Home – Home – Jornals – Flora and Vegetation of Asian Russia 2023 number 1

On solonetzes and salt marshes of the northern part of Kulunda steppe, cenoses with a predominance of Halimione verrucifera, a dwarf semishrub with succulent leaves of Chenopodiaceae family are often formed. The dynamics of the accumulation of the aboveground mass of this species under different regimes of land use was studied on the example of four plant communities of solonetzsteppe of Northern Kulunda within Novosibirsk region. The description of vegetation was carried out using standard geobotanical methods, the aboveground phytomass was determined by cutting method. It is shown that the aboveground mass of Halimione verrucifera varies greatly from year to year and largely depends on the mode of land use of the steppe communities. During five years of observations, significant correlations were revealed between the mass of Halimione verrucifera and the total aboveground phytomass of communities under absolute protective regime and under weak grazing in certain years. It is noted that during seasons with increased rainfall rapid growth of Halimione verrucifera occurs, and drought resistance allows this species to strengthen in the herbage during dry years in contrast to drying grasses. On pastures Halimione verrucifera is poorly eaten and resistant to trampling. Under long-term moderate grazing, Halimione verrucifera produces numerous small shoots, which can make up the main part of the pasture phytomass. The distribution and conservation of Halimione verrucifera in the solonetz plant communities of Northern Kulunda are mainly determined by soil salinity increase, which can be caused both by its compaction under hard pastoral use and climatic fluctuations.

The bioecological features of Myosotis pseudovariabilis Popov from the section Sylvaticae (Popov ex Riedl) Tzvelev, an endemic of the lover reaches of the Yenisei river (Krasnoyarsk Territory) are considered. Taxonomy, geographical distribution, species protection, and morphological characters of vegetative and generative organs are discussed. Original researches on element composition of green mass of leaves of M. pseudovariabilis in connection with soil composition and ecological conditions of species existence are carried out. Phenological characteristics of the species as well as plant response to abnormal weather conditions were studied for the first time. It has been noted that small populations of M. pseudovariabilis, Heracleum dissectum Ledeb. are confined to shrub thickets in river and stream valleys, while large populations are characteristic of meadows of natural and anthropogenic origin. The conjugate development of cenoses with participation of M. pseudovariabilis and Cirsium helenioides (L.) Hill was revealed. Plant communities M. pseudovariabilis is an explerant; its life strategy is aimed at the formation of long creeping epigeogenic rhizomes that radially take up space due to vegetative rosellate shoots, which have buds of regeneration on the ground surface and are covered by dry leaf debris. At present, due to the reduction of human activity, former hayfields, arable lands and vegetable gardens are overgrown with shrubs and tall grasses, which contributes to creation of favorable conditions for growth of M. pseudovariabilis and increase of its populations, since the main ecological niche of the species is meadow shrub communities of the eutrophic successional vegetation series.

The article presents the results of morphological studies of anthers, as well as live and dehydrated pollen grains of 9 species of the genus Tulipa L. from 4 sections. In the living state, the grains are spherical or elongated-ellipsoidal in shape, ranging in size from 40 to 78 mm. For a spherical shape, the type of aperture is characteristic - a pore, and for an ellipsoid - a colpi. Based on the determination of the place of germination of the pollen tube, which is located only on the distal side and is pore in the species of the sections Leiostemones, Spiranthera, Orithia and a furrow in the species of the section Eriostemnes, it was found that the pollen in the studied species is distal-1-aperture. Aperture without operculum (Leiostemones) or with it (Spiranthera, Eriostemnes, Orithia). The palynomorphological features correspond to the sections of the genus according to the classification of A.I. Vvedensky with additions by Z.P. Bochantseva. The data obtained do not confirm the expediency of including the section Spiranthera.

