Modern State of Land Resources and Analysis of the Level of Ruralization within the Steppe Regions in the Asian Part of Russia

Abstract

Landscapes of the steppe zone in Asian part of Russia have undergone a large-scale agricultural development, experienced a negative effect due to agrarian-economical activity for last 2 centuries. The Virgin Land Campaign, aftermaths of which formed a complex of problems having the national character, was the brightest example of fatal anthropogenic transformation of steppe landscapes. A reduction of agricultural use of the territory due to economical crisis in 1990-s promoted to decrease a bit the anthropogenic load. To reveal peculiarities and disproportions of a land resources use in the steppe territories of the Asian part of Russia, a retrospective analysis of a state and special features of the land fund structure was conducted within 8 subjects of RF: Orenburgskaya, Chelyabinskaya, Kurganskaya, Tyumenskaya, Omskaya, Novosibirskaya oblasts, the Republic of Bashkortostan and Altaisky Kray. Indicators of rural and agricultural population for 1995-2008 were analyzed on the base of a ratio on which a level of ruralization within the studied regions was calculated. As a result, a schematic map was built to visualize spatial distribution and interconnections between indicators of the square of arable lands, the level of ruralization and the structure of agricultural lands. Keywordsland fund; level of ruralization; virgin lands developmet; steppe regions; Asian part of Russia.