ri^ DE GRUYTER OPEN HACQUETIA 14/1 • 2015, 65-78 DOI: 10.1515/hacq-2015-0016 ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS OF STEPPE LANDSCAPES NEAR LAKE BAIKAL Julia V. VANTEEVA1 & Svetlana V. SOLODYANKINAi Abstract Recreational activity has a significant impact on the Priol'khonie steppes and forest steppes, which are part of the Pribaikalskyi national Park (western coast of Lake Baikal, russia). the aim of this investigation is the assessment of different landscapes' values for the provision of ecosystems functions and services. To meet these objectives, fieldwork was conducted in the Priol'khonie steppes and forest steppes during the summer of 2013. the function of phytomass formation was considered for different land-cover types identified in the area, and the above-ground phytomass and inter-rill erosion were measured. the level of landscape degradation was estimated and draft maps of phytomass stocks and vulnerability to soil erosion of the investigated area were compiled. To show the dependence between the studied ecosystem functions and the ecosystem services provided by them, a scoring of the latter was made. it was found that characteristics of ecosystem functions varied significantly in the steppes of the Priol'khonie. Keywords: clipping, ecosystem service, forest steppe, phytomass stock, rainfall simulation, russia, soil erosion. Izvleček na stepe v Priolhonju in gozdne stepe, ki so del nacionalnega parka Pribajkalskij (zahodna obala bajkalskega jezera, rusija) imajo pomemben vpliv rekreacijske aktivnosti. namen raziskave je ocena različnih vrednosti krajine za zagotavljanje ekosistemskih funkcij in uslug. izvedli smo terenske raziskave v stepi Priolhonje in gozdnih stepah poleti leta 2013. za različne krajine smo v raziskovanem območju ocenili funkcijo nastanka fi-tomase in izmerili nadzemno fitomaso in erozijo med jarki. ocenili smo stopnjo degradacije krajine in naredili karto zaloge fitomase in ranljivosti zaradi erozije tal raziskovanega območja. Da bi prikazali odvisnost med obravnavanimi ekosistemskimi funkcijami in ekosistemskimi uslugami, ki jih le-te zagotavljajo, smo slednje ovrednotili. ugotovili smo, da se značilnosti ekosistemskih funkcij v stepi v Priolhonju značilno razlikujejo. Ključne besede: rezanje, ekosistemske usluge, gozdna stepa, zaloga fitomase, simulacija padavin, rusija, erozija tal. 1. introduction ecosystem functions can be the basis for the de- velopment of land-use regulations and manage-ecosystem functions are factors of life mainte- ment, landscape-planning and the assessment of nance. ecosystem functions are the biological, ge- ecosystem services (kachergis et al. 2011). ochemical and physical processes that take place Lake baikal (Russia) and the surrounding within an ecosystem (Mace et al. 2012, Maynard terrestrial ecosystems, play an important role in et al. 2014). such functions as production of bio- forming local nature conditions. Its catchment mass, hydrological and nutrient cycles play im- basin has a high biodiversity, with more than portant roles in the provision of ecosystem servic- 2,500 species of vascular plants (Pleshanov et al. es. Maintaining ecosystem functions is important 1990, savenkova 2001), for instance, and many of to support the capacity of the region to provide these species are indigenous to the region (berkin ecosystem services. Identification of indicators of et al. 2009). 1 V. B. sochava Institute of Geography sB RAs, 1, Ulan-batorskaya st., Irkutsk, Russia, 664033, ula.vant@mail.ru, sveta@irigs.irk.ru The number of tourists in the region has increased significantly during the last 5-10 years. The Priol'khonie region and Island ol'khon, Chivyirkuyskiy Bay, Posol'skiy sor and the settlements of Listvyanka and sludyanka, are subject to the strongest recreational pressures (Figure 1). uncontrolled recreational activities have a significant impact on the Priol'khonie region (the west coast of Lake baikal). in the baikal basin, the steppes are only located in the Priol'khonie region. According to government data (olkhon District' administration 2012), about half a million people visit the Priol'khonie region every year. More than 75 recreation centers accommodate tourists here. in summer, about 20 children's health camps operate on the coast. The attrac- tiveness of the Priol'khonie is due to its special microclimate, landscape diversity and picturesque nature. the impact of uncontrolled grazing on the steppe has reduced, and some landscapes