Land Resources of Russia

Agriculture is one of the important branches of material production that includes the cultivation of crops and the breeding of animals and their primary processing. Agriculture produces foodstuff for populations and primary products for many branches of industry. Agriculture includes the branches of crop growing such as field-crop cultivation, vegetable-growing, fruit-growing, wine-growing, etc. and of animal husbandry such as cattle breeding, pig-breeding, sheep-breeding, poultry keeping, etc.

Land is the basic means of production for agriculture. Its special features affect the patterns of concentration and specialization of agricultural production. Living organisms such as plants and animals are also means of production. Both economic and biological laws control development of this branch. The production period does not agree with a “normal” working period. Means of production and labor are used seasonally. More than 20% of the gross output of agriculture (seeds, feeds, animal yield) are used in a subsequent production cycle. This fact determines special features of production assets.

The agriculture of Russia is a great, technically equipped branch of the economy that produces about 30% of the national income (the data are cited for 1996-1997). About 15% of the total Russian population engaged in the national economy work in the agricultural sector. More than 2,500 agricultural enterprises, among which privately owned enterprises prevail (70%), have been registered. Currently, most of the country’s population (about 70-80%) is involved in individual gardening and trucking. Agricultural enterprises use more than 208 million hectares (ha) of agricultural lands, including more than 125 million ha of arable lands, 19 million ha of hayfields, and about 60 million ha of pastures.

In 1998, the structure of arable area (91.6 million ha) was as follows: grain-crops, 50.8 million ha; industrial crops, 6.4 million ha; potatoes, vegetables, and gourds, 4.1 million ha; and forage crops, 30 million ha. In 1997, 31.7 million cattle (including 14.6 million cows), 17.3 million pigs, and 19.3 million sheep and goats were bred in all types of farms.

Gross harvesting of the grain crop made up more than 88 million tons (t) (including more than 44 million t of wheat, more than 20 million t of oats, and more than 7 million t of rye. In addition, farm workers harvested more than 37 million t of potatoes, more than 11 million t of vegetables, about 14 million t of sugar beet, and about 2.7 million t of fruits and berries. More than 90% of potatoes, more than 70% of vegetables, and about 80% of fruits and berries were produced in the private sector. The structure of production of cattle breeding was as follows: meat made up about 5 million t, milk, 34 million t, and eggs, about 32 billion pieces. The private sector of agriculture produced more than half of the total amount of meat, 45% of the milk, and about one third of the eggs.

Compared to that in European countries, the technical equipment of Russian agricultural enterprises is still insufficient. At the end of 1997, there were 916,000 tractors, 276,000 ploughs, 359,000 seeding-machines, 248,000 combine harvesters, and 80,000 ensilage harvesters. Only about 70% of the equipment listed above was in operational status.

Improvement in the quality of agricultural lands was sought by irrigating 1,400 ha, draining 2,400 ha, restoring 15,700 ha of the improved lands, and ameliorating 39,200 ha. In addition, about 21,000 ha of forest shelter belts were planted. The total amount of mineral fertilizers applied under the crops made up 1.539 million t (in terms of 100%-nutrients), or 18 kilograms (kg)/ha in 1997. The amount of organic fertilizers was 67 million t. Thus, about 27% of the total arable area was fertilized by mineral fertilizers and 3% by the organic ones. Chemical melioration covered only about 1 million ha in 1997.

In Russia, the farming industry has been historically developed in the regions with the most favorable natural and economic conditions. A major part of cash grain is produced in the Volga Region, the North Caucasus, the Southern Ural, and West Siberia. Almost all commercial flax-fiber comes from the Central, Northwestern, and Volgo-Viatskiy economic regions. The North Caucasus and Central-Chernozem oblasts provide about 95% of commercial sunflower seeds and about 85% of sugar beet. Most of the commercial potato is produced in the Nechernozem (Central ) zone of the country and also in the Volga Region and Ural. Commercial vegetable-growing is concentrated in the vicinity of the big industrial centers of the Central Region and also in the North Caucasus. The greatest part of the stone-fruits and seed fruits are harvested in the Central-Chernozem oblasts and in the North Caucasus. Dairy farming concentrates in the Nechernozem zone, West Siberia, and also in the vicinity of big towns and industrial centers. Beef animal husbandry is located in the Volga Region, Ural, Siberia, and partly in the North Caucasus. Commercial pig breeding is developed in the Nechernozem zone, in Central-Chernozem oblasts, the Volga Region, the North Caucasus, Ural, and Siberia. The most favorable conditions for sheep breeding are in the Volga Region, in the North Caucasus, and in West and East Siberia.

