hare, various rodents.
Forest biotopes have a characteristic fauna. Various types of pigeons, great spotted woodpecker, song thrushes, chaffinch, siskin, grosbeak, various types of tits. Mammals – lesser giant noctule, badger, squirrel, wild boar, roe deer, deer, mouflon.
Dungeon: the fauna is represented by various types of bats: ciliated bat, moustached bat. Not far from the entrance there are: a hedgehog, a fox, a badger.
Near-aquatic biotope - these include species of animals that are associated with the aquatic environment. Birds – little grebe, bittern, mallard, marsh harrier, warblers. Mammals – gray rat.
Characteristics of the fauna of the park named after “Yu.A. Gagarin"
Park of Culture and Leisure named after “Yu.A. Gagarin" is located in the city of Simferopol in the area of Gagarin and Kievskaya streets. In the early 60s, massive construction of new five-story buildings began in Simferopol. When designing new areas, it was planned to create a huge landscape park with an area of 50 hectares at the confluence of the Small Salgir and the Salgir. A pond with an island has been created in the center of the park.
The Salgir River flows through the park. It is not deep, but very picturesque with small cascades along its entire length. In the center of the park there are two wonderful artificial lakes. They are not deep and connected to each other. In the middle of one of the lakes there is an island that is impossible to get to without swimming. The island is a nesting place for the wild ducks that live here. We will mark the excursion route in red ink.
In the park there were many species of trees and shrubs, including eastern plane tree, Norway maple, sycamore maple, Lebanese cedar, prickly spruce, walnut, Babylonian willow, white willow, Tatarian honeysuckle, beautiful catalpa, common privet, small-leaved linden, common ash, horse chestnut, prickly juniper, cossack juniper.
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos is a bird from the duck family (Anatidae) of the order Anseriformes. The most famous and widespread wild duck. The body length of the male is about 62 cm, the female is about 57 cm, the weight reaches 1-1.5 kg (in the fall, just before the flight, after fattening, the weight of the bird can reach 2 kg). The head and neck of the male are green, the crop and chest are brownish-brown, the back and ventral side of the body are gray with thin transverse spots. The color of the female is brown with darker spots, the ventral side is brownish-gray with longitudinal streaks. The male and female have a blue-violet “mirror” on the wing. Partially migratory bird. Inhabits fresh and slightly brackish water bodies. In recent years, many birds have been wintering on non-freezing reservoirs in large cities and their environs. Mallards are one of the main objects of sport and, in some places, commercial hunting. Most modern breeds of domestic ducks have been bred from the mallard through selection, except those bred from the musk duck. Rice. 1
Rice. 1
Pigeon Columba livia The appearance of the rock pigeon is well known from domestic and wild individuals of this species. It is easily distinguished from other relatives by its white rump and two dark stripes running across the wing. Weighs from 240 to 360 g. This is a social bird, nests, as a rule, in colonies, flies in flocks for food and to drink, and in autumn and winter there are often up to several hundred birds in flocks. The head is small, the neck is short, the beak is straight, covered with wax at the base, the nostrils are covered with lids. The toes of the short legs are attached at the same height; the wings are quite long and pointed, with 10 large and 11-15 small flight feathers; tail of 12 (less often 14 or 16) feathers.
They feed on seeds, tropical species feed on fruits, but they also eat animal food. They fly very well and are migratory in temperate countries. They live in pairs, build simple nests and usually lay 2 eggs 2 or more times a year. The walls of the highly developed crop secrete a substance similar to cottage cheese, which the pigeons feed the chicks for the first time after emerging from the egg. Pigeons are found in all zoogeographical regions; most of them are in the Australian region. The number of pigeon species is about 360.
Rice. 2
House Sparrow, or city sparrow Passer domesticus Body length up to 16 cm, weight 23–35 g. The general color of the sparrow's plumage is brownish-brown above, whitish below. The cheeks are white, the ear area is pale gray. Wings with a yellowish-white transverse stripe. The male is distinguished from the female by a large black spot covering the chin, throat, crop and upper chest. The female has a gray head and throat and a pale gray-yellow stripe above the eye.
It is found wherever people settle and the soil is cultivated for fields, gardens and other plantings. In wooded areas, far from human settlements, it does not exist - it settles only near human habitation.
The sparrow places nests in a wide variety of places - in crevices of various buildings, in burrows in clayey and chalk ravines, in the walls of the nests of large birds (herons, storks, eagles), in tree hollows, in birdhouses, and in the burrows of shore swallows. In a clutch there are 5–6 matte white, pale yellow.
Fig.3
Rook Corvus frugilegus is a bird of the crow genus widespread in Eurasia. Length 45-47 cm. Feathers are black, with a purple tint. In adult birds, the base of the beak is bare; Young birds have feathers at the base of their beaks, but later they fall out.
Rice. 4
Rooks are omnivores, but mainly feed on worms and insect larvae, which they find by digging in the ground with their strong beaks. They love to follow tractors plowing the ground in large flocks.
In the northern part of their range, rooks are migratory birds, in the southern part they are sedentary.
They nest in trees in large colonies. Common wintering bird of large populated areas. Inhabitant of open landscapes. In populated areas near old roads, “rookies” are often found in trees - colonial settlements consisting of dozens of nests that have been used for many years or pale blue eggs with brownish-yellow spots and grayish-brown specks
It feeds on all kinds of seeds, as well as berries and fruits, but does not refuse insects, including cockchafers. The chicks are fed first with caterpillars and then with large insects. Rice. 4
Black Crow Corvus coron is a bird from the genus of ravens.
The plumage of the Carrion Crow is black with green or purple reflections, much greener than the rook's. The beak, paws and feet are also black. Carrion crows differ from the common raven in size (48 to 52 cm or 18 to 21 inches in length) and from the hooded crow in their black plumage, but are often confused with rooks. The crow's beak is larger, therefore, it looks shorter; in addition, adult rooks have bare nostrils, while the nostrils of the black crow are covered with bristle-like feathers at any age. Fig. 5
Rice. 5
Common squirrel(lat. Sciurus) - a genus of rodents of the squirrel family. In addition to the genus Sciurus itself, squirrels are also called a number of representatives of the squirrel family from the genera chipmunk squirrels (Tamiasciurus), palm squirrels (Funambulus) and many others. As for the genus Sciurus itself, it unites about 30 species distributed in Europe, North and South America and in temperate Asia.
It has an elongated body with a fluffy long tail, long ears, dark brown color with a white belly, sometimes gray (especially in winter). Found everywhere except Australia. Squirrel is a source of valuable fur. The squirrel in Crimea is a migrant. In 1940, they were brought from the Altai Territory, released on the territory of the Crimean Nature Reserve, and, having found favorable conditions, they settled throughout the peninsula, including parks and green areas of cities.
One of the well-known distinctive features of many squirrels is their ability to store nuts for the winter. Some species bury nuts in the ground, others hide them in tree hollows. Scientists believe that the poor memory of some types of squirrels, in particular gray squirrels, helps preserve forests, since they bury nuts in the ground and forget about them, and new trees emerge from sprouted seeds, which is very important for natural regeneration. Rice. 6
Fig.6
Ticks Acari, Acarina - a superclass of arthropods from the class of arachnids (Arachnida). The largest group in the class: over 48 thousand species are currently described. Ticks reached such a flourishing due to the fact that in their historical development they acquired microscopically small sizes, which allowed them to colonize the upper layers of the soil, rich in decomposing plant debris.
Fig.7
The number of ticks in Crimea was insignificant. The disease was introduced during the migration of squirrels from Siberia. In general, 5 genera and 12 species of ticks have been registered in the Republic of Crimea, of which 4 species are carriers of tick-borne encephalitis. Since 1985, the foothill-mountain zone of Crimea has been defined as a natural focus of tick-borne encephalitis. The period of tick activity in Crimea lasts 250 days. Fig.7. There are 2 peaks of activity:
Ants Formicidae is a family of insects from the superfamily Antidae of the order Hymenoptera. They are social insects, forming 3 castes: females, males and workers. Females and males are winged, workers are wingless. The antennae are geniculate, 11-12-segmented in females and workers, 12-13-segmented in males, and 4-, 6-, or 10-segmented in a number of species. The main antennal segment (scape) is usually much longer than all the others. The posterior thorax (epinotum) is the first segment of the abdomen, fused with the metathorax. The abdomen itself is attached to the epinotum by a stalk formed by the first or second segments. Ants of some subfamilies (myrmicines, ponerines and others) have a developed sting. Wings with reduced venation.
Fig.8
They feed mainly on plant sap, honeydew of aphids and other sucking insects; during the feeding period of the larvae, they feed mainly on insects. Fig.8
Bees Anthophila is a section in the superfamily Apoidea of flying insects of the suborder Stalk-bellied order Hymenoptera, related to wasps and ants. The science of bees is called apiology (apidology). Bees have a long proboscis, which they use to suck nectar from plants. They also have antennae (or antennae, horns), each of which consists of 13 segments in males and 12 segments in females. There are exceptions in males: some Systropha have 11 (or 12) antennal segments, some Euryglossina, Pasites, Biastes, etc. have 12 segments.