have had the opportunity to recover. From the early 20th century to the mid 1970-80s, the number of livestock increased, and subsequently reduced in later years (Table 1) (Symenov et al. 2004, Olkhon District' Administration 2012). Table 1: Livestock number changes. Tabela 1: Spremembe števila živine. Year Livestock number (head) 1930 23,291 1980 68,196 2003 15,900 2012 8,279 Figure 1: Lake Baikal and the locations of touristic places with strong pressures to ecosystems: 1 - Priol'khonie plateau (study area), 2 - Island Ol'khon, 3 - Listvyanka settlement, 4 - Sludyanka settlement, 5 - Posol'skiy Sor bay, 6 - Chivyir-kuyskiy bay. Slika 1: Bajkalsko jezero in lokacije turističnih krajev z močnim vplivom na ekosisteme: 1 - Priolhonska planota (raziskovano območje), 2 - otok Olhon, 3 - naselje Listvjanka, 4 - naselje Sljodjanka, 5 - zaliv Posolskij Sor, 6 - zaliv Čiv-jirkujskij. The Priol'khonie steppe and forest steppe are part of the Pribaikalskyi National Park, and consequently nature conservation plays an important role in human activity here. As the landscapes satisfy a diverse range of anthropogenic demands, there are many landmanagement conflicts, in particular, between the Pribaikalskyi National Park and the administration of the area and the local inhabitants. Natural landscapes surrounding Lake baikal provide functions involved in the protection of water quality and water storage, phytomass production and other environment formation functions (for example, microclimate forming by Pri-morskiy range, which acts as a barrier to the movement of air masses and affects the baikal water mass) and others. The water protection function has great importance for the conservation of the unique ecosystems of Lake Baikal. The specific climate and soil conditions and human activity lead to erosion processes in the study area. sediment loads are transferred into Lake Baikal and affect water quality. The estimation of the effects of land-cover, soil type variability and stage of landscape degradation on water runoff and soil erosion has become critically important (Grismer 2011), especially for water quality of Lake Baikal. The study area has a large variety of steppe and forest steppe habitats, differing in the form of relief, soil types, vegetation species composition and degree of anthropogenic impact. These differences fundamentally affect the intensity and effectiveness of ecosystem functioning, which is why the quantification of phytomass and pro- cess of silt transfer by rainfall was conducted for the different steppe and forest steppe land-cover types identified in the study area. The function of phytomass formation and its proactive role in sedimentation and mitigation of silt detachment by rill and inter-rill erosion are considered in this study to be important indicators of the ecosystem functions for steppe and forest steppe habitats. the assessment of the ecosystems' capacity to provide certain ecosystem services (erosion regulation, fodder, wild food, recreation, landscape aesthetic and natural heritage) are conducted. As the study area is intensively used for tourism, we paid particular attention to cultural services. 2. study AREA the steppe and forest steppes of the Priol'khonie were selected as the research area. The study area (19.86 km2) is located on the western shore of Lake Baikal (Kurkutskyi Bay), in the northern part of the Priol'khonie plateau (Figure 1). From the one side the landscape is influenced by the Primorsky Range, serving as an orographic barrier to the movement of air masses from the west, and from the other by the water mass of Lake baikal. The exogenous factors, such as selective denudation, karst, wind erosion and abrasion, affect the formation of the relief. Currently, the relief is represented by denudated low hills with slopes from 3° to 40°. The altitudes of the hills reach 456-990 m a.s.l. (Kasyanova 2004, Zagorskaya 2004). The morphological relief structures consist of waterlogged valley bottoms with shallow lakes, slopes and the ridge. The depth of the slope sediments is low. In some places there are bedrock exposures (Semenova 2000). The climate is continental; summer is dry and warm with heavy rains, and the winter is windy with little snow. The annual rainfall is 200-300 mm, which is the minimum for Lake Baikal. Snow cover reaches a depth of 10-15 cm. The average annual temperature is -1 °C. The thermal growth period (with average daily temperature above 5 °C) is 4-4.5 months (from the second half of May to the end of September) (Semenov et al. 2004). The following types of soil are formed in the dry steppe climate of the Priol'khonie: cher-nozemic and chestnut soils, steppe raw soils, steppe non-calcareous soils, soddy soils and saline soils. The features of chestnut soils are light-textured with a high content of rubble and the absence of gypsum. The non-percolative regime, which was formed under the influence of local climatic conditions and soil-forming processes, is typical for soils of the study area. Only the soil surface is moist (Semenova 2000, Kasyanova 2004). Most of precipitation moisture is carried to the lake with runoff, transferring silt and forming gullies. The steppe landscapes, which cover 75.3 % of the study area, are mainly rocky, occurring on gentle slopes with Festuca spp. and Poa spp. or with Agropyron cristatum L., Koeleria cristata L., Galium verum L. and Stipa spp. on chestnut or soddy shallow soils, which in some places gradually change to forest steppe and larch forest (Figure 2), which cover about 24.7% of the study area. Figure 2: Landscapes of the Priol'khonie: a - Stipa steppe with forb; b - Sparse larch forest steppe with Poa spp. Slika 2: Priolhonska krajina: a - stepa z bodalicami in zelišči; b - redka macesnova gozdna stepa z vrstami rodu Poa spp. The study area has a long period of historical development by Buryat (semi-nomad stock-raising) and Russian (arable farming) ethnic cultures. During the soviet period, this area was intensively used for agriculture. the buryat method of stock-raising, with uncontrolled grazing, is still present here. In the study area, there is only the one settlement with 224 inhabitants, who are mostly employed in tourism during the summer season. 3. methods For quantification of ecosystem functions and scoring of ecosystem services, we used the results of other studies which deal with plant ecology and water exchange of the territory (Kasyanova 2004), landscape structure (zagorskaya 2004), anthropogenic transformation of landscapes (Yevs-tropieva 1999, Ponomarenko 2003). The following spatial materials were used in the research: the land-cover map and relief map (scale 1 : 25,000) compiled by zagorskaya (2004); topographic information (scale 1 : 200,000); fieldwork. The initial land-cover map was prepared 10 years ago. since then, the study area has been intensively developed (the expansion of dwellings, recreation facilities, roads), and there was a need to update the data of land-use and land-cover, to determine its present state. For these purposes, satellite image (spoT 4 7. 11. 2010) processing was made using data from the public cadastral map (2013) and the results of fieldwork. The updated map is presented in figure 3. initial (year 2003) and updated (year 2013) maps of land-cover were compared and the changes in the areas of settlements and recreation facilities during 10 years were calculated by Gis tools. The fieldwork was conducted in the study area during July and August of 2013. Thirty-two study sites (10 m x 10 m), which characterized different steppe and forest steppe (31 land-cover types were determined in the legend of the land-cover map (Figure 3)) were established. The selection of study sites was determined by the following criteria: occurrence in all land-cover types and being the most representative for each land-cover type. The plots (0.25 m2) for measurements of phytomass and transferred silt were selected in each study site. The coordinates of the study sites, and information on relief, vegetation cover and soil char- acteristics (texture, depth of soil horizons, color, and soil moisture) were recorded. Cover scores of herbaceous species in different land-cover types are shown in Table 2. since anthropogenic impacts (grazing, tourism) affect species composition and vegetation cover (Yevstropieva 1999), the level of degradation was also taken into account. The estimation of landscape degradation (Table 2) was based on the classification of Ponomarenko (2003) as follows: stage 1 - the landscape is almost undisturbed. There are only indigenous plant species. The trampling of vegetation cover is minimal (about 5-10%). There are no fire sites. stage 2 - the landscape is partially disturbed. indigenous plant species predominate. The trampling of vegetation cover is 10-20%. There are one to three fire sites in an area of 100 m2. stage 3 - low level of landscape disturbance. Plant species resistant to