Romanenko G.A., A.I. Nijtijnnikov, V.G. Pozdniakov, and A.A. Shut’kov. 1999. The Agroindustrial Complex of Russia: Its Status and Place in the Agroindustrial Complex of the World. Russian Academy of Agricultural Science, Moscow, 541 pp. [In Russian]

Top of Page

Land account (LA) is a system for registering the actual state and use of land. Land is registered by administrative units, land categories, land quality, and land tenants. This uniform system of land classification and the uniform gathering and grouping of land account data allow information comparability all over the country.

LA is performed by area, location, and ownership in Russia. Such information is necessary for effective planning, protection, and land use. Detailed information on the structure and quality of land is needed for management and decision-making. LA indicates all changes in land use at the moment of observation and records them in the land cadastre.

Information on LA is recorded in two formats - textual and graphic. When the textual format is used, the LA data are shown with digital indices, which in some cases are supplemented with explanatory notes or other means. The graphic format fixes information on schemes and gives a visual view of spatial position and landownership. Thus, repetitive accounts or omission of some plots are avoided. Because they are mutually complementary, these two formats allow workers to characterize land comprehensively. Existing legislation outlines seven land categories:

1. Agricultural lands;
2. Settlement lands;
3. Lands containing industry, transport, communication, broadcasting, TV, informatics, space security, energetics, and defense;
4. Specially protected territories;
5. Forest lands;
6. Lands under water;
7. Reserve lands.

Land may be private, state, social, municipal, and "other property." Currently, there are three kinds of land privacy in Russia: private, state, and municipal. Private land can belong to citizens or organizations. Lands that are not owned by citizens, legal entities, or municipal structures are in the state property category. State land consists of Russian Federation property and property of the subjects of the Russian Federation. Land that belongs to urban and rural settlements and other municipal formations as private property is known as municipal property. Municipal property is in the charge of institutions of local government. State property is in the charge of government bodies at the federal or republic level.

The state statistic accounts, which include information on land availability, are based on the state land cadastre information, which is accumulated and stored by regional bodies of the Federal land cadastre service of Russia (Roszemkadastr).

The state statistic accounts as of 1 January 2001 report that the land area of the Russian Federation is 1,709.8 million hectares (ha). The breakdown is as follows: agricultural lands, 406.0 million ha (23.8% of the total land area of Russia); settlement lands, 18.7 (1.1%), including lands within the precincts of urban settlements (7.8), and in the precincts of rural settlements (10.9); lands of industry, transport, communication, and others, 17.3 (1.0%); specially protected lands, 32.0 (1.9%); forest lands, 1,096.8 (64.1%); lands under water, 27.8 (1.6%); and reserve lands, 111.2 million ha (6.5% of the total land area of Russia).

As of 1 January 2001, farmland area by all categories was 221.1 million ha or 12.9% of the total land area of the country. Non-agricultural lands account for 1,488.7 million ha or 87.1%. The share of arable lands in the farmland area was 56.3%; the share of fallow lands was 1.8%. Gardens and orchards accounted for 0.8%; hayfields, for 10.7%, and pastures, for 30.4%.

Most farmland - 71.3% - was used by agricultural enterprises. Citizens used 18.7% of the total farmland area.

According to the state statistic accounts, as of 1 January 2001, 129.1 million ha or 7.6% of the total Russian land area was under the private ownership of citizens and legal entities. Of this land, 7.2%, or 122.6 million ha, belongs to citizens and their unions; 6.5 million ha or 0.4% belongs to legal entities. The area of land portioned out among former members of state and collective farms was 6.6% (113.4 million ha) of the total Russian land area, or 87.8% of land in private ownership.

According to the 2000 state statistic accounts, more than 5.3 million dealings (lease, sell and purchase, gift, inheritance, mortgage) took place involving land plots. The total area concerned was 132.9 million ha or about 8% of the total land area of the country.

In 2000, the total sum of receipts of land payments to budgets of all levels in Russia was 24.8 billion rubles. About 56% of this sum (14.0 billion rubles) was in land tax receipts, and about 44% (10.8 billion rubles) in rent receipts.