All bees have two pairs of wings, the back pair being smaller in size than the front; only in a few species of one sex or caste the wings are very short, making the flight of the bee difficult or impossible. Fig.9
Cabbage butterfly, or cabbage white butterfly Pieris brassicae, is a diurnal butterfly from the white butterfly family (Pieridae). The binomial name comes from the Latin. Brassica - cabbage, one of the caterpillars' food plants. Fig.10
Fig.10
The length of the fore wing of the imago is 25-33 mm. The wingspan of the male is 49-62 mm, of the female - 51-63 mm. The wings are white with several black spots. On the forewing from above: the outer corner almost to the middle of the edge and a spot on the inner edge, and in females there are two more middle spots, black; two similar spots on the underside. Hind wing with a black spot at the middle of the anterior margin; yellow below, with black pollen.
True flies- insects Order Diptera (translated from Greek: di = two, and pteron = wing), has a single pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, transformed from the hind wings, on the metathorax. The well-known housefly is a true fly and is one of the most widely distributed living creatures. The basic life cycle of a fly is egg, larva, pupa and adult (winged stage), called holometabolism. There are often differences in food sources for larvae and adults of Diptera of the same species. For example, mosquito larvae live permanently in water and feed on sediment, while adults feed on nectar and female mosquitoes use blood as an energy source to produce eggs. Fig.11
Fig.11
Bronzovka beetle 22-29 mm long, shiny, golden-green, sometimes with a copper-red tint. The underside of the body and legs are green, with a bluish tint. The elytra are uniformly convex, behind the middle near the suture without longitudinal depression. Elytra without white spots, with small depressions like a dotted line. The anterior process of the mesothorax at the apex is flattened and somewhat expanded, smooth, with scattered points, without hairs. Fig.12
Fig.12
Stems are 30-100 cm long, green or brownish-green in the lower part, forked-branched, woody, jointed, glabrous, easily broken at the nodes, forming a spherical bush with a diameter of 20-40 (120) cm.
The leaves are sessile, opposite, arranged in pairs at the ends of the branches, leathery, thick, pale green, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, narrowed towards the base, obtuse at the apex, entire, 5-7 cm long and 0.3-1 cm wide with parallel venation. They fall in the fall in the second year of their existence.
The plant is dioecious; the flowers are unisexual, inconspicuous, yellowish-green, with a simple four-parted perianth, clustered in 3 (less often 5-6) at the ends of the shoots, in the forks of the stem. Staminate flowers are about 4 mm long, sessile; their perianth has a short tube and ovate limb lobes; stamens 4, without filaments; the anthers on the outer side are completely adherent to the perianth lobes, on the inner side with numerous holes, giving the surface of the tepal the appearance of a sieve. Pistillate flowers are smaller, about 2 mm in length; lateral - sessile; medium - on a short leg; perianth with 4 ovoid obtuse lobes; the pistil is short, with a semi-inferior unilocular ovary, with one ovule and a sessile, thick, cushion-shaped stigma. The fruit is a false spherical or slightly oblong, juicy, single-seeded berry, sometimes with a notch at the top, about 10 mm in diameter, green when unripe, white when ripe, translucent. The seed is large, densely covered with sticky, slimy pulp formed from the inner parts of the receptacle, grayish-white, heart-shaped or oval-cordate, rich in endosperm, about 8 mm in diameter, covered with a thin membranous skin with flat or convex edges. Seeds may contain 1-3 embryos. Blooms in March - April; the fruits ripen in August - September. Fig 13
Rice.
Conclusions and offers:
With the help of practice, we consolidated the theoretical knowledge acquired throughout the academic year. We examined animals that had not been seen before in laboratory conditions, studied their behavior in real biotopes and interactions with humans. During the internship, we gained research skills and expanded our understanding of faunal complexes.
We studied the fauna of the park named after “Yu.A. Gagarin" in the city of Simferopol, saw the living conditions of some species of animals and birds, as well as their behavior.
At the moment, the park is distinguished by a wide variety of species, because... It has all the necessary conditions for the life of animals and birds. But today a project for the reconstruction of the park has been developed, the implementation of which could lead to the extinction of many species; to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to take into account the fauna of this park. It is necessary to install feeders to attract birds, not to disturb the natural habitat of animals, and to limit visits to the island by people, because... Many birds nest there.
Crimean foothills
The Crimean foothills are a natural link connecting the mountains and plains of Crimea. Therefore, many original features and characteristics characteristic of the south and north of the peninsula are combined here. The mountains are low, the forest alternates with the steppe, valleys, gardens... The words of A. S. Pushkin involuntarily come to mind:
The valleys are a sheltered beauty,
Both the streams and the poplars are cool...
The whole feeling of a traveler beckons...
A wide strip (12-40 km) of the foothills stretches from the southwest from Cape Chersonesos to the northeast to the Kerch Peninsula. Its total length in this direction reaches 180 km. The area of the Crimean foothills is 3895 km2. In the process of long-term arched uplifts of the mountainous Crimea on the northern, initially single gentle slope, water erosion formed longitudinal valleys and foothill ridges. These ridges are composed mainly of limestones and marls (Cretaceous and Tertiary age) dipping to the northwest at a slight angle. This is how the Inner (up to 739 m above sea level) and Outer (up to 350 m above sea level) ridges arose. They are characterized by steep southern and gently sloping northern slopes. This type of relief in geography is called cuesta, and ridges are called cuesta. The heterogeneous nature of the sediments of the Inner Ridge in terms of density and structure and, naturally, unequal stability under the influence of external forces, combined with climatic features and sparse forest of the territory - all this contributes to the intensive weathering of cuesta outcrops. The dense “armoring” limestones crowning the cuesta create ledges-cornices clearly expressed in the relief: at the top there is a limestone-nummulite ledge, below it there is a limestone-bryozoan one. However, nummulitic limestone is destroyed faster than bryozoan limestone, and therefore the upper cornice retreats from the cuesta cliff faster than the lower one, as a result of which peculiar terraces arise between the two cornices. In the eastern part of the Inner Ridge, where only one nummulitic cornice is observed, such terraces do not form. The process of weathering of the limestone cornices of the Inner Ridge leads to the formation of amazingly beautiful sculptural relief forms on its slopes. There are wide rounded peaks, reminiscent of giant lurking monsters, and plate-like ribbed sections, compressed like the bellows of harmony, and deep niche-caves, which often served as the dwelling of primitive man. In addition to cave weathering, honeycomb, lacy and point weathering are often found in these places; saucers, gullies and even small caves of karst origin can be found. Limestones of heterogeneous density from their denser varieties form columns of bizarre shapes prepared by weathering. Many of them are declared natural monuments.
The Outer Ridge is geologically younger than the Inner Ridge. It is composed of marls, clays, sands, sandstones, conglomerates and limestones of the Tertiary period, forming the armoring surface of the cuesta. And here we see a motley alternation of sediments of different densities, unequally susceptible to weathering. However, the age, density and thickness of the layers, the height of the cuesta ridges are all inferior to those of the Inner Ridge. The weathering forms of external landscapes are also smaller and less original. Outcrops of Sarmatian limestone are dominated by small niches, trenches, pockets and honeycombs of weathering; screes are developed along the slopes.
In some places, volcanic rocks are exposed in the foothills (near the villages of Lozovoye, Trudolyubovka, etc.). They form low hills in the relief; Some have quarries for the extraction of durable and valuable building stone - diabase. But the greatest economic interest is represented by cement marls, nummulitic and especially bryozoan limestones. The quarries of the Inner Ridge, where these limestones are mined, look like huge circuses, on the slopes of which large stone blocks are cut using a mechanized method. Many buildings in Simferopol, Sevastopol and other settlements of Crimea were built from them. Recently, limestone has been exported to Belgium and Germany, where it is used in construction as a facing stone.
In order to further rationally use the natural resources of the foothills, along with stone mining, it is planned to widely expand the work to restore the landscape of the exhausted quarries. It would be advisable to widely introduce underground developments that would allow preserving the forest-steppe landscapes of the cuesta peaks - wonderful places for recreation and tourism. At the same time, underground galleries and halls formed in this way could serve economic purposes.
Along the southern slopes of the Inner Ridge stretches a chain of so-called “cave cities” of Crimea. Most of the caves have been carved out by humans. Some of them are protected monuments visited by thousands of nature and history lovers.
The Crimean foothills are the most important area of horticulture and essential oil crops on the peninsula. In the longitudinal depressions between the ridges and the river valleys transverse to them there are beautiful apple and pear orchards, plantations of roses, lavender, sage, and tobacco. Foothill landscapes account for a significant part of all Crimean vineyards and grain crops. Mild winters and warm summers create optimal conditions for the development of southern fruit and berry crops. The only thing that is not enough is atmospheric precipitation: it falls here annually from 303 to 596 mm.
At the same time, for the waters accumulated on the Main Ridge, the foothills serve as the main route for surface and underground flow. For the most water-bearing river systems Biyuk-Karasu, Salgir, Alma, Kachi, Belbek, Chernaya and other rivers, this is an area of transit and dispersion of surface runoff. In addition, the main part of the river flow (up to 48%) occurs in the spring, when irrigation of agricultural crops is limited. This is why river flow regulation is necessary.
The transformation of nature unfolded on a broad front in the foothills of Crimea only after the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Particularly large water reclamation works have been carried out here in recent years. By 1971, 15 large reservoirs with a total volume of about 200 million m3 were built in river valleys. This is half of the surface runoff of the entire Crimea in an average low-water year!
Forest-steppe vegetation in the landscapes of the foothills occupies about 1900 km2. On the gentle northern and northwestern slopes of the Outer and partially Inner ridges, there is a mosaic combination of steppe areas and small forests - groves, dominated by low-growing oak. These groves in Crimea are called “oaks”. Within the boundaries of the foothills, 37 isolated island “oak trees” were identified, ranging in area from several hectares to several square kilometers (Near and Far Simferopol “oak trees”, Osminsky, etc.). Along with coppice downy oak, pedunculate and sessile oaks are occasionally found in the groves. Among other tree and shrub species, common hornbeam, mackerel, hawthorn, orchard tree, rose hip, common pear and pear, barberry, buckthorn, blackthorn, etc. The deforested spaces between the island oak groves are occupied by steppes of xerophilic dwarf shrubs and herbs (thymes, dubrovnik, yarrow , spurge, peony, feather grass, etc.). Many researchers, extending the term “forest-steppe” to the entire territory of the Crimean foothills, believe that this type of vegetation here has a primary, original character. However, recently this view of the Crimean forest-steppe has been revised. This question is not only scientific: knowledge of the root causes of the formation of forest-steppe will allow us to better and more correctly determine the ways of forest planting and erosion control. First of all, one cannot consider the “oaks” of the Outer Ridge and the “oaks” occupying the gentle slopes of the Inner Ridge and in some places the southern longitudinal depression as identical formations. An assessment of the vegetation cover of foothill landscapes is unthinkable without taking into account the entire complex of natural and geographical conditions. It should be borne in mind that the Inner Ridge is 200-300 m higher than the Outer Ridge, receives more precipitation, and its vegetation cover is a direct continuation of the forests of the lower belt of the Main Ridge and joins it in the southern longitudinal depression, while the “oak trees” of the Outer Ridge The ridges are in direct contact with the steppes of the Crimean plain.
In this regard, differences in the vegetation cover of the ridges are also observed. The “oak trees” of the Outer Ridge have the character of low-growing trees and shrubs and occupy in total no more than 15-20% of its area. Forest representatives such as field maple, cordate linden and ivy, common in the “oak trees” of the Inner Ridge, are not found on the Outer Ridge. Significant spaces between the “oak trees” here are occupied by typical steppe vegetation, developed on medium-thick carbonate chernozems characteristic of steppes. Thus, the original nature of the forest-steppe of the Outer Ridge is beyond doubt.
The situation is different with the origin of forest-steppe vegetation on the gentle slopes of the Inner Ridge and partly on the southern longitudinal depression. Oak groves are also common here (Chumakar “oaks”, Karakush “oaks”, etc.). But they occupy more than half the area in these landscapes, and their resemblance to the “oak trees” of the Outer Ridge is purely external. In the plant communities of the Inner Ridge, there is a significant increase in the proportion of herbaceous plants characteristic of mountain forests. Of the trees in the “oak trees” of the Inner Ridge, such companions of the Crimean oak forests as field maple, hornbeam, and heart-shaped linden are common. As for the nesting oak growing here, which supporters of the original forest-steppe throughout the foothills see as unfavorable growing conditions, this phenomenon is the result of past felling and grazing. Nowadays, not only foothills, but generally all oak forests of Crimea are 80% low-trunk and coppice. In this sense, the forest-steppe of the Crimean foothills is an analogue of the mountainous forest-steppe of the Crimean yayls.
In the past, forests dominated the gentle slopes of the Inner Ridge and part of the northern longitudinal valley. This is evidenced, in particular, by the first plan of Simferopol, drawn up in 1786: on the territory where the children's park is now located, and on the entire right bank of Salgir, “forest” is written. Its relics are the giant oak trees still growing in the children's park. One of them (the Bogatyr of Taurida) is 650 years old, its height is 25 m, its trunk circumference is 5.25 m. These facts convincingly indicate the secondary forest-steppe nature of the vegetation of the landscapes of the Inner Ridge and adjacent forest-steppe areas of the southern and northern longitudinal interridge depressions of the Crimean foothills.
The unique forest-steppe areas of the Crimean foothills require constant protection. In 1947, "oak trees" were included in the register of natural monuments of regional significance. They reliably protect slopes from erosion and accumulate moisture. "Oak trees" of the Crimean foothills are interesting objects of geographical excursions.
If we take all the areas of the “oak trees” as one natural monument, then together with it in the Crimean foothills 18 unique objects with a total area of more than 520 hectares have been declared protected.
We invite you on a journey. According to tradition, we will go from southwest to northeast.
Along the southern slopes of the Inner Ridge, here and there small remnant mountains rise in isolated bastions. Due to water erosion in the distant past, they were cut off from the main ridge of the cuesta. Apparently, the isolation and relative inaccessibility of these flattened mountains attracted the attention of the ancient inhabitants of the foothills, who created their fortresses and cave cities here for defense. One of these fortified cities - Mangup (reserved in 1960) rises on the highest outcrop of the southwestern foothills near the village. Zalesny. The height of this rocky table mass is 581 m. It is clear that capturing such a natural fortress, which was also protected at the top by high walls and battle towers, was not an easy task. In the 40-meter cliffs of Mangup, formed by bryozoan limestones of the Upper Cretaceous age, there are many artificial caves - crypts, which had various economic or religious purposes. In the 13th-15th centuries, there was a large city for those times, the capital of the independent principality of Theodoro.
The plateau-shaped peak of Mangup is pushed out to the sides with its original toes. From each of the capes you can admire the surrounding landscapes. From the foot of the mountain, a forest climbs up the slopes of the gray citadel. Fluffy oak, hornbeam, and hazel dominate here, ivy is abundant, and Crimean pine is found.
Almost next to Mangup, on the eastern slope of the narrow Karales valley, there are the natural sphinxes of the Karales valley (reserved in 1960). Here, 3 km. south of the village Red Mak, on the right bank of the valley formed by one of the left tributaries of the Belbek River, stands a group of huge stone idols. There are 14 sphinxes in this family. The height of one of the stone giants reaches 8 m. These unique formations arose as a result of weathering of Cretaceous and Tertiary limestones of heterogeneous density.
Having passed from the Karalez sphinxes to the northeast and crossed over a low ridge into the Belbek valley, we find ourselves at the Surensky grotto-canopy (commissioned in 1964). Extensive form of weathering of limestones on the right slope of the river valley. Belbek attracted the attention of primitive people 15-20 thousand years ago due to its convenience for living: southwestern exposure of the canopy (abundance of sun), reliable protection from bad weather and proximity to water. In excavations at the site, archaeologists discovered numerous flint tools, as well as bone remains of extinct animals of the Crimean foothills: cave bear, giant deer, reindeer, wild horse, bull and others.
Not far from here is the Belbek yew grove, declared a natural monument in 1968. It is the largest yew habitat in Crimea. Here on the steep shady left slope of the river valley. Belbek, near the village. Bolshoye Sadovoye, there are over 2000 trees of this tertiary relict. Yew in some places forms independent thickets or is represented as undergrowth in a beech forest over an area of more than 20 hectares. The large number of young growth is pleasing to the eye - evidence of favorable living conditions for yew. Finally, the Belbek Canyon itself is the place where the river breaks through. Belbek through the Inner Ridge is also a natural monument (reserved in 1968). This is an original erosion gorge, cutting the cuesta ridge, as geologists say, across its strike. The Belbek Gate was formed in the process of gradual water erosion along a path originally laid by a deep split-crack in the cuesta rocks. The depth of the canyon's incision reaches 160 m, its width in the upper part is about 300 m. Bare steep limestone cliffs, like fortress bastions, guard the upper edges of the gorge. Down towards the river, the marly slopes descend at an angle of about 45°. This part of the slopes is dominated by forest thickets of sessile oak, hornbeam, dogwood, dogrose, rosehip and other broad-leaved trees and shrubs.
The Kachin Canyon (reserved in 1968), located on the neighboring river to the east, is approximately the same. Kache. True, this canyon, with approximately the same depth (140 m), is narrower (150 m) and difficult to access. This, like the Belbek Canyon, is a monument to the Quaternary development of the relief of the foothills of Crimea. Traveling through these places, you once again clearly see the enormous destructive and creative work of flowing waters.