trampling appear in the vegetation. The trampling of the vegetation cover is 30-50%. There are four to five fire sites in an area of 100 m2. stage 4 - medium disturbed landscape. Plant species resistant to trampling dominate in the vegetation cover. The trampling of the vegetation cover is 60-70%. stage 5 - highly disturbed landscape. There are only species resistant to trampling in the vegetation cover or an area of land completely without vegetation. A total of 80-100% of vegetation cover is trampled. stock phytomass estimation was made to assess the ecosystem function of phytomass formation. The plot for phytomass collection was selected after visual inspection of the study site. The most indicative vegetation parameters (species composition (%), vegetation cover (%)) of certain land-cover types were used as criteria for the designation of the plots. The method of clipping was chosen for the estimation of production of above-ground herbaceous phytomass. This method is frequently applied for phytomass estimation on grasslands and agricultural lands (Ganquelin et al. 1996, Catorci et al. 2009, Deak et al. 2011, Kelemen et al. 2013). Living phytomass (the dead material was separated on the sites) was collected in July 2013, at the peak of biomass production, from thirty-two plots (0.5 m x 0.5 m) for the growing season from different land-cover ra ^ § ^ S ^ o ^ ^ tu tU CU o ^ -B LO m cg o o .a PM ^^ -a IZ) IZ) Cg t^ <4=1 ,o ■ u o r^ . CÜ s^ i ^^ OJ tu OJ ^ ^ O U "ig t^ m ^ t-H ^-I tu <4^ CNl d tJ^ CO nd Ö ,P Ö . pq CD i tu c^ Ö u nd -ž O O, -p t^ i s^ , ^ ( m ^ I c^ 40° 2 60 20 0.40 0 13 Short grass steppe < 1° 1 50 14 0.56 0 14 Lytomorphic vegetation on the rocks > 40° 2 20 4 0.80 0 15 Caragana steppe with sagebrush 20-40° 3 50 12 0.52 0 16 Caragana steppe with forb 20-40° 3 30 12 0.56 0 17 Fescue steppe with Chamaerhodos 20-40° 4 30 28 0.76 0 18 Forb steppe 6-7° 3 70 28 0.60 0 19 Stipa steppe with tall grass 11-20° 3 90 <1 1.16 0 20 Forb (polydominant) steppe < 1° 2 70 <1 0.62 0 21 Tall grass steppe 35° 3 65 28 0.60 0 22 Forb steppe with Fescue 1-5° 3 70 8 0.40 0 23 Forb steppe with Stipa grass 4-5° 2 70 8 0.48 0 24 Stipa grass steppe 20-40° 2 70 32 0.48 0 25 Forb steppe with sagebrush 2-5° 4 40 4 1.68 29.1 26 Sagebrush steppe 2-5° 4 70 4 0.60 0 27 Sagebrush steppe (fallow land ) < 1° 4 70 <1 0.84 0 28 Bent grass meadow with sedge < 1° 4 70 <1 0.60 0 29 Turfy sedge marsh < 1° 3 90 <1 1.48 0 30 Marsh with Poa < 1° 3 100 <1 2.64 0 31 Settlements and recreational facilities 8-10° 5 20 36 0.44 0 32 Natural soil roads 1-10° 5 0 16-84 0 0 For estimation of ecosystem services, a nonmonetary evaluation (Burkhard et al. 2009, 2012) was used. It is based on indicators, which allow assessment of the ecosystem capacity to provide different ecosystem services. The assessment matrix used a scale of five classes: 0 - no relevant capacity, 1 - low relevant capacity, 2 - relevant capacity, 3 - medium relevant capacity, 4 - high relevant capacity and 5 - very high relevant capacity. The classes were assigned to each landcover type. We consider such ecosystem services as erosion regulation, provision of fodder and wild food (berries, mushrooms, edible plants, recreational fishing, etc.), recreation, landscape aesthetic and natural heritage. The services were valued using expert analyses, which were based on the field observations (Table 4). Table 4: Indicators for assessment of ecosystem capacity to provide ecosystem service. Tabela 4: Indikatorji za oceno ekosistemske zmogljivosti za zagotavljanje ekosistemskih uslug. Ecosystem service Indicators Erosion regulation Amount of transferred silt by rainfall Fodder Herbaceous phytomass (kg/ha), the pres- ence of fodder plant species Wild food Presence of edible species Recreation Visual observations of the number of visi- tors and recreation facilities Landscape aesthetic Visual assessment of the attractiveness of the visible landscape Natural heritage Presence of endangered, protected, rare species or habitats Percentage vegetation cover and loss of soil particles by water and wind can be used as indicators for the assessment of erosion regulating service (kandziora et al. 2012). In this study, the amount of transferred silt by rainfall was applied as the indicator. A classification of values of soil erosion was obtained from experimental measurements of silt transfer. The following assessment scale was used: 0: 61-124 g/m2 (such values can reach more than 20 t/ha of soil matter transfer per year); 1: 32-60 g/m2; 2: 20-31 g/m2; 3: 12-19 g/m2; 4: 1-11 g/m2; 5: <1 g/m2. 