Instructions on Compiling a Report on Land Availability, Its Assignment to Ownership Forms, Categories, and Users at the State of the First of January of 2001. 2000. Federal Land Cadastre Service of Russia, Information-Analytical Department, Moscow, 20 pp. [In Russian]

The State (National) Report on Land Use in the Russian Federation in the Year of 2000. 2001. Federal Land Cadastre Service of Russia, Moscow, 191 pp. [In Russian

Land management is one of the most important branches of agriculture. It involves cultivation of industrial, fodder, and other plants.

In its early stage of development, land management was associated with the common term "agriculture." Once livestock husbandry is singled out as a special branch of the enterprise, land management is recognized to be a branch of plant-cultivating connected with agriculture and entailing cropland management, vegetable growing, fruit growing, vine growing, and flower growing. Land management provides foodstuffs to populations, fodder to stockbreeding, and feedstock to many branches of industry (food processing, mixed fodder, textile, pharmaceutical, perfumery, etc.). The main natural resource of land management is soil fertility. Therefore, conservation and amelioration of soils are important tasks of land management, and are supported by a complex of technical, ameliorative, organizational and economic measures.

Because of the considerable natural diversity in Russia, zonal systems of land management are exploited. The following zones are employed:
· a zone of stable land management;
· a zone of dry (unstable) land management;
· a zone of irrigated land management; and
· zones of polar and mountain management.

Stable land management is concentrated within the forest and forest-steppe zones of the country, as well as in quite humidified regions of the Northern Caucasus and Far East. Favorable soil-climatic conditions make it possible to cultivate various crops - industrial, fodder, and others - under rainfed (without irrigation) conditions. Only the cultivation of vegetables and fruits and berries requires watering.

Dry (unstable) land management is characteristic of the regions with a deficit of atmospheric precipitations and instability of weather conditions (the steppe zone). It is based on cultivation of drought-resistant crops and species, and application of agricultural practices favoring preservation and accumulation of moisture in soil (black fallows, snow retention, in a number of regions soil cultivation without spoil heap, concise time of sowing, wide-row crops, etc.).

Irrigation takes place in semi-desert regions where cultivation of agricultural crops is impossible without water supply. Irrigation represents the highest intensity of agriculture, including crop composition, application of fertilizers, etc. Monocrop systems prevail under irrigation.

Polar land management involves the cultivation of crops in the tundra zone. Close ground cultivation is a common management practice. In open ground, an artificial substratum is used instead of soil. It is characterized by enriched humus, undergoing heat melioration, application of special doses of fertilizers, etc. Selection of early ripening species is of great importance, as are agricultural practices accelerating the ripening of plants.

Mountain land management is common in mountain uplands with shallow developed soils that have relatively high inherent fertility, and are situated on gentle slopes and intermontane basins. Land management in mountains practices prevention and reduction of water erosion by sowing of perennial grasses (in the way of buffer strips) and terracing of slopes. It is essential to select crops and species well adapted to mountain conditions. Agriculture adapts to slope aspect, temperature inversion, insolation, and other natural peculiarities.

Current land management in Russia is mostly intensive. It includes profound technologies of soil cultivation, application of fertilizers, plant protection chemicals, growth-regulating substances, and a high degree of power and technical means.

The arable area for all agricultural crops in Russia exceeded 100 million hectares (ha) in 1996. The structure of the arable area was as follows: perennial herbs (about 19.4% of the total), spring wheat (16.4%), spring barley (11.4%), winter wheat (9.4%), annual herbs (8.2%), oats (6.9%), corn for silage, green fodder and silage (6.4%), winter rye (4.2%), sunflower (3.9%), potatoes (3.4%), cereal-leguminous and buckwheat (1.4% each), millet (1.2%), sugar-beet (1.1%). Fruit/berry plants, vegetables, vineyards, corn for grain, soybean, winter barley, fodder roots, rice, and flax-fiber occupied less than 1% of sown area (each). Besides, at state farms, cereals (53.6% of total areas) and fodder crops (36%) prevailed; in crops of farming, cereals took precedence (more than 70% of their total sown area); and in crops of population, potatoes and vegetables prevailed (80%).

