Changes in the Parameters of the Environment-Forming Function of Steppe Ecosystems under the Conditions of Oil and Gas Production

Any anthropogenic impact leads to the transformation of material and energy flows and changes in ecosystem functions and services. The purpose of this work is to identify changes in the parameters of the environmental function caused by the anthropogenic impact of oil production in the steppe Volga–Ural region. We selected ten sites with five pairs of plots with the initial steppe and disturbed as the key sites. The objects were studied during the 2023–2024 fieldwork and with the use of remote sensing data. The temperature, air and soil humidity, the concentration of carbon dioxide as the main greenhouse gas, and the oxygen concentration were measured. The carbon sequestration index, surface temperature of the landscape, and moisture content in the vegetation cover were analyzed using satellite images. It has been revealed that, in the areas with the anthropogenic impact of small-area facilities of oil production, the temperature and humidity of air do not change; however, the soil temperature increases and the soil moisture decreases. These sites showed a reduced rate of carbon depositing in combination with its increased emission and reduced oxygen content. Deformed soil and vegetation cover is the most likely cause of changes in the above-mentioned environmental and climate-regulating characteristics. However, the scale of these changes in the studied region is insignificant against the background of natural and other anthropogenic factors of soil and vegetation transformation.