4. results The study shows a fast transformation of the research landscapes. The transformed area has increased by 6.3% (1.25 km2) during the years 2003-2013. For example land-cover type 21 in Figure 3 (Tall grass steppe) was almost displaced by land-cover type 31 in Figure 3 (settlements and recreation facilities). Draft maps of phytomass stocks (Figure 5) and land-cover vulnerability to soil erosion (Figure 6) were compiled for the spatial analysis of investigated processes. Aboveground phytomass (q/ha) Figure 5: Draft map of the phytomass stocks (q/ha = 100 kg/ha). Slika 5: Osnutek karte zaloge fitomase (q/ha = 100 kg/ha). Transferred silt matter (g/m2 per quarter hour) Figure 6: Draft map of the vulnerability of land-cover types to soil erosion. Slika 6: Osnutek karte ranljivosti tipov pokrovnosti tal zaradi erozije tal. According to the maps (Figure 2, 5) and the data-base (Table 3), the values of above-ground herbaceous phytomass of the steppe habitats varied from 400 to 2640 kg/ha. Marshes (sedge complexes of intermountain basin and valleys - landcover types 29, 30) had the highest phytomass values among herbaceous communities. Apical stony and sloping grass-forb landscapes (landcover types 10, 12, 22) and areas of settlements and recreation facilities (land-cover type 31) had the lowest values. Forest steppes were characterized by low crown density and non-large stand density, which was represented mainly by larch. Phytomass stock ranged from 307.8 to 2822.4 kg/ ha. Maximum values corresponded to the forest steppe with larch on steep slopes (land-cover types 3-5). The maximum values of the soil matter transfer (up to 124 g/m2) corresponded to areas with strong anthropogenic pressure (4-5 stage of degradation), with the lower value of vegetation cover (from 0 to 45%) and above-ground herbaceous phytomass (400 -600 kg/ha) (Figure 6, Table 3). The minimum values of the soil matter transfer (less than 1 g /m2) corresponded to the forest steppes (land-cover types 6, 7, 8) with low anthropogenic impact (1 stage of degradation), some plain steppes (19, 20, 27) with high vegetation cover and medium anthropogenic pressure (2-3 stage of degradation), minor areas of meadows and wetlands (28, 29, 30) with strong anthropogenic impact (3-4 stage of degradation). Different ecosystems vary in their resistance to impact. The rainfall simulation revealed different levels of vulnerability to soil erosion, for example, for land-cover type 15 (Caragana steppe with sagebrush) on the undisturbed area, trapped silt was 12 g/m2 and for an anthropogenically dis- Table 5: Assessment matrix of some ecosystem services. Tabela 5: Matrika ocen nekaterih ekosistemskih uslug. Ecosystem services Land-cover type Erosion Fodder Wild food Recreation Landscape Natural regulation aesthetic heritage 1. Sparse larch forest with Poa 0 0 1 3 5 4 2. Sparse larch forest with forb 3 0 1 5 5 4 3. Larch forest with Rhododendron 4 0 1 4 5 4 4. Larch forest with forb and sagebrush 2 0 1 4 5 4 5. Steppefied larch forest 2 0 1 3 4 4 6. Larch forest with forb 5 0 1 2 5 4 7. Sparse larch forest with Cotoneaster and Poa 5 0 1 5 5 4 8. Larch forest with Cotoneaster 5 0 1 4 4 4 9. Sparse larch forest 4 0 1 5 5 4 10. Steppe with Poa and Caragana 4 1 0 1 4 5 11. Forb steppe with Caragana and sagebrush 5 1 0 1 4 5 12. Forb steppe with Caragana on the rocks 2 1 0 1 5 5 13. Short grass steppe 3 1 0 1 5 5 14. Lytomorphic vegetation on the rocks 4 0 0 2 5 5 15. Caragana steppe with sagebrush 3 1 0 1 4 5 16. Caragana steppe with forb 3 1 0 5 5 5 17. Fescue steppe with chamaerhodos 2 2 0 3 4 5 18. Forb steppe 2 2 0 5 5 5 19. Forb steppe with tall grass 5 3 0 2 2 5 20. Forb (polydominant) steppe 3 2 0 1 2 1 21. Tall grass steppe 2 2 0 1 4 5 22. Forb steppe with Fescue 4 1 0 5 4 5 23. Forb steppe with Stipa grass 4 1 0 3 3 5 24. Stipa grass steppe 1 1 0 4 5 5 25. Forb steppe with sagebrush 4 3 0 5 3 5 26. Sagebrush steppe 1 2 0 1 2 5 27. Sagebrush steppe (fallow land ) 5 2 0 1 2 1 28. Bent grass meadow with sedge 5 2 0 3 4 5 29. Turfy sedge wetland 5 0 0 2 4 5 30. Wetland with Poa 5 0 0 1 3 5 31. Settelments and recreational facilities 0 0 0 5 2 0 Water body (Lake Baikal) - 0 5 5 5 5 Natural soil roads 0 0 0 2 0 0 turbed patch - 84 g/m2. For land-cover type 26 (sagebrush steppe), trapped silt changed from 4 to 16 g/m2. A matrix of some ecosystem services was compiled (Table 5) to show dependence between