Walking from the Kachi Valley along its right tributary Churuk-Su to Bakhchisarai, you can see two more interesting natural attractions here. One of the monuments - natural sphinxes - is located on the right bank of the Churuk-Su. The river here has cut a deep canyon-like gorge, cutting the Inner Ridge in the transverse direction. The upper horizons of the valley sides form bizarre stone sculptures up to 20 m high. These rocks are formed by weathering of nummulitic limestones of unequal strength.
The further path is along the valley to the southern cliffs of the cuesta. Here, several cave cities rise opposite each other - Chufut-Kale, Kyz-Kule and Tepe-Kermen. The latter was declared a protected natural monument in 1947. Tepe-Kermen is located on a cone-shaped mountain at the southern edge of the Inner Ridge. In the past, Tepe-Kermen was an integral part of this ridge, but as a result of erosion, the mountain became isolated and turned into a classically shaped remnant. The flat top with steep edges is composed of an armor layer of limestone. Flatter slopes, subject to active erosion, are composed of marls. The absolute height of Tepe-Kermen is 543 m. Part of the slopes of the mountain are covered with thickets of juniper, hornbeam, hornbeam, rosehip and other shrubs.
In the past, as the name itself shows (Tepe-Kermen means hill-fortress), there was a medieval “cave city” here (XII-XIV centuries). Since then, numerous (235) crypts have been preserved, carved by man in limestone in 6-7 tiers, both on the slopes and on the top of the mountain. Tepe-Kermen was one of the most populous “cave cities” in Crimea.
The natural standard of relief dynamics is the Sheludivaya mountain remnant in the valley of the river. Bodrak, near the village. Scientific (reserved in 1964). A special role in the river basin. Bodraka belongs to the rocks of the Cretaceous period. The sequence of dense gray sandstones and ferruginous brown limestones, apparently, already acquired different thicknesses during the period of sediment accumulation in the shallow isolated basin.
During the process of erosional formation of the southern longitudinal depression of the foothills, thin sections of this strata turned out to be washed away. Thickened lenses of sediments formed armoring surfaces, which contributed to the isolation of low, flat-topped mountain outcrops. This is the origin of Scabby.
The absolute height of the Bodrak remains reaches 400-500 m. The relative height does not exceed 100-200 m. The flat top of Mount Sheludivaya, for example, has an oval perimeter of about 300 m and the thickness of the armor layer is up to 6-10 m. The small drainage area and thin soil cover of the top do not promote the development of woody vegetation: cereal-forb phytocenoses dominate here. From the top, along steep (up to 45°) slopes, 36 similar gully tracts radiate radially, isolated in the clayey-sandy stratum. The ravines are almost bare, with sparse thickets of trees and shrubs. Mount Sheludivaya is an example of the “bad lands” of the foothills. She calls for a vigorous fight against water erosion through afforestation.
The Bakla tract is an amazingly beautiful, interesting natural and historical monument. The path to it leads from the village. Rocky along the ridge of the Inner Ridge. These are beautiful places. The steep steep ridges of the cuesta ridge rise above the vast interridge valley, beyond which the peaks of the Main Ridge are visible in the distance to the south. In the opposite, northern direction, the Inner Ridge descends very gently. On the way to the Bakla tract (and it is about 2.5 km from the village of Skalistoye), through the layers of underlying rocks you can trace the history of the development of this area over many millions of years. In the lower part of the steep slope there are ridges of varying density of Cretaceous sediments: marls and limestones. The limestone consists of numerous fossilized inhabitants of the former (more than 70 million years ago) Cretaceous sea - bryozoans. It is very durable, beautiful and relatively easy to machine. It is no coincidence that one of the large mechanized quarries for the extraction of bryozoan limestone grew here. It looks quite impressive: giant steps border the quarry arena like an amphitheater. In 1971, this quarry provided the region's builders with more than 280 thousand m3 of wall stone blocks.
Higher up the steep slope of the Inner Ridge, above the bryozoan limestones, lie younger limestones formed in the Paleogene period. Even a person not experienced in geology can easily discover in the fracture of these limestones numerous accumulations of fossilized round shells of sea rhizomes, shaped like coins. That is why these limestones are called nummulitic (from the Latin word nummulus - coin). In addition to fossil rhizomes, in limestone placers you can collect a collection of large fossilized oysters, sea urchins and other inhabitants of the sea that existed in these places more than 50 million years ago. In the Bakla tract, two huge independent cornices are clearly expressed in the relief, and between them, a terrace, as if carved into the rocks, here provided a clear example of a gradual change in the relief under the influence of external forces. What kind of sculptures has not been created by her! Here on the ridge stands a huge 40-meter stone sphinx. Below the slope there are rows of hundreds, thousands of natural depressions-cells - examples of honeycomb weathering of rocks. Everywhere there are large and small niches, pockets, grottoes... The picture of the landscape monument is complemented by peculiar tree and shrub thickets.
Some of its toes rise like impregnable castles above the steep eaves of the ridge. This was successfully used by the medieval population of the Crimean foothills. At an altitude of 310 m, people founded the “cave city” of Bakla. This fortified settlement was created to fight against nomads. It existed, as studies by historians have shown, in the 4th-13th centuries and died during the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Crimea.
In the area of In Livadki we will visit a protected area - a grove of Crimean pine (declared a natural monument in 1968). In the Livadki forest - a favorite vacation spot for Simferopol residents - in addition to pine, downy oak, hornbeam, dogwood, and hazel grow. And nearby, on the southern cliff of the ridge, is the Snake Cave (reserved in 1968). There are 11 karst caves in the Crimean foothills, but Zmeinaya is the largest of them: its length reaches 310 m. From the top of the cuesta above the entrance to the cave there is a wonderful view: fields, forests, villages. Everything is at your fingertips. But cave darkness awaits us. Near the forest block pillar 21-20 we begin our descent to the foot of the cliff. And here in front of us is a 30-meter vertical crack.
We climb along the ledges to the entrance. Everywhere in the walls we see small coin-shaped fossilized remains of the ancient inhabitants of the seas - the Nummulites. In these limestones of relatively young, tertiary age, the cave cavity was developed by karst waters. It is divided into three floors by blocky rubble, connected by numerous vertical wells.
We turn on the electric lights. Not far from the entrance there is a well connecting to the lower floor. We go down into the well and continue moving deeper into the cave. From time to time we stop to inspect the side passages. The emptiness of the lower floor hums under the floor. The beautiful, domed halls are followed by narrow and uncomfortable manholes through which you have to crawl. In one place the hole descends lower and lower and suddenly ends in a huge hall...
Unlike the caves of the Main Ridge, Zmeinaya has neither stalactites nor stalagmites. In the limestone vault, inclusions of red clay are visible, and nearby there is a crack, which, perhaps, is the beginning of a new move.
Narrow cracks follow one after another. In some places, tree roots penetrating from the surface of the plateau hang from the ceiling. Squeezing through with difficulty, we reach a large stone. Next to the stone is the entrance to the lowest floor. We go down and find ourselves in a small but most beautiful hall. Its walls are covered with original sinter formations. It seems that in the rays of the lantern they shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow.
But here's a dead end. Small stop. And we set off on the way back. It seems shorter. Soon the daylight shines ahead like a beacon. A few more tens of meters and we reach the area at the entrance to the cave. After being underground, the sun seems unusually bright. It hits your eyes, blinds you... After the journey, the name of the cave became clear: it, like a giant snake, wriggles underground.
And now - to the Salgir valley near Simferopol. The island of Permian limestones on the Simferopol reservoir is a block of limestones of Permian age, rare on the Crimean Peninsula. Sediments of the Permian Sea, which existed more than 230 million years ago, are interspersed only in small masses in the thickness of the Tauride shales and are also known in the valleys of the Bodrak and Marta rivers. According to geologists, Permian blocks fell into the sea from mountain ranges that existed in the distant past on the site of the Crimean plains, and thus turned out to be foreign bodies among younger shale deposits. As this territory was further uplifted, the block, together with its host Upper Triassic rocks, ended up on the land surface.
The Simferopol rocky block is one of the most significant in the foothills. It was first described by scientists back in 1901. This grayish limestone contains fossilized Paleozoic rhizome fauna: foraminifera, pseudofusuline and pseudoschwagerin. After the Simferopol reservoir was filled with water in 1955, the Permian block formed an island measuring 40x80 m. Traces of weathering of limestone are observed on its surface. The vegetation cover is typical for the adjacent territory: a mixed-grass steppe with preserved remnants of a xerophilic forest in the form of a smooth frame (stone tree). This natural monument (reserved in 1960) is a witness to the complex multimillion-year geological history of the peninsula. The Perm block forms an island only when the Simferopol reservoir is completely filled, the bowl of which in this case holds about 36 million m3 of water, and the depth reaches 34 m. From the valley containing the Simferopol reservoir, through a low watershed we find ourselves in the neighboring valley of the river. Small Salgir. It's 2 km from here. from Simferopol near the village. Lugovoy there is a cave-grotto Chokurcha (reserved in 1947). It is located on the left rocky bank of the river. Small Salgir. Chokurcha faces its entrance to the north, which is actually an exceptional phenomenon for cave sites of primitive man. The depth of the grotto is up to 15 m and the width is up to 7 m. Essentially, the modern grotto is only the remnant of an ancient, more extensive karst cave, which apparently reached a great length in the past. The front most of it collapsed, revealing the interior.