Distribution and specialization of land management in Russia is formed around soil/climatic and economic features of the country. The main share of crops of early spring cereals is concentrated in Povolzhje, Southern Urals, Western Siberia. Winter crops are grown mostly in the Northern Caucasus and Central Chernozemje. Almost all crops of flax-fiber are situated in the Central, North-Western, Volgo-Vyatsky economic regions. About 95% of sunflower crops and about 85% of sugar beet are concentrated in the Northern Caucasus and Central-Chernozem regions. A considerable part of the potato crop is situated in Nechernozemje as well as Povolzhje and in the Urals. Vegetables are cultivated in large industrial centers of the Central region and the Northern Caucasus. A great part of seed- and stone-fruit plants is situated in the Central-Chernozem areas and in the Northern Caucasus.

Romanenko G.A., A.I. Tyutyunnikov, V.G. Pozdnyakov, and A.A. Shutjkov. 1999. Agricultural-Industrial Complex of Russia, State, Place in Agro-Industrial Complex of the World. Russian Academy of Agricultural Science, Moscow. 541 pp. [In Russian]

The total area of pastures and hayfields in Russia is 89.9 million hectares (ha) (National Report …2000). In addition, 282 million ha are used for reindeer grazing. This type of land is characterized by the fact that only a small part of the area is improved. Only about 15% of hayfields and 6% of pastures are improved. The productivity of pastures and hayfields is constantly decreasing. Currently, it is at 0.7–1.0 tons (t)/ha of green mass for hayfields and 2.0–4.0 t/ha for pastures. Low productivity can be explained by the unsatisfactory state of 70% of these degraded lands, which are covered with shrubs, low forests, tussocks and swamps, and are located on saline soils and solonetz complexes. More than 50% of hayfields and pastures requires improvement. The degradation of pastures and hayfields is constantly increasing and hayfield areas are shrinking. Between 1986 and 1990, about 24 million t of hay were harvested annually; this value is declined to 17.7 million t in 2000.

In the Arctic tundra, tundra, and forest-tundra zones occur floodplain meadows of bluejoint (Calamagrostis) and herbs, sedges and herbs, sedges and bluejoint on alluvial meadow soils and plain meadows and pastures of lichens and shrubs, moss and sedges, moss and dwarf shrub and grass, and cotton grass and sedges on mineral and peat tundra soils. The productivity of the floodplain meadows is 1.2–1.4 t/ha of dry matter (DM) and the productivity of plain pastures makes up about 0.7-0.9 t/ha. As shown in Table 1 below, forage reserves in tundra and forest tundra zones are 200,000 to 240,000 t DM.

Table 1. Characteristics of forage reserves in Russia.

Reindeer pastures occupy 56.4 million ha in the European and West-Siberian parts of the Arctic tundra, tundra, and forest steppe; 60.3 million ha in Eastern Siberia; and 50.1 million ha in the Chukchi Peninsula. The productivity of reindeer pastures in the Arctic tundra zone is under 0.1 t/ha. In the tundra zone, it is 0.2-0.3 t/ha, and in the forest-tundra zone, 0.4-1.2 t/ha DM. Forage reserves of lichens have shrunk by two to three times in the reindeer pastures since 1950.

Dry meadows of bent grass (Agrostis vulgaris) and short grass, red fescues, and short grasses predominate (making up more than 50%) in the forest zone of European Russia. The productivity of these meadows is 0.7-0.8 t/ha. Fertile lowland meadows of tall grasses and herbs and gramineous plants and sedges make up only 17% of the meadows in the forest zone and their productivity is 1.1-1.5 t/ha DM. The total forage reserve in the forest zone of European Russia is 9.8 to 13.9 million t DM. Analysis of the productivity of grasslands in the forest zone has shown that productivity has sharply decreased on meadows that have been flooded for a short time (1935, 1.5 t/ha; 2000, 1.0 t/ha) and on meadows flooded for a long time (1935, 2.4 t/ha; 2000, 1.5 t/ha DM). Areas with a valuable fertile herbage (foxtails, timothy, bromes, tall grasses and herbs) on dry, low-lying, and bog meadows have shrunk by five to ten times.

Forest reindeer pastures occupy the northern part of the forest zone, i.e., open woodlands (lichen, spruce, birch, and aspen woodlands with part of dwarf birch, northern willow, Cetraria cucllata and reindeer lichens and Cladinia cellaris). Their productivity is 0.6–1.2 t/ha DM.

