File:Ukraine (MODIS 2018-06-10).jpg

English: On June 2, 2018, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of southern Ukraine. Most of the land visible in this image falls in the category of “steppe” – relatively flat, fertile, grasslands. At one time steppe covered more than 40% of Ukraine. The grasslands were so extensive they earned such names as “Nomad’s Fields” or “Wild Fields”. From the eighteenth century onward, the steppe has been increasingly converted to agriculture, including cropping and intensive grazing. Dams and irrigation have also brought substantial change. It has been estimated that only 4% of the original steppe-land remains unplowed. About 29 percent (159) of Ukraine’s animal species are dependent on the steppe ecosystem as well as about 276 species of plant. Efforts to save and even renew the biodiversity of parts of the steppes are underway, most visible in the form of reserves.