IMPACT OF MAPLE ASH ON THE STRUCTURE OF PLANT COMMUNITIES OF THE NATURAL COMPLEX «RUDNICHNY PINE FOREST»
O. L. Tsandekova
Federal Research Center for Coal and Coal Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Kemerovo, Russian Federation
Keywords: Acer negundo, species composition, invasion, transformation of plant communities, pine forest
Abstract
The article presents the results of a study on the introduction of maple ash ( Acer negundo L.) into phytocenoses in the specially protected natural area (SPNA) «Rudnichny Sosnovy Bor», located within the city limits of Kemerovo. It was revealed that under the influence of the invasive species, the structure and composition of different layers of forest communities were most altered in pine horsetail-forb associations with maple, pine-maple nettle-gramineous associations, pine-maple nettle-goutweed associations with a share of its participation of 12-18 specimens/400 m2, and the least altered in the pine goutweed-forb association (2 specimens/400 m2). Under the canopy of maple ash, the projective cover of the herbage was reduced in some cases, dead areas formed. In the herbaceous layer, the proportion of weed species varied from 20 to 50 %, with the dominant species being: stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica L.), creeping couch grass ( Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex Nevski), greater celandine ( Chelidonium majus L.), cocksfoot ( Dactylis glomerata L.), and dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale F. H. Wigg.). Therefore, the introduction of maple ash into the pine forest ecosystems leads to unwanted floristic pollution in a specially protected natural area. Further monitoring of the maple ash invasion process involving is necessary.
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