Institute of Steppe UB RAS is a leading scientific institution that solves the most important scientific fundamental and applied problems of studying the Northern Eurasia steppes as a single ecological, geographical, historical and cultural space. The Institute of Steppe UB RAS is the only geographical research institution in the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences specializing in the integrated study of steppes.The Institute’sresearch and expeditionary activity covers the territory of the steppe, forest-steppe and semi-desert zones of Russia and Kazakhstan in the space from the Lower Don to Altai. The Institute of Steppe UB RAS carries out fundamental, search and applied scientific research in the following areas: the scientific foundations of general and historical studies development, steppe nature and land management; identification of landscape-biotic structure of ecosystems of the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Northern Eurasia, assessment parameters of their sustainability in the face of regional and global natural and anthropogenic changes; analysis of environmental threats, life safety risks and environmental sustainability issues; development of the scientific foundations of nature conservation in the Eurasia and the Ural region steppe zones; studying the genesis, morphology, structure and dynamics of natural and anthropogenic landscapes based on geoinformation technologies for monitoring and forecasting; conducting comprehensive economic and geographical studies aimed at developing the geographical foundations of sustainable socio-economic development of the steppe regions of Eurasia; generalizing the experience of steppe agricultural technologies adaptation and ecologization and the prospects assessment for the "smart land use" integration in the steppe zone’slandscape-adaptive agriculture, development new forms of steppe land, summarizing developments in nature-likesteppe land use technologies to assess their applicability in modern conditions.

The main research results of the Institute of Steppe UB RAS:

The foundations of an interdisciplinary field of scientific steppe knowledge as a science dealing with the landscape-ecological steppe zone problems have been laid;

Theoretical and applied historical geoecology foundations of the Northern Eurasia steppes - historical steppe studies are developed.

The paleogeographic and historical background of the steppes landscapes formation is studied, the stages of the nature and man joint evolution on the Northern Eurasia’s steppes territory are reconstructed.

The conceptual framework for land management policy in the country’ssteppe and forest-steppe regions was developed taking into account environmental sustainability and the natural diversity conservation.

The scientific and organizational principles of the Russia’s large regions natural-ecological framework formation based on the key landscape areas concept have been developed.

The laws of dynamics, structure, and development trends of salt dome, karst, psammite, red, spring, aquatic and anthropogenic landscapes of the Volga region and the South Urals steppe zones are studied, and methodological approaches to their study are developed.

The Institute is actively developing international cooperation with leading research and educational organizations in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Poland, Mongolia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. The Institute is the organizer of the international symposia "Steppes of Northern Eurasia", an important task is the popularization of geographical science, environmental and geographical education and enlightenment. The Institute has two scientific hospitals - “Buzuluksky Bor” and “Orenburg Tarpaniya”.