Extensive dry meadows of gramineous plants, sedges, and herbs with part of bent grass and bluejoints prevail in the forest zone of Siberia and Far East Russia. They cover 54.2% of the total grassland area in Western Siberia. The productivity of these meadows is 0.5–1.0 t/ha. This type of meadow occupies about 35.9% of the total area of grasslands in Middle Siberia and productivity is 0.6–1.1 t/ha. Satisfactory harvests (1.0–2.0 t/ha) could only be gathered in humid years. These meadows cover 38.1% in Far East Russia and their productivity in this region is 0.8–1.0 t/ha. Floodplain meadows of gramineous plants and herbs with sedges are of widespread occurrence (33.5%) in Western Siberia with productivity of 1.2–2.7 t/ha DM. Swamped and low-lying meadows of sedges and herbs with the bluejoint (Calamagrostis langsdorgffii) occupy 36.4% of the total grassland area in Far East Russia and the productivity is 1.2–2.3 t/ha DM, but the forage quality is rather low. The total forage reserve makes up 11.065 to 17.1 million t DM. The northern part of the forest zone, where open woodlands are typical, is occupied by reindeer pastures composed of lichens, Siberian larch and Larix daurica, dwarf birch and Betula axilis, sedges and reindeer moss.

The forest-steppe and steppe zones of European Russia are characterized by the prevalence (78.9%) of degraded dry and dry steppe pastures of slopes featuring herbs, fescues (Festuca sulcata) and feather grass, slopes that are covered with black, dark-chestnut, and chestnut soils, and solonetz. Their productivity is 0.4–0.6 t/ha DM. Soils under the grasslands are mainly washed-off, salted, and deflated. The total forage reserve is 10.4 to 16.5 million t DM. Hayfields are situated within the floodplains and lowlands and their productivity is 1.0–1.5 t/ha. The following species dominate here: meadow foxtail, bent (Agrostis), meadow fescue, red fescue grass, and smooth brome. The productivity of hayfields has shrunk by 0.5–0.7 t/ha over the last 100 years. The grasslands that dominate (68.2%) the plains and slopes of the forest-steppe zone of Siberia are steppe and dry steppe bunchgrass pastures and meadows of feather grasses, fescues (Festuca sulcata), Agropyron, Koeleria, and bluegrasses on black soils, dark-chestnut, and chestnut soils and their combinations with solonetz, and on the solonetz. Their productivity is 0.5–0.9 t/ha DM. The total forage reserve is 8.1 to14.6 million t DM.

The semi-desert zone is characterized by the prevalence of extensive pastures on brown sandy and clay-sandy soils. The productivity of pastures of wormwoods (Artemisia alba) and gramineous plants is 0.2–0.3 t/ha DM. The productivity of trampled pastures of wormwoods (Artemisia alba) is 0.15–0.2 t/ha and productivity of the pastures of wormwoods, combined with saltworts on the salted soils, is 0.3–0.4 t/ha DM. In Kalmykia, moderately and greatly trampled pastures make up 66% of pastureland. The productivity of the trampled pastures is three to five times less than that of pastures under moderate grazing. Lowland dry and wet hayfields and pastures on meadow and meadow-brown salted soils occupy insignificant areas and their productivity is 0.4–0.7 t/ha. The total forage reserve in the semi-desert zone is 2.5 to 3.7 million t DM.

The mountains of Eastern Siberia, where the total area of grasslands is 2 million ha, is characterized by the prevalence of swamp meadows on mineral and peaty soils. Their productivity is 0.7–1.1 t/ha. The area of mountain pastures in the Northern Caucasus is 3.1 million ha. Mountain steppe, meadow-steppe and meadow pastures and hayfields on leached black soils and mountain brown soils dominate here (20.5%) and their productivity is 0.5–0.7 t/ha. The area of the mountain pastures in Southern Siberia is 16.8 million ha. Hillocky and submontane forest-steppe and steppe pastures on the black and chestnut soils dominate here (38%) and their productivity is 0.4–0.7 t/ha DM. The total forage reserve in mountain pastures and hayfields is 14.2 to 20.5 million t DM.

The total forage reserve in the natural pastures and hayfields in Russia depends on the meteorological conditions in a year, and makes up about 56.265 to 86.54 million t DM.

Livestock is a branch of agriculture dealing with the breeding of agricultural animals. Its cattle products provide populations with foodstuffs, industry with raw materials, and it gives live draft force and manures. The products and wastes of stockbreeding are used to produce some fodder as well as various medicines. The development of stockbreeding and its productivity are closely connected with the development of plant growing and with the intensity of land use. The main branches of stockbreeding in Russia are: cattle-breeding, pig-breeding, sheep-breeding, goat-breeding, poultry raising, fish farming, bee-keeping, fur farming, and reindeer-breeding.

