Continental inland salt steppe

Salt steppes (also called alkali steppes) occur on plains in the Eurasian steppe and forest-steppe zones from the Great Hungarian Plain and adjacent areas through the Danube Lowland in Romania and Bulgaria to Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The matrix of the salt steppe is formed of steppe grassland dominated by Festuca pseudovina and Artemisia santonicum and grassland of Puccinellia distans agg. at muddy sites that are wet or shallowly flooded in spring but dry out for long periods in summer. Often these grasslands are open and species-poor. On less saline soils, generalist halo-tolerant species are common, including Bromus hordeaceus, Elymus repens, Inula britannica, Plantago lanceolata and Poa bulbosa. With increasing salt concentration, these species become rarer while obligate or facultative halophytes increase in frequency, for example Cerastium dubium, Plantago maritima, Scorzonera cana and Tripolium pannonicum.

Within this saline grassland matrix, patches of one to few square metres with different saline vegetation occur, reflecting small differences in microtopographic position and salt concentration: (1) species-poor to single-species stands of the annual chenopod Camphorosma annua are found in small depressions with very high salt concentration and nearly bare soil in Hungary and adjacent countries; (2) stands of perennial Camphorosma monspeliaca are found in similar habitats in Macedonia and Bulgaria, however, this vegetation can also be found on steep slopes and slope bases; (3) patches of open vegetation with Pholiurus pannonicus and Plantago tenuiflora are found in erosion troughs that are flooded in spring, but dry out for a long period in summer. Finally, species-poor stands of annual grasses Crypsis aculeata and Heleochloa schoenoides occur on bottoms of shallow saline lakes that are subject to slow draining in late spring and summer, but such communities are considered under habitat C3.5c.

This habitat occurs on Solonetz soils, which are characterized by high concentration of easily soluble salts, especially sodium and potassium carbonates. These soils are wet in spring and can be locally shallowly flooded, however they are dry in summer when polygonal cracks often appear on the surface. The columnar structure of the Solonetz soils and erosion by floods causes the development of complex microtopography of the salt steppe.

Salt steppes have traditionally been used as livestock pastures and this management continues in many areas until the present. They are less sensitive to overgrazing or abandonment than other types of lowland grasslands, because on the one hand they are well-adapted to disturbance and have a high resilience, and on the other hand competitive species have reduced ability to spread in saline habitats.

Large areas of salt steppe were destroyed or strongly altered by attempts of their agricultural improvement such as ploughing, fertilizing or drainage. On drained habitats salt concentration decreases and competitive non-halophytic grasses and dicots can spread. If this is combined with cessation of grazing, the salt steppe can change into closed grasslands composed of generalist non-halophytic species. On the other hand, some floodplain meadows changed into salt steppe after artificial drainage. These secondary salt steppes lack the microtopography typical of primary salt steppes and contain some species of floodplain meadows.

Indicators of good quality:

• Presence of obligate halophytic species
• Presence of typical microtopography of the salt steppe
• Existence in the grassland matrix of small patches with extreme ecology (spring flooding or very high salt concentration) and occurrence of specialist species
• Moisture regime with wet soils in spring that dry out in summer
• No spread of ruderal or competitive generalist herb species
• Absence of the species of floodplain meadows
• Absence of strong overgrazing
• Large continuous area of this habitat

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats