COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE AND ECOLOGICAL FEATURES OF HIGH-MOUNTAIN OLD-GROWTH SIBERIAN STONE PINE FORESTS OF THE NORTH CHUYA RANGE
E. E. Timoshok1, E. N. Timoshok1, I. I. Gureeva2
1Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Science, Tomsk, Russian Federation
2National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation
Keywords: high-mountain old-growth Siberian stone pine forests, species diversity, cenotic structure, ecological scales, Altai-Sayan mountain system
Abstract
The results of 23-year study of the species composition, vertical and horizontal structure, and ecological characteristics of old-growth high-mountain Siberian stone pine ( Pinus sibirica Du Tour) forests survived in the valley of the Aktru River (North-Chuysky Range, Republic of Altai) at altitudes of 2160-2300 m above sea level and not exposed to human impact and fires throughout their existence are presented. The studies were carried out on ecological profiles laid on the northern, western and eastern slopes of the Aktru River valley. For the ecological assessment of habitats, the method of standard ecological scales by L. G. Ramensky - I. A. Tsatsenkin, implemented in the IBIS software were used. In total, eight variants of old-growth P. sibirica forests were identified on the territory of the Aktru mountain-glacial basin, characterized by significant differences in the composition and structure of the shrub layer and ground cover: three variants in the periglacial zone on the northern slope, two variants on the eastern slope and three variants on the western one. The richest species composition of vascular plants, mosses and lichens, is characteristic of the periglacial P. sibirica forests on the northern slope: 46 species of vascular plants, nine species of mosses and five species of ground lichens occur here; in the western slope forests, 32 species of vascular plants, six species of mosses and three species of lichens were found; on the eastern slope, 26 species of vascular plants and 8 species of mosses were discovered. In total, 104 species of vascular plants were identified in the composition of old-growth P. sibirica forests. The main generation of the trees of P. sibirica is over 400 years old. Despite being confined to different types of soils (cryozems, thin podburs, soddy podburs), forests are characterized by a narrow range of moisture (4 grades) and active soil richness (2 grades). The studied forests are of high scientific importance for understanding the formation and functioning of high-mountain forests. The necessity to preserve these forests is due to their rarity, undisturbed and significant age of the trees.
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