Chokurchinskaya cave has become widely known as a site of Paleolithic man. The first excavations here were carried out in 1927 and then continued for many years. According to an eyewitness account of excavations in 1940-1941. zoologist S.L. Delyamure, flint tools and numerous tusks (10 pairs) of young mammoths were discovered under a two-meter layer. On the ceiling of the vault of the Chokurchinskaya cave, the most unique drawings, carved by Paleolithic people in Tertiary limestones, were washed from soot. Among them are the Sun with rays (the diameter of the disk is about 0.5 m), images of a mammoth and fish (their size is 0.5 m each). In the cave, along with crude tools made of bone and flint (more than 500 of them were found) and mammoth bones, numerous bones of other animals were discovered. Judging by the bones, the Crimean foothills were then inhabited by a cave bear, a giant deer, a saiga antelope, and a rhinoceros. Thus. Chokurchinskaya Cave is a monument that has preserved to this day numerous remains of the extinct fauna that lived in the Crimean foothills 50 thousand years ago.
Another, almost similar natural monument - the Kiik-Koba grotto cave is located in the Zui valley, 8 km away. south of the village Zuya. Actually, this is not a cave, but a canopy-grotto with an area of about 50 m2. Kiik-Koba faces the south: deciduous forest approaches it from all sides. Excavations 1924-1925 discovered in a cave the oldest site of primitive man in Crimea (late Acheulian-Mousterian). About 500 flint tools (pointed points, hackles, blades), used about 100 thousand years ago, and many bone remains of the extinct fauna of Crimea were found here. Among the animals that lived at that time in the vicinity of Kiik-Koba and were hunted were a mammoth, a rhinoceros, a cave hyena, a primitive bull, a wild horse, a wild donkey (dzhigetai), a giant deer, a cave bear, a wild boar and others. Kiik-Koba is a monument of national and world significance; it was reserved in 1947.
Now let's take a tour of the area Belogorsk, to where Biyuk-Karasu breaks through the Inner Cuesta of the foothills of Crimea. Here, in the breakthrough valley, on its high right bank rises the rocky mountain Ak-Kaya (White Rock, reserved in 1969). This peak rises like a formidable corner cliff above the valley by more than 100 m. Its absolute height is 325 m. Mount Ak-Kaya is an original object of erosional development and weathering of Lower Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous limestones and marls in the conditions of the eastern part of the foothills. Half the mountainside is steep. In this upper part of the rock, the limestone weathers into interesting columnar formations. Between them, from afar, the shadowed eye sockets of inaccessible natural grottoes and oval niches are visible on a white background. On the lower part of the slope for about 800 m, erosion hollows, screes and heaps of collapsed large blocks of limestone can be traced. Real stone chaos! Rare shrubs (hornbeam, rosehip) are scattered along this part of the slope, which are trying to hold back slope erosion. But these bushes are not enough yet - erosion is winning. Ak-Kaya is also interesting as an archaeological site. In 1969-1971 under the canopies at its foot, near the village. White Rock, scientists have excavated about 20 sites of primitive man of the Mousterian era (100-40 thousand years ago). Numerous (more than 10,000) flint points, knives, scrapers and other tools were found. Near ancient hearths, accumulations of bones of a mammoth, wild horse, wild bull and other now extinct animals were discovered. For the first time in Crimea, a fragment of the skull of an adult Neanderthal man was discovered here. The Ak-Kaya area was convenient for ancient people to live in: an abundance of grottoes and canopies, river water, silicon deposits in local marls and, finally, the rock itself and its cliffs served as shelters from bad weather and pens when hunting wild animals.
The internal ridge in these places forms the Burunduk-Kaya mountain range, reaching its greatest height here (more than 700 m). Such relief conditions cause an increased amount of precipitation, which contributes to the development of tall broad-leaved forests. In the reserved forest grow fluffy and sessile oak, hornbeam, hazel, and less commonly - rowan, privet, and European euonymus. Hornbeam, hawthorn, dogwood, buckthorn, barberry, and mackerel are also abundantly represented here. Forest-shrub thickets are entwined with clematis. In deforested clearings one can observe a peculiar combination of xerophytic subshrubs and freegana-type grasses in combination with steppe vegetation. Asphodelina, sage, astragalus, and onosma grow here in combination with wheatgrass, bromegrass, dubrovnik, milkweed and fescue....
Preserving this amazing floristic combination, the forest near Topolevka serves as a source of settlement of valuable plant species. At the same time, this forest outpost of the foothills serves as a convincing example of the soil-protecting and water-protecting role of the forest. A source near the highway in the village. Topolevka quenches the thirst of many thousands of travelers.
V.G. Ena Simferopol Publishing house "Tavria"
Photos of beautiful mountainous places of Crimea
According to the composition of landscape types within the province of mountainous Crimea, three regions are distinguished (Fig. 8): Foothill forest-steppe, Main mountain-meadow-forest ridge, Crimean south-coast sub-Mediterranean.
Foothill forest-steppe
The foothill region includes the Inner and Outer cuesta ridges and the Outer interridge depression separating them. The foothills are located on the elevated edge of the Scythian platform. In its middle part there is the Simferopol uplift, in the west it is limited by the Alma depression, and in the north by the Indol depression. At the border with the depressions, the number and thickness of rock layers increases, including those that armor the surface of the ku-est and the sloping plains located on their continuation. In this regard, cuesta ridges are best expressed in the Bakhchisarai and Belogorsk regions, and in the middle
parts of the foothills they are almost interrupted in places. The Inner ridge is formed by Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene interlayered limestones, marls and clays, and the Outer ridge is formed by Eocene and Pliocene marls, clays and limestones. The external interridge depression consists of uniform Upper Eocene marls, susceptible to erosion by surface waters. Weathering products of bedrock deposits are soil-forming rocks. Over large areas of cuesta ridges, loamy-grisly-crushed-stony or clayey-loamy deposits are common, differing from bedrock in color, density, etc. Predominantly soddy-carbonate and underdeveloped types of soils are formed on them. On the Outer Cuesta, sloping plains, and also partly in the Outer interridge depression, red-brown clays with interlayers of pebbles and sandy loams are common. In river valleys and dry rivers, soils are formed on deposits of loam, clay, pebble, crushed stone, and sand.
The climate of the foothills is semi-arid, warm with mild winters. The sum of air temperatures effective for plants above 10° is 3545-3110°, and above 15° - 2830-2320° (Table 9).
The soil cover is very variegated. The most common are foothill chernozems and soddy-carbonate soils, and brown soils in the southwest. They formed under meadow-steppe communities in combination with oak, arid shiblyak and mesophytic (average moisture level) shrub thickets.
The most common areas in the region are: cuesta-steppe with foothill chernozems formed on red-brown clays or on products of weathering of limestones of the Outer Cuesta. In the past, in the western part of the region there were forb-fescue-bearded grass communities, and in the eastern part there were feather grass-fescue-forb communities with the participation of asphodelina. Now the area's lands are occupied by grain, row crops and industrial crops, as well as vineyards. Cuestovo-forest-steppe with chernozems and partly brown forest steppe soils. Forest quests with low-growing oak trees in the highest areas of the Inner Cuesta with soddy-carbonate soils. Cuesto-shiblyakovye with brown soils, typical of the Heraclean Peninsula, the Mekenzi Upland and the External Cuesta between the Belbek and Kacha rivers. Interridge gently undulating shrub-steppe with foothill chernozems,
washed up in places. These are the most developed areas in the foothills. Most of the settlements are located here, including the cities of Simferopol, Bakhchisarai, railways and highways. Low mountain forests, characteristic of a number of elevations of the Internal interridge depression near the Internal Cuesta, with brown mountain forest soils, and in the southwestern part of the foothills - brown. Forest and shrub communities in all areas are now protected for soil, water conservation and recreational purposes. Widespread in the foothills valley-ter-racial terrain, especially in interridge depressions. The largest area in them is occupied by the tracts of the first floodplain (garden) terrace, where, due to the shallow occurrence of groundwater, meadow-chernozemic soils were formed. The narrow floodplains of the rivers are occupied by tall herbs, and in some places by alder-hazel ribbon thickets. The slopes of river valleys are often cut by ravines and ravines with sparse grass and shrub cover, which makes them prone to mudflows. The lands of river valleys are the most developed in Crimea from ancient times to the present - this is the cradle of man on the peninsula.
