Home – Home – Jornals – Flora and Vegetation of Asian Russia 2026 number 3

Fieldwork in the Kosh-Agach District of the Altai Republic, review of collections stored in the LE, NSK, NS, and TK Herbariums, and literature review resulted in the identification of a new species, Puccinellia bertekensis Ovczinnikova et Lashch., from the section Montanae (Ovczinnikova) Ovczinnikova. This description of the new species includes a diagnosis, citation of the holotype and paratype labels, and a discussion of the morphological and ecocoenotic features of P. bertekensis and its differences from the closely related species P. schischkinii Tzvelev and P. hackeliana (V.I. Krecz.) C. Persson. The diagnostic features of the species are presented in the table and figure, and a photograph of the holotype and its habitat in the Bertek Depression are provided. For related taxa, the nomenclatural citation is provided, along with information on type specimens (including the lectotype of Atropis hackeliana V.I. Krecz.), ecological characteristics, and distribution. The map shows the locations of the three species within Northern Asia.

The morphology of the valve of Achnanthidium rivulare Potapova et Ponader, a rare species for the flora of Russia, was studied using scanning electron microscopy. It is found that valves show a wider variability of a number of quantitative features (length and width of the valve, the number of areolae in each striae in the center of the valve), which made it possible to specify the description of the specie

This is the first report on the algae of a number of tributaries of Lake Azas and the Toora-Khem River in the Republic of Tyva. A list of algae has been compiled, including 227 species and subspecies belonging to 88 genera, 45 families, and 9 divisions. It has been revealed that diatoms make up the basis of the algal flora. Eighteen dominant species have been identified. An ecological and geographical analysis of the algae in these watercourses has been conducted. It was established that the algal flora of rivers is represented by benthic species, with a predominance of indifferent forms in relation to halobity and the active reaction of the environment. In all the studied watercourses, 166 species were identified as indicators of water saprobity. A predominance of betamesosaprobionts and oligosaprobionts was noted. In terms of geography, cosmopolitan and boreal species dominated.

Based on a study of the macromycete biota of the anthracite deposit waste dump, an annotated list was compiled, including 47 species of ascomycota and basidiomycota, from 8 orders, 27 families, and 36 genera. Two species are new to the Novosibirsk region: Conobolbitina dasypus (Romagn.) T. Bau & H.B. Song and Leucopaxillus tricolor (Peck) Kühner. Symbiotrophs and litter saprotrophs dominated the ecological-trophic structure, followed by humus saprotrophs, and occasional xylotrophs and mycotrophs. The majority of macromycete species were associated with birch forests within the waste dump. The ascomycetes and basidiomycetes identified in post-technogenic landscapes were characterized by very rare fruiting and sporadic occurrence. Latitudinally, the mycobiota exhibited features of Holarctic and multizonal geoelements, while regionally, it was characterized as Eurasian-North American, with a large proportion of multiregional and Holarctic species.

New data on the distribution of new species Crepidotus epibryus (Fr.) Quél. , Pluteus phlebophorus (Ditmar) P. Kumm. , Ripartites tricholoma (Alb. et Schwein.) P. Karst. , Scleroderma cepa Fr. and rare species Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst., Sparassis crispa (Wulfen) Fr. in Altai Territory are presented. Information is provided on the new location of the species Fomitopsis officinalis (Vill.) Bondartsev et Singer included in the monitoring list of fungi of Russia. Information about habitat, substrate, and distribution in the Russia and world is provided for each species. For rare species, photos in the natural environment are attached.

