Minusinsk Forest Steppe

a forest steppe on the right bank of the Enisei, situated in the eastern part of the Minusinsk Basin in Krasnoiarsk Krai. It extends from the northern slope of the Zapadnyi Saian in the south to the spurs of the Vostochnyi Saian in the east and north. The terrain is a sloping, rolling plain divided by river valleys. The elevation ranges from 350 m to 700 m. The climate is continental, with an annual precipitation of 300 mm to 520 mm. There is a predominance of forb-meadow steppes and steppe meadows on leached and podzolic chernozems, for the most part plowed up. Birch and larch forests are found on the slopes of uplands with a northern exposure and in river valleys; and pine forests grow on weakly podzolic soils. The Minusinsk forest steppe is the most important agricultural region in Krasnoiarsk Krai.