There are four physical-geographical regions in the region: Chernorechensky, Northern foothill cuesta, Southern foothill valley-questa and Indolsky cue-esto-ostantskoy.
In the foothills, 27 natural monuments have been declared protected areas. Among them are 12 groves of steppe oak forests “oaks”; the forested city of Kubalach with individuals of the endemic cyclamen Kuznetsov; remnant mountains Mangup-Kale, Tepe-Kermen, Sheludivaya; natural sphinxes of the Karalesskaya and Chu-ruk-Su valleys; Belbeksky and Kachinsky canyons; caves - habitats of Paleolithic man - Chokurcha, Wolf Grotto, Kiik-Koba; Salgirka Park, Pozharsky Forest Reserve, etc.
MAIN MOUNTAIN-MEADOW- FOREST RANGE
The main ridge of mountains begins with the Balaklava Heights (316 m) in the west and ends with the hilly heights (310 m) of Cape Ilya near Feodosia. Its landscape features are associated primarily with the structure of large relief forms and the composition of the rocks composing them. The ridge has a relatively long and relatively flat northern and short steep southern macroslope, and
also uniting them is the two-level apical surface of the yayl with wavy steps. At the base of the ridge lie clay shales and sandstones of the Tauride series, strongly crushed into small folds, on which Middle Jurassic conglomerates, sandstones and clays lie. On them, and in some places directly on the shales, lie the Upper Jurassic limestones that crown the Main Ridge. The ridge, in addition, is fragmented by tectonic faults and deep river valleys into separate smaller ridges, massifs, blocks, and basins. There are up to six levels of inclined surfaces of the remnant mountains, descending stepwise towards the outskirts of the Main Mountain Range 12. Moreover, the surfaces of the outcrops, like the villages, are scattered like islands in the sea among the varying degrees of forested slopes and bottoms of river valleys, ravines, and ravines. On the slopes, due to differences in their steepness, exposure and composition of rocks, forest communities of different composition, height and completeness are located. They reflect the great diversity of ecological properties of their locations. The products of sediment destruction are soil-forming rocks.
The climate properties of different parts of the Main Ridge are very diverse (Table 9). In general, climates vary from moderately hot, semi-humid in the lowlands to cool, excessively humid in the western yails. On the northern macroslope they change with height. In the lowlands of the Baydar Basin, the climate has sub-Mediterranean features, semi-humid, warm with very mild winters. To the east it changes to semi-humid, moderately warm with moderately mild winters. In the middle mountains the climate is humid, moderately cool with moderately mild winters. In the western yaylas it is excessively humid, with a cool growing season and moderately cool winters, while in the eastern ones it is simply humid. In the middle mountains of the southern macroslope, the climate varies from semi-arid in the lower part to humid in the upper part, from moderately hot to moderately cool, with very mild and moderately mild winters. The sums of active temperatures fluctuate within very wide limits - from 3050 to 1800° above 10° and from 2230 in the Baydar Basin to 600° above 15° on Ai-Petri 23 .
On the slopes of the Main Ridge, the most common soils are brown mountain forest soils of varying thickness and gravel content, formed under low-growing oak, beech, mixed broad-leaved and pine forests in the low mountains and high-growing oak, beech, and mixed broad-leaved and pine forests in the middle mountains. On
The Yaylakhs are dominated by mountain meadow and petrophyte steppes on chernozem-like soils.
On the northern macroslope of the Main Mountain Range Two landscape tiers appear - low-mountain and mid-mountain with the composition of the areas that form them.
In low mountains, landscape areas are most common. Blocky lowlands with juniper-oak, oak and pine forests, shiblyak on mountain forest and brown brown soils. This area is most common in the southwestern part of the mountainous Crimea. Stepped lowlands with downy-oak and hard-oak forests on brown mountain forest soils, the largest areas are occupied in the tier in the basins of the Belbek, Kachi, Alma rivers to the Salgir depression. Sloping plateaus with rocky oak, rocky oak-hornbeam forests and shrub thickets on brown forest soils. These areas are most common in the north of the Dolgorukovsky and Karabi-Yayly massifs. Remaining lowmountain in combination with small intermountain basins with downy oak and rocky oak forests, as well as shrub thickets on brown mountain forest thin and steppe soils in combination with piedmont chernozems. These areas are typical for the eastern part of the belt, its mountains Chombay, Kara-Tepe, Kara-Agach, Agar-mysh, as well as Molbay, Kurtluk and other basins. Sloping lowlands in combination with intermountain basins with rocky oak and downy oak forests, bush thickets and typical forb-fescue-feather grass steppes in basins with brown mountain forest, soddy-carbonate and foothill chernozem soils. These areas are most widespread in the easternmost part of the belt. Intermountain-basin with shiblyaks in combination with low-trunk forests and steppe communities on brown, brown mountain forest steppe and foothill chernozem soils. The largest of the basins are: Baydarskaya, Varnutskaya, Golubinskaya, Salgirskaya, etc. Valley-terrace with small-leaved forests and meadows on meadow soils.
Landscape areas are common in the mid-mountain layer. Mid-mountain slopes with beams under beech, rock-oak, beech-hornbeam and pine forests on mountain brown forest soils. These areas are typical for the upper parts of the western and northern slopes of the Yaylin massifs. Mountain valleys with beech and
mixed broad-leaved forests on brown mountain forest soils
Yaili, certain areas are developed on plateau-like summit surfaces of the lower and upper levels, consisting of fractured karst limestones. This mountain meadow forest-steppe on strongly dissected karst plateaus of the lower level with mountain-meadow black-zem-like soils (this area is best expressed on the lower Chatyrdag plateau); mountain meadow stepi both at the lower and upper levels of the Yaili karst plateau; mountain meadow and petrophyte stepi flat-convex high plateaus yayl.
A lot of scientific works are devoted to explaining the reasons for the treelessness of the villages. Most scientists attribute the lack of forest to long-term excessive grazing of livestock. A number of scientists believe that the yailas have always had mountain forest-steppes, but due to grazing and forest burning, mountain steppes became widespread. There is no doubt that in the karst sinkholes, ancient drainage hollows on the lower plateaus of the yayl, in the past groves of beech, beech-hornbeam and other species were incomparably more common. There could not be a continuous forest, especially on high yailas, because very strong storms with heavy snowfalls occur here, and now leading to the mass death of established species in the forest plantations made there. Soil conditions also prevent continuous afforestation. In general, the low thickness of the soils, combined with the very high infiltration properties of the underlying heavily karsted limestones, determines that here, despite the relatively large amount of precipitation, extremely low soil moisture periodically occurs in summer over a large area of the villages. For this reason, stable conditions for the growth of even established trees and shrubs are not provided everywhere. Human activity contributes to soil erosion, which enhances the effect of the edaphic (soil) factor.
On the southern macroslope of the Main Mountain Range there are also two landscape tiers - low-mountain in its eastern part and mid-mountain in the rest of the territory. Local landscapes already have well-defined sub-Mediterranean features.
The low-mountain tier is formed by the following areas: co-ridge-and-ridge lowlands with intermountain basins under fluffy and rocky oak, as well as mixed broad-
deciduous forests and thickets of shrubs, meadow and petrophytic park steppes on medium-deep brown mountain forests, soddy-carbonate and foothill chernozem soils; ridge with valleys and ravines lowlands under beech-hornbeam forests on brown mountain forest soils.
Mid-mountain areas. This stufoam-slope Priyailinsky middle mountains with low-growing downy oak and partly rocky oak forests with areas of petrophytic steppes on brown mountain forest medium-deep and steppe soils. These areas are most common on the slopes of the Babugan (eastern part), Chatyrdaga, Demerdzhi and Karabi massifs (southwestern part). Stepped-slope and rocky Priyailinsky middle mountains with downy oak and pine forests on brown mountain forest soils. They occupy the largest areas on the slopes of the Babugan massif. Slope middle mountains with beech and mixed broad-leaved forests on medium-deep brown mountain soils. These areas are most common in the western part of the belt. Slope and rocky Priyailinsky middle mountains with Crimean-pine and hornbeam-beech forests on brown mountain forest soils. They are widespread on the slopes of the Ai-Petrinskaya, Yalta and Nikitskaya yayl massifs.
Within the region there are Western, Central and Eastern physical-geographical regions.
The landscapes of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains play an important soil-water conservation, health-improving and sanitary-hygienic role.
The main ridge is filled with a large number of landscape attractions. Many of them are distinguished by their scientific value, beauty and originality of landscapes. A number of such geographical objects have been declared protected areas.
The standard of landscapes of the Main Mountain Range is the nature of the Crimean Game Reserve, the Yalta State Mountain Forest Reserve, the reserves of the Grand Canyon of Crimea and the Black River Canyon. Of great scientific value are the protected groves of beech on Ai-Petri, yew on the Tyrke massif, Agarmysh forest, wolfberry thickets in the upper reaches of the Burulchi valley, 21 karst caves and 14 karst mines, etc.
