General information
The "Djanibek" study site (50°11'N, 46°40'E) is situated on the territory of Pallasovsky District, Volgograd Region, RF (Fig 1a) and geographically belongs to Elton Lake Province of Zavolzhie steppe, which is classified as a desertification province with dry steppe, situated at the left bank of the lower reaches of the Volga River valley.
Pallasovsky District is occupying an area of 12,370 kmē, the extent of the territory from north to the south is about 180 km, from West to East around 60 km (Fig. 1b, 2a, 2b). The total population in the district is about 47,400.
Fig. 1: Administrative maps of Volgograd Region (left) and Pallasovsky District (right)
The Pallasovsky District was selected as one of the two study sites of MSUEE partner in the DESIRE project, because of its strong desertification processes which are quite different from other districts of the Volgograd Region. The actual main desertification processes are soil salinization (Fig. 10), depletion of fresh water resources and overgrazing, having a strong impact on vegetation growth.
Fig. 2: Google maps of study site and experimental plot near Romashki village