The species Cetraria crispiformis is very poorly studied in Russia. Only 6 points are indicated on the map of the range of the species for the territory of Russia. The purpose of this study was to revise herbarium materials in order to detect new localities of the lichen, as well as to map the range of the species in Russia. The purpose of this study was to revise herbarium materials in order to detect new localities of the lichen, as well as to map the range of the species on the territory of Russia. The material for the study was herbarium collections, including type materials kept in the Lichenological Herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE), as well as single specimens kept in the Herbarium of the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (PTZ) and the M.G. Popov Herbarium of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (NSK). The study was carried out by a comparative morphological method. The distribution map of the species on the territory of Russia was compiled using the point mapping method. As a result of the revision of the herbarium materials of C. islandica s.l. about 40 (30 new) localities of the species C. crispiformis have been identified. A distribution map of this arctic-northamphiatlantic lichen on the territory of Russia has been compiled, showing that the species is found here almost exclusively along the coasts of the northern seas (Barents, White, Kara) and on the Arctic islands. Outside the coasts (in more continental regions), the species is practically not found, and if it occurs, then in special conditions - in sphagnum bogs. The most remote localities of the species from the coasts are in the Komi Republic on the Timan Ridge and in the Pskov Region on the “Eastern Bog Massif”. As a result of the study of type specimens of intraspecific taxa of C. islandica described by K.A. Rassadina, it was found that the type C. islandica var. polaris f. grumulosa Rass. (LE L127), the name of which was considered by Kärnefelt (1979) as a synonym of C. islandica subsp. crispiformis does not belong to the species C. crispiformis, but represents one of the forms of C. islandica s.l. Synonyms and their type specimens are given.

Ecological monitoring is a regular long-term observation of various environmental parameters. It is one of the tasks of Russian state nature reserves, fixed in legislation. The southern part of the Katunskiy Reserve until its establishment in 1991 was subjected to cattle grazing. The purpose of this research was to estimate the restoration of meadow plant communities in the Reserve after its establishment. Observations of the floristic composition and species cover in the meadow communities of the Katunskiy Reserve were carried out on three Permanent Test Plots (PTP) measuring 10 10 m. Relevés with lists of species and species cover in percentage were made in each PTP in 1999, 2003, 2008, 2017/2018 and 2022. In order to estimate the statistical significance of the species cover changes, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired samples (wilcox.test function in R) was used. Changes of the species composition and, for some species, fluctuations, decrease or increase of the cover were registered in PTPs during the observation period. For two PTPs, the estimation of these changes by Wilcoxon test gave statistical significance above the threshold limit (p-value > 0.05), what does not allow us to admit statistically significant changes. At the third PTP, statistically significant changes in species cover were registered in 2018 and 2022, compared to 1999 (p-value < 0.05). Apparently, this is a result of the restoration of the meadow community, which has been most disturbed by grazing before the reserve establishment. At this PTP, large-leaved species, which were not registered at the first year of observation, were found in subsequent years: Cirsium helenioides, Angelica sylvestris, Rumex aquaticus; as well as other common meadow species: Ranunculus grandifolius, Trollius asiaticus, Polemonium caeruleum, Viola disjuncta. Some species, common for disturbed habitats disappeared from the PTP: Trifolium repens, Carum carvi, Cirsium setosum, what also should be considered as a fact confirming the restoration of the vegetation cover.

According to the results of the expedition routes in 2021-2022, data on the findings of new and rare adventive plant species in the Southern Urals (Republic of Bashkortostan and Orenburg Region) are presented. For the first time for the Southern Urals are given: Carthamus tinctorius, Glycine max and Heliopsis helianthoides. For the Republic of Bashkortostan, the following species are given for the first time: Cotoneaster lucidus, Grindelia squarrosa; for the Orenburg Region: Dracocephalum nutans, Gaillardia aristata, Portulaca grandiflora, Solidago gigantea, Sorghum sudanense, Thladiantha dubia. New localities of 3 rarely occurring adventive plant species (Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Senecio dubitabilis, Setaria italica) in Orenburg Region are given.

Galium zaisanicum Pinzhenina et Kupr. is described as a new species from East Kazakhstan from section Galium. G. zaisanicum grows in Zaisan depression on Kiin-Kerish clays. The material was collected in the East Kazakhstan region of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the intermountain depression, on the clays of Kiin-Kerish. G. zaisanicum shows an external morphological similarity with species G. ruthenicum Willd., G. saurense Litv., but differs by tomentose of stem, length of internodes, shape and pubescence of leaves, shape of corolla lobes, pubescence of corolla, shape of anthers, and sculpture of fruit surface. Data on the surface sculpture of the mericarpies confirm the close relationship of the species G. zaisanicum, G. ruthenicum and G. saurense Litv. G. zaisanicum grows in fine-grained areas with an admixture of quartz sand and kaolin clay scour products in semi-desert communities involving members of the families Poaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae. For the new species, the holotype, isotypes and paratypes are given. Detailed description, discribution, ecologi, illustrationsas as well as a comparison with morphologically similar species are provided.