Stone steppe is a state nature reserve. Its vast territory, more than 5 thousand hectares, is located in the Voronezh region of the Talovsky district. It received its current status of a reserve on May 25, 1996 by a Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. Its peculiarity is that thanks to the activity of human hands, it was possible to preserve here both classic black earth soils and pristine steppe areas.
Steppe spaces
Nature has made many generous gifts to Russia: rivers and mountains, minerals and endless forests. Few people consider all this to be such a rich gift, and even more so - the fertile soil cover. The central Chernozem region of the country today includes five regions: Kursk, Lipetsk, Belgorod, Tambov and Voronezh.
These rich lands have long been inhabited by tillers, but their number in the forest-steppe areas was small. The harvest was more than enough for the locals not toto live in poverty. But the raids of the steppe nomads led the land into decline, they passed from hand to hand of different tribes: Alans, Khazars, Pechenegs. It was the territory of a huge virgin forest-steppe.
During the formation and strengthening of the Muscovite state here, on its southern borders, fortress cities appear: Voronezh and Belgorod. Since the 18th century, Russia began to actively develop this territory. The lands are plowed up, including the Stone Steppe, the harvest is sent to the central regions.
World Expo in Paris
In 1889, Russia was honored: she was invited to take part in the annual International Exhibition of Achievements of Science and Technology. The successes of European states in this direction were sensational.
The highlight of the press called electricity. Steam engines, textile machines, and a Benz car were presented. The famous Eiffel Tower was the entrance gate to several museum pavilions. At the end of the exhibition, it was planned to be dismantled. And how could Russia surprise the world community?
What is black soil?
Geologist and soil scientist VV Dokuchaev showed a collection of Russian soils in the agricultural exposition. For the first time in Paris, soil samples, maps and printed, scientific works were presented. V. I. Vernadsky helped Vasily Vasilyevich. These names of great scientists will be closely associated with the Voronezh Stone Steppe.
The central place in the exposition at the exhibition was occupied by a monolith of chernozem, carved in the shape of a cube. It was carefully coveredglass dome. The rest of the collection is laid out around it. This sample, taken from the soil in the central Chernozem region of Russia, contained up to 10% humus. So at this exhibition, the scientific world entered into the classification of the natural world of Carl Linnaeus, consisting of three kingdoms, animal, vegetable and mineral, the fourth - the kingdom of soil.
The Department of Russian Soils was awarded the gold medal of the exhibition, and V. V. Dokuchaev was awarded the Order of Merit in Agriculture.
Why are crops falling?
The crops that were gathered in the regions of the black earth steppes beat all conceivable records. More and more land went under arable land. For this, the primary virgin lands were plowed up, forests were cut down, which led to the disappearance of animals and birds, to the shallowing of rivers. For unknown reasons, the yield of the fields began to decline, the crops died.
And 10 years after the famous exhibition, a terrible disaster struck Russia. A severe drought ruined the harvest in 20 black earth provinces. A famine began in the country, from which entire families and settlements died.
In such a difficult situation, Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev was finally heard. He was able to convince his colleagues and the government of the country that the impoverishment of land is the result of its thoughtless use. He was sure that everything was spoiled by the man himself, "…grossly violating the natural bonds within a single, inseparable nature."
Beginning of the "Special Expedition of the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property"
June 4 (May 22, old style), 1892, the “Specialexpedition … , headed by Professor of St. Petersburg University V. V. Dokuchaev. The aim of the work was to conduct a series of experiments in order to obtain evidence of the possibility of human climate change and aridity reduction.
For the purity of the experiment, areas far from rivers, in low-water areas, most exposed to dust storms, were chosen. One of the three experimental territories was the Kamennaya steppe of the Voronezh region of the Talovsky district. An action plan was developed to achieve the set goal. Today it is called forest reclamation.
Special Expedition… Activities
Why were the forests ruthlessly cut down? Yes, because new arable land was required. And scientists were convinced that trees, absorbing a huge amount of water by their roots, gradually lower the level of groundwater. The first step in restoring the vital activity of nature was the laying of forest belts.
