Zadonski Monastery and Kulikovo Pole Steppe

Sunday, June 26

This morning we went to Zadonski monastery after breakfast. There were many visitors since it was a Sunday. Similar to the other monasteries, the gardens were very nice. Peonies had finished blooming, but there were many roses and a nice annual design. We both admired the ornamentation on the buildings and doors, including an intricate metalwork grapevine and stained glass. I also loved the bright blues, greens and teals on all parts of the buildings.

 Grapevine metalwork attached to an awning

 

 Metalwork

 

 Annual display at the monastery

 

 Ben on church steps

 

Colorful buildings and visitors

We traveled north to the State Museum-Reserve Kulikovo Pole. The Reserve is both a historical monument to the Battle of Kulikovo and a nature reserve. Here we met Elena Volkova, a botanist from Tula State University, who conducts research at Kulikovo Pole. She is interested in forest-steppe areas, one of the protected areas at the reserve, along with meadow steppe and forest. There are nine protected areas in total, with five established in the last two years.

 

The first area we visited was a 23 hectare steppe slope. We saw many species that were also present in the steppe at Galichya Gora. This slope had an additional noticeable grass species besides Stipa, Elytrigia intermedia. Allium rotundum, Lavatera thuringiaca and Arenaria (Eremogone) micradenia were some other species we hadn't seen previously. While much of the surrounding land has been used for agriculture, this slope is believed to be undisturbed. There are dips in the slope where people likely removed limestone boulders, but the soil is only 50 cm deep before reaching limestone. Researchers are looking at soil samples and analyzing the seeds to see if this area was planted with crops in the past. In general, this is believed to be an example of a natural community.

 

A fire burned the slope last fall. Steppe areas benefit from an occasional fire, which probably occurred on a 10-15 year cycle naturally. Last fall’s fire helped to control an aggressive shrub in this area, Chamaecytissus ruthenicus.

Galium verum and Allium rotundum

 

 Svetlana on the steppe

 

Lavatera thuringiaca enjoying the view

 

 Verbascum sp. with view of river

 

Elena with Phlomis tuberosa

 

Fields of bright yellow rapeseed grow in the area.

 



We also visited a steppe slope above a creek bed. This area had 31 protected species. We marveled at Orobanche alba, Echinops ritro just beginning to flower and the tiny white flowers of Asperula cynanchica. The slope transitioned into an oak forest. As we got closer, we noticed disturbed areas where wild boars had been digging for roots. Entering into the forest we saw Melampyrum sp., Carex montana and Lilium martagon in bud!

 

Orobanche alba

 

Echinops ritro

 

Inula brittanica and Dracocephalum ruyschiana

 

Lilium martagon in bud

 



 

 On the flat areas of the reserve, there are no examples of natural communities. Here the soil is deeper, moister and has been used for agriculture. The reserve has several experimental fields in this area where they are attempting to recreate steppe. The first plot used cut grass and seeds from a steppe environment and laid this material out fresh on the field. However, since the cut material was not dry the steppe plants did not establish well. The end result looked more like a meadow, though it has high plant diversity. Learning from that experiment, a more recent field used three cuttings of grass and seeds that were allowed to dry. This field has more steppe species present.

Early experimental plot with few steppe species present

 

One of the challenges in the experimental fields has been getting Stipa species to establish. In the wetter conditions of the flatlands, the grass does not compete well with other plants. Researches tried a few methods to increase the abundance of Stipa. One method was to transplant tussocks of Stipa from the steppe. However, the tussocks did not increase in size or compete successfully with weeds. Another method has been to plant rows of Stipa seeds, weed carefully until the plants establish and then plant steppe species in between the rows. This has been the most successful reproduction of steppe on the reserve. The oldest of these plots is almost 10 years old, but the lines of Stipa are still visible. The grass has not increased in size and by seed as quickly as hoped. One reason for this is the layer of vegetation is so thick in the plots that the Stipa seeds simply can’t get to the ground to germinate. Each fall, these plots are mowed and all the vegetation is removed to allow the fields to dry and create more desirable conditions for Stipa.

 

 

Lines of Stipa visible in experimental plot

 

 

Tomorrow we will learn more about the historical side of the reserve and visit the brand new museum. Then, we will travel to Yasnaya Polyana, the Museum-Estate of Leo Tolstoy.