Landscape and ecological zoning of protected areas of Baikal Siberia

Baikal Siberia is located in the center of Eurasia and spans the watershed of Lake Baikal in Russia and Mongolia. Currently, there are 45 protected areas of different ranks, the majority of which (68,8%) is located in the Russian part of Lake Baikal. Their distribution is very unequal. In Russia, they are concentrated mainly around Baikal, in Mongolia - in Khangai and Khentei mountain ranges. According to landscape distribution, the vast majority of protected areas are mountain taiga. Landscape and ecological zoning showed that according to the prevailing landscapes we can identify the following protected areas: "large mountain systems of Baikal Siberia with a predominance of mountain taiga" - 34 (75,5% of all protected areas), "steppe and forest-steppe" - 7 (15,5%), "wetland" - 3 (6,6%), "steppe protected areas with wetland landscapes" - 1 (2,2%). The landscapes of all protected areas, especially confined to mountain ranges, due to the expressed altitudinal zonality are characterized by a developed pattern structure and presence of landscape ecotones. Today there is a need to expand the protected areas network in the center of Baikal Siberia, where steppes, forest-steppes and mountain taiga form the basis of its ecosystem diversity.