Stockbreeding data

As of 1 January 1997 at farms of all categories in Russia there were 35.1 million cattle (including 15.9 million cows), 19.1 million pigs, 20.3 million sheep, 2.5 million goats, 2.2 million horses, 372 million poultry. The share of agricultural animals in the personal sector (crofts and farmings) accounts for 30-60% on the average. In 1996, in Russia, more than 5 million tons of meat (in slaughter weight) were produced (about half of it is beef and veal, and about one third is pork). Also produced were about 35 million tons of milk, about 32 billion eggs, more than 76 thousand tons of wool, and more than 46 thousand tons of honey. The personal sector provided more than 55% of the meat, about 47% of the milk, more than 30% of the eggs, and more than 51% of the wool. These figures work out to 2,100 kg of milk per cow in 1996, 220 eggs per hen, and 3 kg of clipped wool per sheep.

Development of stockbreeding at Russian farms is based on strengthening the fodder base, perfecting the breed composition of the herd, improving the maintenance and care of livestock, expanding construction of cattle-breeding buildings in accordance with the requirements of zoohygiene, fostering the growth of mechanization, and improving veterinary service.

In 1996, at farms of all categories, about 139 million tons of fodder (in terms of fodder units) were procured, including more than 47 million tons of concentrates. Silage prevails; the share of hay is smaller; and the share of fodder roots is the least. Fodder consumption by one conventional head of cattle is made up of 2.8 tons of fodder units. To make up the protein deficit in fodder, leguminous plants, grass and hay flour, nutrient yeast, and other fodder products with high protein content are used.

Herd improvement

The qualitative transformation of the herd is of great importance for increasing stockbreeding productivity. The breed and productive qualities of the existing races are perfected. Pedigreed livestock makes up 98-100% of the total number. There is a network of pedigree farms dealing with perfection of pedigree qualities of animals.

In accordance with the accepted technology of keeping animals, design organizations elaborate standard projects of cowsheds, pigsties, hen houses, sheepcotes, and other houses and constructions. In 1996, they produced 97 thousand units of shelter for cattle, 60 thousand for pigs, 24.8 thousand for sheep, and 727.7 thousand places for poultry.

Stockbreeding and regional diversity
Depending on the natural and economic conditions of different zones, stockbreeding in many subjects of the Federation takes various directions. In the regions where the natural conditions are favorable for cultivation of herbs and silage species, where there are many pastures, where manpower is available, where there are many big cities and thus a large milk demand, the leading branch is dairy. In the regions where large areas are plowed up, where pastures are lacking, where cereal agriculture is developed, and which are rather well provided with manpower, dairy-beef stockbreeding and pig-breeding are mainly developed. In the regions with a great number of poorly productive natural pastures, where grain and succulent feed are lacking and there is insufficient manpower, sheep-breeding and beef-stockbreeding are mainly developed. In the suburbs of large cities there is a network of farms specializing in whole milk production. Specialized poultry farms are set up. Many collective farms specialize in the fattening of cattle and pigs.

Veterinary service in stockbreeding (prophylaxis and treatment of ill animals, veterinary sanitation examination of stockbreeding products) is fulfilled by a network of special institutions: stations on fighting the diseases of animals, veterinary clinics, points, laboratories, etc.

Bibliography
Romanenko G.A., A.I. Tyutyunnikov, V.G. Pozdnyakov, and A.A. Shutjkov. 1999. Agricultural-Industrial Complex of Russia. State, Place in Agro-Industrial Complex of the World. Russian Academy of Agricultural Science, Moscow, 541 pp. [In Russian]

Agriculture is a complex sector of economy comprising great diversity of activities from which production and processing are the major parts. The CD-ROM introduces simplified approach in which we are focused on production aspects assuming their direct linkage with terrestrial ecosystems and their carbon-related performance.