Crimean State Game Reserve ownerthe area was founded as the Crimean Nature Reserve in 1923 on the
area 33,397 hectares. Landscapes of forests and meadows are protected on an area of 27,957 and 2,451 hectares, respectively, where game animals are produced. The flora consists of 1165 species of higher plants, of which 45 are endemic. In total, there are 115 species of rare and protected plants. The forests, dominated by sessile, English and downy oaks, occupy 14,731 hectares, and eastern and common beech - 6,971 hectares. The share of forests of Crimean and Scots pine accounts for ZON hectares, and those of hornbeam, elm, alder, aspen and other species account for 2,463 hectares. Only tall beech and pine forests have been preserved here in a relatively pristine form.
The fauna of the protected forests consists of 39 species of mammals, 120 species of birds, 4 species of reptiles, 4 species of amphibians and 5 native species of freshwater fish. The pride of the forests is represented by red deer, graceful European roe deer, as well as mouflon from Corsica, squirrel from Altai and wild boar from the Far East, which have been successfully acclimatized here.
The Yalta Nature Reserve was founded in 1973 on an area of 14,589 hectares. The picturesque green necklace is protected - the factory of clean air and water of the resorts of the South Coast, which is located mainly above 350 m above sea level. m. On 20% of the reserve's area there are forests mainly (35%) of Crimean pine, forming unique picturesque landscapes. Downy oak forests cover 17% of the area. Curtains of beech, hornbeam, sessile oak, tall juniper and other species are interspersed in these continuous forests. The flora of the reserve includes 1,363 species of vascular plants, which is about 55% of the flora of the mountainous Crimea. Most of its flora consists of Mediterranean species. Representatives of 37 species of mammals, 150 birds, 10 reptiles and 4 species of amphibians are found in the reserve. The fauna is approximately the same composition as in the reserve farm.
CRIMEAN SOUTH COAST SUB-MEDITERRANEAN REGION
The region is combined with the coastal landscape belt of the southern slope of the Main Ridge, with the boundaries of the original natural greenhouse for the most heat-loving plants of the European territory of the USSR. The upper edge of the belt is located at an altitude of 350-400 m, and the belt extends from Cape Aya to the city of Feodosia. To these heights to the west
In the southern part of the Southern Coast, evergreen plants of the Crimean flora are spreading, which brings the nature of the Southern Coast closer to the nature of the Mediterranean countries.
The territory of the region consists mainly of clayey shales of the Tauride formation, in places of Upper Jurassic limestones, intrusive igneous rocks, as well as limestone-blocky-crushed-clay deposits of the Massandra suite. Soils are formed on the weathering products of these rocks, as well as on pebble-crushed stone-loamy deposits of river valleys, numerous gullies and ravines.
The width, relief and other components of the nature of the belt largely depend on both the tectonic structure and the Main Ridge that borders the South Coast from the west and north. In the middle part of the Southern Coast there is an extensive Tuak anticlinorium, which in the west is replaced by the Nikitskaya syncline, expressed in relief by the Nikitskaya Yayla, and in the east by a complex system of Sudak-Karadag folds. In the western part of the region there are the Limensko-Yalta, Foros, Laspinsk anticlines complicated by smaller folds and faults and the Kastropol and Tesseli synclines separating them. The surface of these geological structures, formed by waterproof clayey shales of the Tauride formation and Middle Jurassic rocks, gradually decreases to the west. So, if in the area of the Gurzuf saddle within the Main Ridge this surface is at an altitude of 1200 m above sea level. m., then at Cape Aya it is already below sea level. Along with it, the overlying Upper Jurassic limestones, which crown the Main Ridge, also sink. In this regard, the South Coast in the extreme west is narrow, steeply sloped and occupied by limestone rubble accumulations and large block outliers from the Main Ridge. To the east it expands and becomes flatter. Along with this, the western part of the South Coast also has a more rugged coastline; deep bays and capes separating them are denser here.
Under conditions of, as a rule, a steeply sloped surface of the region, relief-forming processes actively occur here. This is also facilitated by the fact that the Main Ridge is experiencing uplift, and the coastal zone of the belt is undergoing subsidence, as a result of which huge masses of loose rock accumulate here. When saturated with water, they move down the slope, causing numerous landslides. Depending on
from a factor that increases the sliding of rocks, in particular, their erosion by the waters of the sea, rivers, or as a result
artificial pruning of slopes, respectively."
landslides are abrasive, erosive, anthropogenic and mixed. In the western part of the South Bank I count! over 430 landslides. By number, landslides are erosive (47%) and artificial (36%), and by area - abrasive (34%). Unfortunately, they affect relatively gentle (12-14°) slopes consisting of fine earth, which are the best in the region for human development. Excessive watering of land, loss of tap or sewer water activate landslides.
The region is a sloping lowland, heavily indented by deep river valleys, gullies and ravines. A notable feature of it is the presence of inclined tectonic, landslide, and river terraces. In valleys they are inclined towards the riverbed and towards the sea, and in watershed areas - towards the sea. The terraced surface somewhat softens the steepness of the low mountains and makes it more favorable for economic development.
The climate of the region is sub-Mediterranean hot, in the west it is arid, with moderately warm winters, and in the east it is very dry, with very mild winters 7 . The sums of active air temperatures above 10 °C are the highest in Crimea, amounting to 3940° in the west of the region and 3680° in the east, and above 15° - 3245° and 3030°, respectively (Table 9). The moisture content of parts of the region depends both on differences in precipitation amounts and on the number and flow rates of local sources. In turn, they are largely influenced by tectonic fragmentation, fracturing of limestones and the slopes of the underlying limestone aquifer. Due to a combination of these reasons, there are large local differences in the formation of source waters. For example, in the Batiliman-Laspinsky district there are 12 springs on an area of 15 km 2, and in Simeiz-Miskhorsky on an area of 37 km 2 there are 225. The number and activity of local landslides depends on the degree of water flow.
In the region, the most common soils are brown with local differences in the degrees of carbonate, gravel content, thickness and humus content, as well as partly brown mountain forest soils. The vegetation cover is formed mainly by shiblyaki and juniper-oak woodlands. Drought-resistant thickets are widespread here.
herbs and subshrubs, typical of the eastern Mediterranean communities - frygans. They occupy dry, open, rocky slopes and consist mainly of species of milkweed, dubrovnik, thyme, sage, astragalus uncinate, asphodeline, mad cucumber, capers, etc.
Low-trunked juniper-oak forests with evergreen undergrowth are characteristic of the western part of the South Coast. To the east of Alushta, shibliak and freegan thickets are more widespread, mostly of anthropogenic origin. Oak shiblyaks are characteristic of the entire belt, juniper-oak ones - for places consisting mostly of Massandra deposits, and oak-pistachio ones - for coastal habitats. The Shibliks of the western part of the belt have a relatively well-closed layer of trees and shrubs and their composition includes evergreen plants of the Crimean flora, which makes them remotely similar to the maquis communities of the Mediterranean countries. To the east of Alushta there is a gradual transition (especially in the area between the villages of Privetnoye and Morskoye) from tree and shrub vegetation to herbaceous vegetation. Significantly changed vegetation cover of the region has been preserved only in places that are relatively difficult to develop, and the rest of the territory contains grape and tobacco plantations, gardens, parks, settlements, and resort complexes.
The species differences in the modern landscapes of the region are determined by the composition and ratio of the areas of the areas that form them. The most common areas within the belt are:
Rocky lowlands with relict juniper-pine open forest, oak-pistachio shiblyak and maquisoid communities on brown gravelly soils. This is typical for the rocks of Cape Aya and the Laspi area, Stepped landslide lowlands, complicated by large blocks of limestone with juniper-oak forests, oak-hornbeam shibliaks with an undergrowth of evergreens on brown soils. Such properties of nature are characteristic of watershed ridges from rocks of the Massandra formation and limestone massifs: Koshka, Ai-Todor, Ai-Nikola, Krestovaya, G also the stone chaos that forms capes Martyan, Kuchuk-Lambat, Nikolai, Kornilov, etc. Gently sloping landslide coastal lowlands with oak, oak-pistachio shiblyaks and phryganoid thickets
lyes on brown soils. It is typical for the coastal belt of amphitheatres, bays, composed of clayey SLNNs and products of their destruction.