In order to conduct regular observations (today we would say - constant monitoring), along with planting trees, wells were made to document or refute the conclusions of scientists. One of them still works today, it bears the name "Dokuchaevsky Well". Ahead of events, it should be said that over the past years, the water level in the Kamennaya Steppe of the Voronezh Region has risen by 10 meters. Now some areas even need drainage.
Protective forest belts and artificial reservoirs
Great work has begunplanting trees, strengthening ravines and gullies. In a short time, 80 experimental works were carried out on 43 protective belts, which allowed foresters to develop tactics for steppe foresting. This has never been done before. The technology for planting and caring for trees was determined, the sizes of the strips that were optimal for these places were calculated, and the most suitable types of trees were identified.
In the Stone Steppe, the oak turned out to be such a tree. It was used as the main breed. But it is a tree that cannot grow alone. The best "companions" under these conditions were selected for him. In addition, the oak does not grow quickly, and the task had to be solved at an accelerated pace.
In 1899, forestry was organized on the basis of the Dokuchaev forest belts. It continued the experimental work that had begun, and the Stone Steppe of the Talovsky District acquired the status of a scientific object.
The terrain was used to create cascading ponds. The work carried out allowed rain or melt water not to roll down in useless quick-drying streams, but to collect in special storage tanks. This, by the way, reduced the degree of formation of ravines in the area.
Water volumes began to raise the level of groundwater and contributed to the creation of a microclimate. The first obvious results of the "Special Expedition" have appeared.
When the thunder strikes
There was enough bread in Russia, and the terrible hungry years began to be forgotten. Funding for the work of the "Special Expedition …" became less and less. In 1897, Vasily Vasilyevich fell ill, work for some timecontinued by inertia and ceased in 1909.
Thunder struck. Rather, quite the opposite. The drought that came in 1911 was just as bad as it had been twenty years earlier. In the Stone Steppe near Voronezh, an experimental agricultural station named after V. V. Dokuchaev was urgently re-established.
But until the 1920s, the Dokuchaevsky oasis was going through hard times. The difficult situation in the country, the lack of an authoritative leader and funding almost nullified many years of work. There were those who even wanted to start cutting down "obsolete" trees. But in the 1920s, Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov came to the management of the station and the revival of the facility began.
The steppe is wide, the steppe is wide
A well-known scientist invited his colleagues who left there to return to work, replenished the staff with young and talented people. Scientific work has gained momentum.
K. E. Sobenevsky proved that there are no "obsolete" forest belts in the "oasis", oaks can stand almost forever. Testing of trees suitable for forest plantations continued. A "corridor" method of planting oaks was invented.
In 1927, an unusually shaped arboretum was founded. Paths radiated from the central circle. Each sector formed in this way was planted with plants from a certain part of the world.
In these years, work was begun on the selection of agricultural crops, which was picked up by the current Institute of Agriculture of the Central Black Earth Strip named after. V. V. Dokuchaev, located in the Stone Steppe of the Voronezh RegionTalovsky district. The best varieties of wheat, corn, sunflower, soybeans and other crops are created here.
In the post-war years, the Stone Steppe reached the level of maximum return on labor invested in it. The steppe landscape maintained by human labor was adjacent to agricultural land. They didn't interfere with each other. Moreover, the drought of 1946 passed for this territory with the least losses. The harvest on the fields of the Kamennaya Steppe near Buturlinovka was 3-4 times higher than in other territories.
Stalin's post-war plan for the transformation of nature was based on materials and scientific conclusions made by the staff of the Research Institute.
Walking along the Stone Steppe
How are things today? Tour operators of the Voronezh region offer sightseeing trips to the Stone Steppe. Several routes of different lengths have been laid here, allowing you to see all the most remarkable. Hiking trails are laid out so as not to damage the Dokuchaev oasis.
Tiered forests have grown and reached a height of more than 20 meters. The top tier is, of course, oak and maple. Beneath them are lindens and apple trees. Further bird cherry and acacia. The man-made forest has become a real one. Woodpeckers appeared here, birds that do not live outside the forest. In general, more than 100 species of birds nest in the "oasis". There are many animals in the forests: from wild boars to hamsters.
The water, also man-made, system requires separate words. Forest lakes, surrounded by trees, do not let a single drop of water go to waste. Their size is so impressivewhat the locals call some of them seas.
