View source for Steppe

{{Short description|Ecoregion of plain grasslands without trees}}
{{About|the ecological zone type}}
{{Wikt|steppe}}
{{Mim|image1=BS climate.png|direction=vertical|caption1=Two types of steppes, classified by climate:{{legend|#FFDB63|[[BSk|Cold steppe climate]]}}{{legend|#F5A301|[[BSh|Hot steppe climate]]}}|image2=Eurasian steppe belt.jpg|caption2=The [[Great Eurasian Steppe]] (highlighted in {{Colorsample|#AAEEFF}} on the map), acted as a passageway for cultures across the vast [[Eurasia]]n landmass.}}

In [[physical geography]], a '''steppe''' ({{IPAc-en|s|t|ɛ|p}}) is an [[ecoregion]] characterized by [[grassland]] [[plain]]s without closed [[forest]]s except near rivers and lakes.<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book
 | last1 = Chibilyov
 | first1 = Alexander
 | year = 2002
 | chapter = Steppe and Forest-steppe
 | editor1-last = Shahgedanova
 | editor1-first = Maria
 | title = The Physical Geography of Northern Eurasia
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3VznhD-4A_IC
 | series = Oxford regional environments
 | volume = 3
 | edition = reprint
 | location = Oxford
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | publication-date = 2003
 | page = 248
 | isbn = 978-0-19-823384-8
 | access-date = 30 January 2020
 | quote = There are many definitions of steppes. For example, Allan (1946) provides fifty-four definitions of this term. Stamp and Clark (1979) define steppes as 'mid-latitude areas dominated by herbaceous vegetation and termed locally steppes, prairies, pampas, high veldts, downland, etc.'
}}
</ref>

Steppe [[biome]]s may include:

* the [[montane grasslands and shrublands]] biome
* the [[tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]] biome 
* the [[temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]] biome 

A steppe is usually covered with [[Poaceae |grass]] and [[shrub]]s, depending on the [[season]] and [[latitude]]. The term ''steppe climate'' denotes a [[semi-arid climate]], which is too dry to support a [[forest]], but not dry enough to be a [[desert]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Costa |first=Daniel |date=2024 |title=Steppe |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/steppe-grassland |work=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Steppe |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/steppe/ |publisher=National Geographic}}</ref>

Steppes are characterized by a semi-arid or [[continental climate|continental]] climate. Temperature extremes can be recorded in the summer of up to {{convert|45|C|F|round= 5}} and in winter of down to {{convert|-55|C|F|round= 5}}. Besides this major seasonal difference, fluctuations between day and night are also significant: in both the highlands of [[Mongolia]] and northern [[Nevada]], {{convert|30|C|F|round= 5}} can be reached during the day with sub-freezing readings at night.

Steppes average {{cvt|250-500|mm|in|0}} of annual [[Precipitation (meteorology)| precipitation]] and feature hot summers and cold winters when located in mid-latitudes. In addition to the precipitation level, its combination with [[Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration|potential evapotranspiration]] defines a steppe climate.

== Classification ==
Steppe can be classified by climate:<ref name= ecoregions>{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/land/pubs/ecoregions/ecoregions.html|title=Ecoregions of the United States-Ecological Subregions of the United States|publisher= [[U.S. Forest Service]], [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]|website= fs.usda.gov| access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref> 
* Temperate steppe: the ''true'' steppe, found in [[Humid continental climate#Vegetation|continental climate]]s can be further subdivided, as in the [[Rocky Mountains]] Steppes<ref name="ecoregions"/>
* Subtropical steppe: a similar association of plants occurring in the driest areas with a [[Mediterranean climate]]; it usually has a short wet period

It can also be classified by vegetation type, e.g. [[shrub-steppe]] and [[alpine-steppe]].

