STEPPE ZONE OF UKRAINE AS THE BIOME AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF EAST-EUROPEAN PLAIN WITH REGARD TO ASSESSMENT OF NATURE-RESOURCE POTENTIAL

Abstract

The natural resource potential (NRP) of the Steppe Zone, a crucial biome within the East European Plain in Ukraine, remains an important area of ongoing research. This study aims to quantitatively and, specifically, monetarily estimate the value, structure, and position of the Steppe Zone’s NRP within the broader “systems-geographical unit” of the East European Plain. Based on the reassessment of Ukraine's NRP as of January 1, 2022, the Steppe Zone stands out among the four natural zones of the East European Plain. It encompasses: 43.9 % of the territory (including water area), 45.4 % of the population, 56.3 % of the natural resource potential of the studied biome. Further analysis reveals the distribution of NRP within the Steppe Zone's subzones: The North-Steppe Subzone accounts for the largest share at 43.5% of the East European Plain's total NRP. This is followed by the South-Steppe (Dry Steppe) Subzone at 7.3 %. The Mid-Steppe Subzone contributes 5.47 %.
When examining the NRP value across the Steppe Zone's seven provincial ecosystems, the descending order is as follows: Donetsk: 15.6 %; left-Bank-Dnieper-Pryazovska: 11.4 %; Dniester-Dnieper: 10.3 %; Zadonetsko-Donska, Prychornomorska, Crimean Steppe, and Prychornomorsko-Pryazovska provincial ecosystems: each contribute 3.05 %.
At the oblast level, specific regions play leading roles for different NRP components: Mineral Resources: Donetsk Upland Oblast and South-Prydniprovska Slope-Upland Oblast; Water Resources: South-Prydniprovska Slope-Upland Oblast and Kinsko-Yalynska Lowland Oblast; Land Resources: South-Prydniprovska Slope-Upland Oblast and Orilsko-Samarska Lowland Oblast; Forest Resources: Starobilsk Oblast and West Donetsk Slope-Upland Oblast; Fauna Resources: South-Prydniprovska Oblast and Starobilsk Slope-Upland Oblast; Natural Recreation Resources: South-Prydniprovska Oblast, Starobilsk Slope-Upland Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, and Central Crimean Upland Oblast.
The findings of this study are significant both scientifically and practically. They not only demonstrate the position of various resource potentials within the Steppe Zone, its subzones, provincial ecosystems, and oblast-level ecosystems in the overall NRP of the East European Plain but also underscore the importance of individual NRP components within each ecosystem at different hierarchical levels, highlighting their unique natural resource specializations.