Mountains-laccoliths with broad-leaved forests and oak shiblyaks with an undergrowth of evergreens. These are Ayudag, Kuchuk-Ayu, Kastel, etc. Sloping low mountains, strongly dissected by valleys, gullies and ravines with juniper open forests, oak-pistachio shiblyaks, phryganoid and steppe communities on brown soils. Such areas are most common in the belt from the village. Semidvore to Perchem. Massively-reef-limestone lowlands with relict pine-juniper open forests, phryganoid and petrophytic steppe communities on brown soils. These are areas of the Sudak region and the New World. Inclined terred plains and low mountains ridges with wormwood-grass and feather-grass-fescue steppes, as well as oak-hornbeam shiblyaks on brown, sometimes saline soils. Such areas are most typical for the section of the belt east of the city of Sudak. Ancient coastal lowlands with oak-hornbeam open forests, oak shiblyaks and steppes on brown and brown mountain forest soils. Such properties of nature are typical for Karadag.
Valley-terrace areas with oak and mixed forests, as well as shrub thickets on brown and meadow soils.
Within the region there are two physical-geographical regions: Western and Eastern.
On the southern slope of the Main Ridge and the sea coast there are many interesting unique natural sites, 82 of which are declared protected areas and natural monuments, which is more than half the number of natural monuments in Crimea.
The most remarkable and valuable manifestations of the standards of nature in the lower belt of the ridge, which is part of the Southern Coast region, are protected in two reserves - “Cape Martyan” and “Karadag”. There are also 27 protected landscape and 15 coastal aquatic tracts, which, like nature reserves, are centers of conservation and sources of settlement of valuable relict and endemic species of plants and animals and are unique)! biological communities in general. The largest I1 of them are the rocks of Cape Aya with a grove of Pitsundskop pine and high juniper, the Laspi rocks, Baidaro-Kastro-
Polish, Iphigenia, Ai-Nikola, Krestovaya, Plyushevy ridge, Strawberry ridge, Koshka, Ayudag, Kastel, Karaul-Oba mountains, as well as the Novosvetskoe coast with thickets of Pitsunda pine. A lot of unique man-made things are protected in 17 landscape and park monuments.
The Cape Martyan Nature Reserve occupies 240 hectares, of which 120 hectares are in the Martyan and Ai-Danil tracts, and the rest are in the marine zone. An area of relict forest landscape of the Mediterranean type is being protected (there are almost no such forests left in the Mediterranean countries). Over 500 species of higher flowering plants grow here in a small area, 14 of which are endemic. A section of the former juniper forest is especially protected. Three of its relict species - tall juniper, small-fruited strawberry and goat's lichen are listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A number of species are included in the Red Books of the USSR and Ukrainian SSR. Its typical southern coastal fauna is also subject to protection. The reserve is a valuable reserve of a unique Mediterranean landscape in the very center of a vast resort area.
The Karadag Nature Reserve occupies 2855 hectares, of which 809 hectares are in the Black Sea. The nature of the mountain group is being protected, which is a unique well-preserved fragment of a giant volcanic massif of the Jurassic period, most of which is now below sea level. Within the reserve, located in the border zone of a number of landscape regions of Crimea, forest, forest-steppe and steppe landscape complexes are uniquely combined. This unique museum houses over 100 types of minerals and rocks, and 1023 species of vascular plants grow on its territory, of which 58 are endemic. The fauna is also diverse, consisting of 27 species of mammals, 76 birds, 3 amphibians and 7 species of reptiles. The world of insects is especially rich, numbering several thousand species - over 1 thousand species of butterflies alone live here 19 .
The South Coast parks, which occupy more than 1,067 hectares of the region, are wonderful monuments to the co-creation of man and nature. 17 of them are declared monuments of landscape art. About 200 species and forms of tree and shrub plants grow in Forosskoye and Alupkinskoye; in Miskhorsky - 100, Livadiy-
skom - 400, Massandrovsky - 250, Gurzufsky - 110, Kiparisny - 180, Utes-Karasansky - over 220. The arboretum of the Nikitsky Garden - a scientific center for the breeding of new and introduction of useful plants - stands out especially. There are 1866 species, varieties and forms of trees and shrubs.
Crimea is a health resort of all-Union and international significance, a region of highly developed industries, agriculture, resort and health resorts, which continues to develop and intensively develop more and more new landscape complexes of the peninsula. In this regard, further scientific research and energetic actions are needed aimed at constantly regulating the combination of production, recreational and environmental functions of each landscape.
The zone of foothill and mountainous regions of Crimea is characterized by a wide variety of natural complexes. The mountainous Crimea consists of three parallel, separated by undulating, rugged valleys, which stretch from the south west to the north east for 160 km. Climatic conditions, vegetation and soil cover show vertical zonation here. There are three physical-geographical regions - the Foothills, the Main Ridge and the Southern Coast of Crimea. In the steppe foothills, 12-30 km wide, the terrain gradually rises to the south from 120 to 220 m above sea level. The northern slopes are gentle and flat, while the southern slopes are steep and sheer with rock outcroppings. The parent rock in the western part of the foothills consists of forest-like loams, and in the eastern
from dense waterproof clay and weathering products of limestone. The vegetation in the foothills is steppe feather grass, fescue, wheatgrass; to the south, with an ascent to sea level, it changes to forest-steppe. The relief is low-mountain, hilly watersheds with deeply indented river valleys with limestone outcrops.
Soil cover of the zone
In the steppe foothills, soils of the chernozem type were formed. Among them, ordinary micellar-carbonate chernozems predominate. their total area is 513.7 thousand hectares, including 230.8 thousand hectares under cultivation. The humus layer up to 40 cm deep, which contains up to 6% humus, has a granular-grainy structure and an alkaline reaction.
Soddy-carbonate mountain-forest-steppe soils have a profile up to 80 cm deep with a humus content of 2.5-3.5%, pH - 7.3-7.8. A significant part of these soils are of varying degrees of undulation.
In the forest-steppe foothills, on the slopes of southern and southwestern exposure, gray mountain-forest-steppe soils, which formed on limestones and shales under shrubby, herbaceous vegetation. The total thickness of the profile of these soils is 6080 cm, the humus layer is 25-30 cm with a content of 3.5-6.2% humus, the reaction is slightly acidic, the amount of removed bases is 27-32 mg. - eq/100 g of soil.
In the mountain forest zone at an altitude of 300 m, brown soils are common on the northern slopes and in the upper part of the southern slopes. The total area is 40 thousand hectares, including arable land - 9 thousand hectares. A more pronounced brown earth soil-forming process in this zone occurs on non-carbonate rocks - shales, sandstones and massive crystalline sediments. In such soils, genetic horizons are visible; carbonates are not consistent across the entire profile. In the southern coastal strip, after the destruction of forests under the influence of herbaceous vegetation and a change in hydrothermal conditions, brown soils acquired signs of steppe formation.
Brown soils are occupied mainly by beech forests.
On the southern coast of Crimea, brown soils have formed under steppe and green woody vegetation. The general characteristics of these soils are the following: they were formed under the vegetation of dry forests and shrubs in semi-dry subtropical conditions, have a compacted transitional horizon, are carbonate or weakly grassy.
These soils are humus-rich to a depth of 25-30 cm and have a grayish-brown color. Brown soils occupy slopes up to 500 m above sea level and stretch in a strip 6-8 km wide. their total area is 41.8 thousand hectares, including 7.2 thousand hectares under cultivation. The soils have a slightly acidic reaction and are not consistent throughout the entire profile; the humus content is about 6.5%.
In the Foothill zone and on the southern coast of Crimea, it is necessary to carry out anti-erosion measures.
All soils of the mountainous Crimea, especially irrigated ones, respond well to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers, the norms of which are determined by technological maps for growing zoned crops.
Climatic conditions of the Mountain Crimea
The zone of foothill and mountainous regions of Crimea is characterized by a wide variety of natural complexes. The average annual precipitation ranges from 300 to 1000 mm, and in some dry years - 150 to 500 mm; in moistened ones - from 500 to 1600 mm. The average annual air temperature on the mountain tops is + 4 0C, and in some places on the Black Sea coast - + 13.9 0C.
The climate in the western part of the foothills is warm, subsurface, the average annual temperature is +10-12 0C, and to the west it becomes drier and cooler and drops to 8-10 0C.
The most extensive Main Ridge, which stretches from the metro station of Sevastopol to the metro station of Feodosia. The vegetation is predominantly forest, the climate is cool. The southern slope warms up intensively, the average annual temperature at an altitude of 400-500 m is +11...+14 T, and above 800-900 m - +4...+8 0C. Annual precipitation is within 550-750 mm. The terrain is complex, with well-defined landslide phenomena. The natural vegetation that remains is low-growing spruce-oak forests and shrubs, and downy oak.
The southern coast of Crimea has a complex geological structure. Jurassic limestones and sedimentary rocks, sandstones and shales come to the surface. The relief is also complex, with pronounced shifts. The average annual temperature + 11...+14 0C gradually decreases to the east, in February in this direction it decreases from +3.5 to +1.9, and in July about +23 C. Annual precipitation is in the range of 223-557 mm, which is significantly less evaporation.
The area of specialization in this zone is cattle breeding, sheep breeding, poultry farming, and in agriculture - viticulture, fruit growing, cultivation of essential oil crops, tobacco, vegetables, and fodder crops.