Chapter 9, Problem 9.1R

To determine

The comparison of the climate, vegetation, and agricultural conditions of Russia’s European west with that of Siberia and the Russian Far East.

Answer to Problem 9.1R

The central and northern portions of Russia’s European west have limited agriculture and forest dominant vegetation. The south is dominated by agriculture and has forests and grasslands. Siberia has strong climate, and the climate vegetation and agriculture mostly reflect the conditions. The Russian Far East is toward the southern side which has large growing seasons and mixed pattern of conifers and hard woods.

Explanation of Solution

The European West:

European Russia has different river systems which are linked by canals and flow into four separate drainage basins. Hence, the trading is made easier. The Dnieper and Don rivers flow into the Baltic and Black Sea, and the West and North Dvina rivers drain into the Baltic and White seas. North Moscow and St. Petersburg are cool and have poor soils that limit the farming. Hence, the region’s boreal forests are extensively logged.

The central portions of European Russia and Belarus have longer growing seasons but due to the acid, podzol soils and the northern forest environments limit their productive agricultural economy. They practice diverse agriculture which includes grain and potato cultivation, swine and mean production, and dairying.

In the southern Russia and Ukraine, the agricultural conditions have improved. The steppe environment dominated by grasslands and chernozem soils helped in commercial agricultural practices such as wheat corn and sugar beet, and commercial meet production.

Siberia:

The Ural Mountains separate European Russia from Siberia. This area contains valuable mineral resources. The mountains themselves marked as European Russia’s eastern cultural boundary. To the east of Urals, the great Arctic-bound Ob, Yenisey, and Lena rivers drain millions of square miles in the northern country. The winter climate is dominated across the region.

The north is very cold for the trees and hence, it supports tundra vegetation which is associated with permafrost. To the south of the Tundra, the Russian taiga or coniferous forest zone dominates the interior. It is threatened by both authorized logging and illegal timber poaching.

The Russian Far East:

It is in the proximity of Pacific Ocean with fertile river valleys such as the Amur and the Ussuri. It is located at the same latitude as New England which features the long growing seasons and milder climates than west or north. The continental climates of Siberian interior meet the seasonal monsoon rains of East Asia.