New data on the lichen species Cetraria rassadinae Makryĭ, described in 1984 from Pribaikalye and until now known from only a few localities, are presented. As a result of revision of materials stored in the Lichenological herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (LE-L) and the Lichenological division of the Popov Herbarium of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden SB RAS (NSK), 23 new localities of the species were discovered, including those from the Arctic part of Western Siberia. In total, taking into account literary data, 44 localities (from 25 regions) are currently known, on the basis of which a species distribution map has been compiled. A chemotaxonomic study showed that C. rassadinae does not differ in the component composition of secondary metabolites from the closely related species C. odontella , as well as C. nigricans , all of which contain lichesterinic and protolichesterinic acids. C. rassadinae is a “calciphile” and “mesophyte”, living on boulders (dolomite limestone etc.) - on thin layers of fine earth, as well as on rocky, poorly developed primitive soils. It inhabits mountain and arctic tundra, subalpine meadows, sparse Abies sibirica and Pinus sibirica woodlands, Pinus pumila thickets, as well as larch and, rarely, pine forests. It is an arcto-alpine, or more precisely, hyparctic-montane lichen. It can be argued that the species is relatively young, as evidenced by its narrow range. The formation of the species apparently took place during the Pleistocene. It initially formed in the mountains of Southern Siberia, from where it subsequently spread to the Central Siberian Plateau, the Putorana Plateau, and the Arctic parts of Western Siberia. If it had formed in the Arctic, it would have had a circumpolar distribution. All known localities are located in territories belonging to the basins of rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean: the Pur, Yenisei (with its tributaries), and Lena (with the Kirenga and Vitim tributaries). While the rivers of the Yenisei and Lena basins originate in the mountains of Southern Siberia (Pribaikalie and the Eastern Sayan Mountains), the Pur River originates in the Siberian Uvaly. Altai localities belonging to the Katun River basin (the Ob River basin) are known only from the highlands. The species’ spread from the highlands to the lower mountain belts occurred under the influence of mountain glaciation, while from the mountains of Southern Siberia to the north of Siberia, along river valleys downstream. Another way for the species to disperse and expand its range was by spreading along mountain ranges. All mountain systems of Northern Asia are interconnected by common processes of florogenesis. Between the mountains of Southern Siberia (Altai, Sayan Mountains, Baikal mountains, and Stanovoye Nagorye Highlands), there is a natural migration route in northeast and southwest directions, along which, during the glacial and interglacial periods, there was a constant exchange of alpine and mountain species. The westernmost and easternmost points of the range of C. rassadinae are known in Altai (Kurai Range) and Stanovoye Nagorye Highlands (Kodar Range).

This article examines toponymic, historical, and historical-lexicological evidence of Pinus sibirica Du Tour growing west of its traditionally designated range. Both modern large-scale maps of the regions of interest and maps from past periods dating back to the late 18th century, when the General Land Survey plans were created, were examined. Based on the cartographic research conducted, a number of toponyms were discovered that indicate the possible presence in past times of both the Siberian stone pine itself and its consort, the sable ( Martes zibellina L.), hundreds of kilometers west of the boundaries of their current ranges. For the same purpose, historical documents were examined, ranging from 15th-century charters and census books to economic documents from the 19th and 20th centuries. These documents also provide evidence of the more western presence of the cedar in the North of European Russia in the past. The historical and lexical research included the study of dialects of the northern provinces of Russia in the 19th century and modern regional and dialectological dictionaries. As a result, linguistic traces of the presence of the cedar in the basins of the Northern Dvina and Sukhona rivers were identified, again significantly further west of the traditionally indicated area of P. sibirica . In addition to words related to the cedar itself, local names of certain animals were also found, indicating their connection with the Siberian cedar pine. Overall, the studies conducted have shown that the distribution boundary of the Siberian cedar may have previously been further west.