the studied types of ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide. The map of the erosion regulation service is shown in Figure 7. We identify the variation in the capacity to provide this service among the studied steppe and forest steppe types, which generally have a lower capacity than forest ecosystems around Lake Baikal (Vanteeva & solodyankina 2014). Forest steppes, minor areas of wetlands and some forb steppes with Tall grass, have a high relevant capacity to provide this service. Disturbed landscapes and some steppe on steep slopes (e.g. Stipa grass steppe -land-cover type 24) have the lowest capacity. The study area has a low potential to provide such services as fodder for livestock and wild food and a high potential to provide cultural services. Lake Baikal and its scenically attractive landscapes increase the attractiveness for tourism. Assessment scale I I 0 S 1 ■ 3 ■ 4 Figure 7: The erosion regulating ecosystem service assessment. (0 - no relevant capacity, 1 - low relevant capacity, 2 - relevant capacity, 3 - medium relevant capacity, 4 - high relevant capacity and 5 - very high relevant capacity) Slika 7: Ocena ekosistemskih uslug, ki jih uravnava erozija. (0 - brez ustrezne kapacitete, 1 - nizka ustrezna kapaciteta, 2 - ustrezna kapaciteta, 3 - srednja ustrezna kapaciteta, 4 - visoka ustrezna kapaciteta in 5 - zelo visoka ustrezna kapaciteta). 5. discussion In this research we determine landscape values to provide ecosystem functions and services for the Priol'khonie steppes and forest steppes. Investigation of the functioning of these ecosystems and the directions of their alterations is needed because of their ecological and economical value and vulnerability to impacts. The investigation showed strong landscape transformation, leading to changing in ecosystem properties and functioning. During fieldwork, changes in the species composition of vegetation that lead to a decrease in phytomass production were recorded. For example, in forb steppes (land-cover types 11, 19, 20, 21, 24) some species, such as Stipa spp. and Festuca spp., which are more productive, were gradually displaced by Carex du-riuscula C.A. Mey and Carexpediformis C.A. Mey. on the most disturbed areas (4, 5 stages of degradation), synanthropic species, such as Urtica dioica L., Alopecurus pratensis L, Taraxacum officinale F.H.Wigg., dominate. species with wide ecological amplitude, such as shallow-rooted species (Potentilla acaulis L., etc.), species with vegetative reproduction (Carex duriuscula C.A. Mey, etc.), flagellate or rosette shoots species (Veronica incana L., Thymus baicalensis L., etc.) are spreading in the vegetation cover at stages 3, 4 of degradation (Ponomarenko & solodyankina 2013). The recorded values of above-ground herbaceous phytomass varied from 400 to 2640 kg/ha, which are less than the results of Molozhnikov (1986), which range from 500 to 3,500 kg/ha on the same territory. Ranges of values have large overlap and some differences can be explained by climatic variations, or increased impact since 1986. Generally, in North Eurasian steppe, above-ground herbaceous phytomass varies from 300 to 13,700 kg/ha, with a mean value of 2,000 kg/ha (Bazilevich & Tishkov 2015). The study area is subject to erosion, which is why measurements of silt transfer were carried out. We show that different ecosystems vary in their erosion regulation capacity and resistance to impact (Table 3). Measured amounts of transferred silt range from 0.01 to 20 t/ha of soil matter transfer per year. The lower end of the range corresponds to a minor area of meadows, wetlands and forest steppes. Generally, in natural steppe, the amount of transferred silt by water erosion varies from 0.5 to 1 t/ha of solid matter transfer per year (Isachenko 1991). So, a considerable amount of soil (5480 - 8220 t/yr from 19.86 km2 of study area) is transferred by water. Qualitative assessment of other ecosystem services showed that the capacity of the study area is high for providing cultural services and low for fodder and wild food production. 6. CONCLUSION Functioning of the Priol'khonie steppe and forest steppe landscapes (even undisturbed) is characterized by special aspects, such as exposure to inter-rill and rill erosion, low phytomass and specific climate conditions. Characteristics of ecosystem function significantly vary in the steppe and forest steppe of the Priol'khonie (Table 3). 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