===Cold steppe===

The world's largest steppe region, often referred to as "the [[Eurasian Steppe|Great Steppe]]", is found in [[Eastern Europe]] and [[Central Asia]], found in countries stretching from [[Ukraine]] in the west through [[Russia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]] to the [[Altay Mountains|Altai]], [[Koppet Dag]] and [[Tian Shan]] ranges in [[China]]. The Eurasian Steppe had a significant role in the spread of the horse, the wheel and [[Indo-European languages]].<ref>{{cite book
 |last1                = Anthony
 |first1               = David W.
 |author-link1         = David W. Anthony
 |orig-date            = 2007
 |title                = The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
 |date = 15 August 2010
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=nLIufwC4szwC
 |edition              = reprint
 |location             = Princeton
 |publisher            = Princeton University Press
 |publication-date     = 2010
 |isbn                 = 978-0-691-14818-2
 |access-date          = 12 June 2022
 |page                 = 240
 |quote                = [...] the critical era when innovative Proto-Indo-European dialects began to spread across the steppes.
}} </ref> In the Eurasian steppe, [[soil]]s often consist of [[chernozem]].

The inner parts of [[Anatolia]] in [[Turkey]], [[Central Anatolia]] and [[East Anatolia]] in particular and also some parts of [[Southeast Anatolia]], as well as much of [[Armenia]] and [[Iran]] are largely dominated by cold steppe.

The [[Pannonian Plain]] is another steppe region in [[Central Europe]], centered in [[Hungary]] but also including portions of [[Slovakia]], [[Poland]], [[Ukraine]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]], [[Croatia]], [[Slovenia]], and [[Austria]]. Another large steppe area ([[prairie]]) is located in the central [[United States]], [[western Canada]] and the northern part of [[Mexico]]. The [[shortgrass prairie]] steppe is the westernmost part of the [[Great Plains]] region. The [[Columbia Plateau (ecoregion)|Columbia Plateau]] in southern [[British Columbia]], [[Oregon]], [[Idaho]], and [[Washington (state)|Washington state]], is an example of a steppe region in [[North America]] outside of the Great Plains.

In [[South America]], cold steppe can be found in [[Patagonia]] and much of the high elevation regions east of the southern [[Andes]].

Relatively small steppe areas can be found in the interior of the [[South Island]] of [[New Zealand]].

In [[Australia]], a moderately sized temperate steppe region exists in the northern and northwest regions of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], extending to the southern and mid regions of [[New South Wales]]. This area borders the semi-arid and arid Australian [[Outback]] which is found farther inland on the continent.

===Subtropical steppe===
In [[Europe]], some [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] areas have a steppe-like vegetation, such as central [[Sicily]] in [[Italy]], southern [[Portugal]], parts of [[Greece]] in the southern [[Athens]] area,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Hellenic National Meteorological Service |location=Greece |url=http://www.hnms.gr/hnms/english/climatology/climatology_region_diagrams_html?dr_city=Athens_Hellinikon&dr_region=ClimAttiki |title=Hellinikon |website=HNMS.gr |access-date=2013-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312064300/http://www.hnms.gr/hnms/english/climatology/climatology_region_diagrams_html?dr_city=Athens_Hellinikon&dr_region=ClimAttiki |archive-date=2007-03-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and central-eastern [[Spain]], especially the southeastern coast (around [[Murcia]]), and places cut off from adequate moisture due to [[rain shadow]] effects such as [[Zaragoza]].

In northern [[Africa]], the [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] area also hosts the same steppe-like vegetation, such as the Algerian-Moroccan [[Hautes Plaines]] and by extension the [[North Saharan steppe and woodlands]].

In [[Asia]], a subtropical steppe can be found in semi-arid lands that fringe the [[Thar Desert]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]] as well as much of the [[Deccan Plateau]]  in the rain shadow of the [[Western Ghats]], and the [[Badia (region)|Badia]] of the [[Levant]].

In [[Australia]], subtropical steppe can be found in a belt surrounding the most severe deserts of the continent and around the [[Musgrave Ranges]].

In [[North America]] this environment is typical of transition areas between zones with a Mediterranean climate and true deserts, such as [[Reno, Nevada]], the inner part of [[California]], and much of [[West Texas|western Texas]] and adjacent areas in Mexico.

== Human impact ==
Humans have severe impacts on their environments. Among many examples the following two give only an impression.

