PRACTICES OF FORESTING THE STEPPES OF THE LEFT BANK OF SOUTHERN UKRAINE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DROUGHT AND CROP FAILURES (LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES)

Abstract

This article highlights the transformationof the natural steppe landscape of the left bank of southern Ukraine intoan industrial and cultural environment at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It shows that such transformations in the steppe began as private initiatives of wealthylandowners, as well as former foreign colonists, mostly Germans and Mennonites. It has been proven that the local nature of these works could not radically affectthe steppe cli-mate. The growing demand for grain led to almost completeplowing of land in southern Ukraine. Over time, such an extensive method of farming led to the depletion of steppe soils. Land degradation and adverse climatic conditions caused regular crop failures and famine. The famine of 1892 triggered the creation of the «Special Expedition» under the leadership of the soil scientist V.V. Dokuchaev. Relying on the achievements and material base of small steppe forestry (Veliko-Anadolu, Staroberdyansk), the expedition scientists developed and began to practically implement new methods of steppe afforestation. The reasons for the mass death of mature forest plantations were established, new forms of filling forest belts were developed and recommended for practical implementation, and a number of permanently operating meteorological sta-tions were created.