Research aimed at identifying the adaptive potential of rare and protected plants in conditions of secondary biotopes is one of the relevant directions in studying the processes of anthropogenic transformation of flora. One of the species actively inhabiting the dumps of spent industrial quarries is the dark red dormouse Epipactis atrorubens (Hoffm.) Besser. The aim of the work is to assess the vital structure and viability of E. atrorubens cenopopulations in the conditions of industrially transformed ecosystems of the southern taiga within the Kirov Region. The study of E. atrorubens cenopopulations was conducted during the 2023 growing season at a non-reclaimed limestone quarry (near the village of Pervomaysky, Slobodskoy District, Kirov Region) in three areas with different ecological and coenotic conditions, as well as at the sludge dump of the Kirov Plant for the Processing of Non-Ferrous Metals (KZTNM) (Kirov). As a result of the research, it was found that E. atrorubens is characterized by significant cenotic plasticity and, in addition to natural habitats, successfully develops secondary phytocenoses formed on the site of post-anthropogenic territories. Vascular plants belonging to 5 ecological and cenotic groups are noted in the composition of the communities under consideration; meadow and meadow-fringed species are most represented in ecotopes of both types. The morphometric parameters of the vegetative and generative spheres of E. atrorubens  vary significantly in the studied cenopopulations. The parameters of the generative sphere turned out to be highly plastic, with maximum response to changes in habitat conditions: the length of the inflorescence and the number of flowers. As a result of the analysis of the structure of the variability of morphological features of four groups of E. atrorubens traits are described: ecological, ecological-biological, biological, and genetic. The least variable features include the number of leaves and the length of the 2nd leaf from the base of the metamer shoot. The most variable feature is the length of the inflorescence. Data on the vital state of the studied E. atrorubens cenopopulations have shown that the studied cenopopulations are heterogeneous in their composition and, according to the complex of features of both vegetative and generative spheres, belong to the prosperous type (forest-meadow ecotonic biotopes) or depressive types (secondary forest communities).

Plant communities on saline soils are a characteristic of steppe and forest-steppe landscapes, significantly contributing to the floristic and coenotic diversity of many regions of Russia. In terms of syntaxonomy the halophytic vegetation of the mountains of the Southern Siberia has been poorly described. Pioneer coenoses dominated by obligate halophytes are characterized for Transbaikalia and Southeast Altai. Analysis of 43 original relevés revealed the vegetation diversity of communities dominated by annual halophytes at seven sites within the steppe belt of the Republics of Tyva and Khakassia. The studied vegetation belongs to the Eurasian class Therosalicornietea and the South Siberian order Suaedetalia sibiricae . Three associations and six communities are characterized. The alliance Suaedion sibiricae is indicated by the dominance of Chenopodiaceae species and represents the main diversity of the class. The alliance includes three associations previously described from Transbaikalia. The ass. Suaedo sibiricae-Salicornietum perennantis and ass. Suaedetum sibiricae are widespread in Tyva and Khakassia, while the ass. Suaedetum mongolicae has been recorded only in Tyva. Coenoses representing these associations formed in salt lake basins along drying shoreline, where they often presented by easily recognizable vegetation belts. They also occur as small patches along the bottoms of temporary streams, and in contact with forb-grass communities of steppes and meadows on saline soils. Five communities dominated by Suaeda tuvinica , S. prostrata , S. corniculata , Atriplex patens and Bassia scoparia are also described within the alliance. The alliance Artemision anethifoliae unites wormwood ( Artemisia anethifolia ) communities and includes the comm. Puccinellia tenuissima-Artemisia anethifolia from the South Minusinsk Basin. Most of the syntaxa are characterized by local distribution, due to their rarity and the fragmentary data about halophytic vegetation in Altai-Sayan Mountains.

The E.A. Eversman Herbarium, which is a botanical component of the museum complex of Kazan Federal University, has a long history of formation and formation. The botanical cabinet and the garden of the Imperial Kazan University were under unified management and served both educational and scientific purposes. In the early stages of its existence, plant collections were acquired, as a rule, in metropolitan cities or abroad at the expense of the university. This article traces the history of the acquisition of plants for the botanical garden in the early 19th century, examines the role of the famous Kazan naturalist K.F. Fuchs in this event, the 250th anniversary of which will be celebrated in September 2026. Information about the composition of the acquired collection is provided. The information introduced into scientific circulation for the first time expands our understanding of the history of the formation of botanical collections at Russian universities in the early 19th century.