* The formation of the forest steppe of Eastern Europe in the fourth millennium BC appeared in the context of the [[Cucuteni–Trypillia culture|Trypillia culture]] and very probably, the economy of this culture with its large settlements contributed to the process.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kirleis |first1=Wiebke |last2=Corso |first2=Marta Dal |last3=Pashkevych |first3=Galyna |last4=Schlütz |first4=Frank |last5=Hofmann |first5=Robert |last6=Terna |first6=Andreea |last7=Dreibrodt |first7=Stefan |last8=Rud |first8=Vitalii |last9=Videiko |first9=Mykhailo Y. |last10=Müller |first10=Johannes |date=2024-01-01 |title=A complex subsistence regime revealed for Cucuteni–Trypillia sites in Chalcolithic eastern Europe based on new and old macrobotanical data |journal=Vegetation History and Archaeobotany |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=75–90 |doi=10.1007/s00334-023-00936-y |bibcode=2024VegHA..33...75K |issn=1617-6278|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* The formation of the [[Błędów Desert]] in Poland in the Middle Ages was certainly man-made.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ecology of a Mining Town: Evolution of Environment, Society and Economy from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period |url=https://www.roots-compass.org/welcome?project=23 |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=www.roots-compass.org}}</ref>

<gallery class="center">
Naadam rider 2.jpg| Steppe in [[Mongolia]]
Steppe of western Kazakhstan in the early spring.jpg| Steppe in [[Kazakhstan]]
Чубовская степь.JPG|Steppe in [[Russia]]
Hortobágy.jpg|Steppe in [[Hungary]]
Patagonian plains argentina.jpg|Cold [[Patagonia]]n steppe near [[Fitz Roy]], Argentina
Prairie Alberta.jpg|Prairie in [[Alberta]], Canada
2013-07-04 15 37 14 Sagebrush-steppe along U.S. Route 93 in central Elko County in Nevada.jpg|[[Sagebrush steppe]] in northeastern [[Nevada]] ([[U.S. Route 93 in Nevada|U.S. Route 93]])
West Texas Hwy 302 west of NoTrees.jpg| Steppe in [[West Texas]]
</gallery>

==Notable fauna==
{{Empty section|date=February 2026}}

- [[Saiga]] (''Saiga tatarica'')

- [[Red deer]] (''Cervus elaphus'')

- [[Western roe deer]] (''Capreolus capreolus'')

- [[Eastern roe deer]] (''Capreolus pygargus'')

- [[Reindeer]] (''Rangifer tarandus'')

- [[Onager]] (''Equus hemionus'')

- [[Wild horse]] (''Equus ferus'')

- [[Grey wolf]] (''Canis lupus'')

- [[Corsac fox]] (''Vulpes corsac'')

- [[Red fox]] (''Vulpes vuples'')

- [[Pallas’s cat]] (''Otocolobus manul'')

- [[Brown bear]] (''Ursus arctos'')

- [[Common buzzard]] (''Buteo buteo'')

- [[Steppe polecat]] (''Mustela eversmanii'')

- [[Marbled polecat]] (''Vormela peregusna'')

- [[Ermine]] (Stoat) (''Mustela erminea'')

- [[Steppe eagle]] (''Aquila nipalensis'')

- [[Lesser kestrel]] (''Falco naumanni'')

==See also==
*[[Mammoth steppe]]
*[[Grassland]]
*[[Plain]]
*[[Prairie]]
*[[Savanna]]
*[[Tugay]]
*[[Tundra]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*[http://www.hbw.com/lynx/en/lynx-edicions/monografias-naturaleza/MON0009-ecology-conservation-steppe-land-birds.html ''Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-land Birds''] by Manuel B.Morales, Santi Mañosa, Jordi Camprodón, Gerard Bota. International Symposium on Ecology and Conservation of steppe-land birds. Lleida, Spain. December 2004.{{ISBN|978-84-87334-99-3}}

{{wikt | steppe}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Steppes}}
* {{cite web|title=The Steppes|url=http://www.barrameda.com.ar/ecology/the-steppes.htm|publisher=barramedasoft.com.ar|date=1998–2008|access-date=2008-04-04}}

{{Vegetation}}
{{Earth's landforms}}
{{Biomes}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grasslands]]
[[Category:Montane grasslands and shrublands]]
[[Category:Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]]
[[Category:Ecoregions]]
[[Category:Plains]]
[[Category:Prairies]]