Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2002 number 5

Modern trends in nature protection

In 28 basic floristic areas (BFA) of Siberia, relative abundance of endemic and hemiendemic species, and only endemic species, have been determined. Diagrams show the localities of intensive speciation, mostly mountains. Endemic species have been divided into zonal groups: (1) arctic, alpine, and arctic-alpine; (2) taiga-boreal, mountainous, and hyparctic; (3) steppe, forest-steppe, and nemoral. In these groups, the homogeneity of BFA`s was evaluated by the Preston`s index (1

As a result of her own investigations and a result of generalization of  literary data, the author has established the level of lichen diversity of mountainous ecosystems which is represented at present by 1736 species from 290 genera and 87 families. For Altai-Sayan mountainous region,  the lichen diversity of mountainous ecosystems consists of 1348 species from 283 genera and 81 families and for Altai

Materials of all-year-round censuses of birds carried out by the author in the Visim reserve territory and in its protected zone in six habitats from December 1983 to November 1984 have been analyzed. With the help of classification of ordered objects, 6 general seasonal periods have been distinguished: relative winter stabilization; pre-spring migrations and beginning of arrival; nesting on the background of local and remote migrations; post-nesting local migrations and beginning of departure; departure and autumn flight; end of flight and pre-winter migrations. A concise quantitative characterization of the periods is given. With the help of non-metrical gradations, 4 types of intra-annual time course of ornithological complexes have been distinguished. Comparison with the available literature data has demonstrated that in the Middle Urals, northern forest-steppe of the Circum-Ob region, the Central Altai and in the deserts of Turkmenistan, the intra-annual stability of the physiognomy of ortnithocomplexes decreases from settlements and forests towards half-open and open habitats, and the intra-annual similarity of forest ornithocomplexes decreases from southern taiga to desert tugais. In the Ural, the abundance of settled species is relatively high, and the change of population aspects is determined by nesting migratory species. In the forest-steppe and especially in tugais, the proportion of species staying during the non-nesting time (migratory, wintering) is considerably higher, which is just what determines the increase of interseasonal differences between the bird population variants. By the character of seasonal variability of bird populations, the ornithocomplexes of the south of boreal vegetation zones and of the desert zone differ in the time of change of periods. Besides, the ornithocomplexes of tugais is characterized by a strong intra-annual differentiation.

Phytocenotic attachment of species of the genus Allium L. in Eurasia has been elucidated. It has been established that the highest species diversity is characteristic of xerophyte types of biomes and of rocky and stony vegetation. Amplitude humidity estimates of ecological scales for 56 species have been analyzed, and ecological areal of 15 species growing in Siberia has been described. It is demonstrated that in species playing an important role in the phytocenosis, the humidity tolerance amplitude is wider than that in species whose abundance in the community is not high.

On the basis of results of long-term censuses, the basic trends in the change of physiognomy of communities of small mammals have been studied and their hierarchical classification has been made. Changes of populations of the North, North-East, Central, and the whole Russian Altai have been compared.

At the modern stage of development of systematics of grasses, one may assume that in high mountainous regions of Siberia there are 18 species and 5 subspecies of the genus Poa. The core of the group is composed of high-mountainous  (P. smirnovii Roshev. S. L., P. alpigena subsp. sobolevskiana (Gudoschn.) Tzvel., P. vereczaginii Tzvel., P. attenuata subsp. attenuata (Trin.) Tzvel., P. attenuata subsp. tchuensis (serg.) Olon., P. rangkulensis Ovez et Czuk., P. glauca subsp. litvinoviana (Ovez.) Tzvel., P. glauca subsp. tristis (Trin.) Olon., P. altaica Trin., P.ircitica Roshev.) and arctic-mountainous (Poa alpigena subsp. alpigena, P. alpina) species. Species widespread in different zones are also found in Siberia. These are arctic P. arctica R. Br., P. tolmatchevii Roshev., P. paucispicula Scribn. et Mewrr., P. pseudoabbreviata Roshev found in the mountains of South Siberia as relicts, P. sibirica subsp. sibirica (Roshev) Tzvel. Existing as forest and mountainous races, the montane-steppe P. tianshanica (Regel.) Hack ex O. Fedtsch. and  the plurizonal P. supina Schrad., P. annua L., P. pratensis L. s. str., and P. palustris L.

As a result of comprehensive studies carried out in 1984

For the first time, a complete conspect of club fungi including 94 species belonging to three orders

Using the thematic (landscape, geobotanic, soil, agroclimatic) maps of factual habitats of plants and animals, the authors have developed a method for mapping the refugia of the Baikal region. The drawn-up map reflects not only the already known refugia, but also territories with their probable presence. In the present work 4 groups and 9 subgroups of refugia are considered, and the question of protection of unique plants and animals is raised.

The Altay-Sayani mountain region was demonstrated to have a unified forest-steppe complex. This complex includes mesophilous and xerophilous meadow steppes, petrophilous steppes, mesophilous and xerophilous forests, forest meadows. The basis of the forest-steppe belt floristic complex is formed with three floristic nuclei. The floristic nuclei of meadow steppes and mesophilous forests is associated with zone habitats, the floristic nucleus of petrophilous steppes is due to the edaphic factors

The dependence of flora and fauna diversity on the geochemical characteristics of territories is analyzed. In mountainous landscapes of the Hubsugul and East Sayan, in geochemical fieldfs, highly productive ecosystems with peculiar composition are formed. Dependence of species on the landscape geochemistry is an important theoretical problem that requires further study.

The steppe and forest meadows of the Altay-Sayani foret-steppe and subtaiga belts are considered in this article.The analysis of constant species of the steppe, forest and secondary meadows is carried out. Zone-belt and sector features of the steppe meadow coenoflora are revealed.