wooded steppe

The wooded steppe is a transitional biome between the forest zone and the true steppe. It features a mix of open grasslands interspersed with forests, primarily oak in the European section and birch and aspen in the West Siberian Plain. These forests have largely been cleared for agriculture.1

The true steppe is a vast grassland with little tree diversity, receiving about 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 inches) of rain annually. It is characterized by hot summers and cold winters. The dominant vegetation consists of true grasses like bunchgrass, fescue, and bluegrass. The soil in these regions is often chernozem, a fertile black earth rich in humus. Historically, steppes supported large herbivores and their predators, but much of this has been altered by human activity and conversion to farmland.213