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Cultural monuments and nature conservation: a review of the role of kurgans in the conservation and restoration of steppe vegetation

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Abstract

Steppe is among the most endangered biomes of the world, especially in Eastern Europe, where more than 90 % of original steppes have been destroyed due to conversion into croplands, afforestation and other human activities. Currently, steppe vegetation is often restricted to places unsuitable for ploughing, such as ancient burial mounds called kurgans. The aim of our study was to collect and synthesise existing knowledge on kurgans by a review of research papers and grey literature. The proportion of kurgans covered by steppe vegetation increases from west to east and from lowlands to uplands. Despite their small size, kurgans act as biodiversity hotspots and harbour many red-listed species. High overall species richness and a high proportion of grassland specialists are maintained by a pronounced fine-scale environmental heterogeneity. The main factors threatening the biodiversity of kurgans are intensified agriculture and construction works. We conclude that kurgans can play a crucial role in preserving steppe vegetation, especially in intensively used agricultural landscapes in the western part of the steppe zone. Despite the vital role of kurgans in sustaining steppe vegetation, we identified serious knowledge gaps on their distribution, vegetation, flora and fauna and their potential role in steppe restoration.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for J. Dengler, T. Hartel and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. We are thankful to S. Radócz for her help in literature search. We are thankful to the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group for supporting the linguistic revision of the manuscript and for L. Sutcliff for her help during the revision. The publication was supported by the SROP-4.2.2.B-15/1/KONV-2015-0001 project. The project has been supported by the European Union, co-financed by the European Social Fund. The authors were supported by the OTKA-PD 115627, OTKA-K 116639 and OTKA-PD 111807 grants. The studies on Ukrainian kurgans were supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland: Grant 2P04G04627 and Grant NN304081835.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary

    Balázs Deák & Béla Tóthmérész

  2. Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary

    Béla Tóthmérész, Orsolya Valkó & Péter Török

  3. Department of Plant Ecology and Environment Conservation, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478, Warsaw, Poland

    Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska & Iwona Dembicz

  4. Department of Botany, Kherson State University, Street Universytetska 27, Kherson, 73000, Ukraine

    Ivan I. Moysiyenko

  5. Kostanay State Pedagogical Institute, Kazakhstan & Southern Federal University, Taran Street 118, Kostanay, Kazakhstan, 110000

    Tatyana M. Bragina

  6. Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. Georgi Bonchev Street 23, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Iva Apostolova

  7. Altai State University, 61 Lenina, Barnaul, Russia, 656049

    Nikolay I. Bykov

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  1. Balázs Deák
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  2. Béla Tóthmérész
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  3. Orsolya Valkó
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  6. Tatyana M. Bragina
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  9. Nikolay I. Bykov
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  10. Péter Török
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Correspondence to Orsolya Valkó.

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Communicated by Jürgen Dengler.

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Deák, B., Tóthmérész, B., Valkó, O. et al. Cultural monuments and nature conservation: a review of the role of kurgans in the conservation and restoration of steppe vegetation. Biodivers Conserv 25, 2473–2490 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1081-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1081-2

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