According to the State Land Account Russia has an extended amount of managed (agricultural) land covering about 212 million ha (Land of Russia…, 1995). This territory includes about 130 million ha of cropland. The rest (about 80 million ha) falls into the category of so-called other agricultural land that we as mentioned assumed to be hayland. Obviously commercial cropping is tremendously different from place to place depending on diversity of natural agro-ecological potential of the region, markets, etc. In spite of the huge extent of the country the total agricultural area occupies about 12% of the territory. This fact indicates rather limited natural potential of the country for agriculture that is caused by cold and humid climate, unsuitable for cropping mountain relief and expansion of poorly drained plains. The geographical variety stipulates production of different crops from which cereals, grasses and perennials are prevailed. These crops occupied more than 75% of the sown area of the country in 1990.

The research is derived from available crop statistic (Agriculture of Russia, 1995). This source reports data on average yield by administrative oblasts that, however, are not sufficient for phytomass definition, as do not consider the content of all phytomass fractions like straw, above ground residuals, and roots. We introduce crop and yield specific regression equations (Dynamic of humus balance in cropland of Russia, 1998) to fill this gap. To convert amount of yield and by-products expressed in metric phytomass units into carbon units we apply coefficient 0.86 for grain and 0.5 for rest phytomass fractions. Following assumptions have been done in the calculation: 1) living biomass (LB) is equal to NPP; 2) phytomass of agricultural land is considered as having the yearly life cycle.

S_al- total area of agricultural land; S_cl– cropland area from statistic; S_hay – hayland area from statistic and extended on the rest territory where other than cereals and grass crops are grown excluding S_per- perennial crops.

Under the calculations, LB of cropland was considered as a sum of yield Y and residuals R. Values of Y were derived from statistic. The value R is a function of Y depending on crop specific and Y amount. Three phytomass fractions have been distinguished for cereals: straw, surface residuals and roots. Two fractions, namely surface residuals and roots have been identified for hayland phytomass. Each fraction is calculated by general regression equation:

where R_Cr and R_hconsequentlyresidual phytomass of cropland and hayland represented by fractions X_s - straw, X_f - surface residuals and, X_r - and roots.

Total phytomass produced by cropland and hayland of Russia in 1990 is estimated at 2186.9 Tg of dry matter (Table 1) of which cropland comprises 1441.0 Tg (or 65.9%), hayland 667.5 Tg (or 30.5%). Phytomass of perennials comprises only 3.6%. Above ground phytomass is about 58%, and below ground - 42%. The phytomass density differs by agricultural land and is 1.106 kg/m2, 0.845 and 3.062 kg/m2 for cropland, hayland, and for perennials, respectively. NPP of cropland is the highest compared with other land uses (Table 2).

About two third of total agricultural phytomass are concentrated in the zones of steppe and temperate forests (Table 3). The distribution of the average phytomass density is geographically dependent, i.e. from 0.89 kg/m² in northern tundra to 1.04 kg/m² in southern steppe and about 1.00 kg/m² in semi-desert and desert zones. However, this variability is less than that of natural vegetation. The latter can be explained by narrower ecological niche for agricultural practices compared with development of natural vegetation and leveling effect of human impact via management practices.

Agricultural land	Area, 10⁶ ha	Phytomass, Tg C					Density, kg/m²
Agricultural land	Area, 10⁶ ha	Green part	Woody part	Above ground	Below ground	Total	Density, kg/m²
Cropland	130.34	397.4	0.0	397.4	251.1	648.5	0.498
Hayland	78.96	141.2	0.0	141.2	159.2	302.1	0.380
Perennials	2.56	3.6	24.8	28.3	7.0	37.9	1.378
Total	211.86	542.1	24.8	566.9	417.2	988.5	0.464

Bio-climate zone	Agricultural land
Bio-climate zone	Crop	Hayland	Total
Polar Desert	0	0	0
Pre-tundra & Northern Taiga	0.1	6.1	6.2
FT, ST	1.1	3.3	4.4
Middle Taiga	27.0	28.2	55.2
Southern Taiga	141.8	34.2	176
Temperate Forest	107.6	24.8	132.4
Steppe	351.5	137.0	488.5
Semi-desert & desert	19.4	68.5	87.9
Total	648.5	302.1	950.6

Agriculture of Russia. Statistical yearbook, 1995. Official edition of State Committee of Russia Federation on Statistic, Moscow, 503 [in Russian].

Rodin A.Z. and A.K. Krylatov, 1998. Dynamic of humus balance in cropland of Russia, Agroprogress, Moscow, 60.

Land of Russia - 1995, Problems, Figures, Commentaries, 1996. Moscow, 79 [in Russian].