Home – Home – Jornals – Flora and Vegetation of Asian Russia 2025 number 3

The paper presents the data on syntaxonomical diversity of forest vegetation of the «ribbon» forests of the Ob-Irtysh watershed. The dataset of 87 original and 152 previously published relevés was analyzed. To segregate the types of communities the TWINSPAN and the manual sorting in the software package IBIS 7.2 were applied. The ordination of syntaxa based on plants indicator values was conducted. The prevalent role of soil moisture in the differentiation of forest communities was shown. Forest vegetation is represented by 6 variants, 3 subassociations, 11 associations, 4 alliances and 4 orders from 4 classes. The class Koelerio glaucae-Pinetea sylvestris includes 3 associations and represents psammophytic pine forests with sparse herb layer, which is dominated by steppe and meadow-steppe plants. The group of most xerophytic communities with the predominance of psammophytes was described as a new association (Table 1). Ass. Stipo borysthenicae-Pinetum sylvestris Chupina et Korolyuk ass. nov. (Table 2, rel. 1-22), holotypus - Table 2, rel. 13 (field no. 96-023): Republic of Kazakhstan, Abayskaya Oblast, Beskaragajskiy district, 4 km north of the village Kanonerka, 12.06.1996, author - A.Yu. Korolyuk. D. s.: Alyssum tortuosum, Astragalus altaicus, Cleistogenes squarrosa, Eremogone biebersteinii, Erysimum canescens, Helichrysum arenarium, Jurinea schischkiniana, Kochia laniflora, Scorzonera ensifolia, Silene borysthenica, Stipa borysthenica, Syrenia siliculosa. Pine forests of the association are common in the southern parts of the “ribbon” forests in the steppe zone (Fig. 3). The communities occupy the gentle slopes as well as the tops of sand dunes. The density of the pine forest stand canopy varies widely and depends on the anthropogenic disturbance intensity. The facultative and obligate psammophytes predominate in the herb layer. The dominants are Carex supina , C. ericetorum , and Koeleria glauca. The class Vaccinio-Piceetea unites mesophytic pine forests with a developed moss-lichen layer. They relate to well-drained habitats with acidic soils. The class includes 5 associations that are widespread in the Burlinskiy pine forest and we had occured the class communities in other “ribbon” forests as well. Mesophytic pine forests with rich herb layer of the class Brachypodio pinnati-Betuletea pendulae include two associations, which were developed on the relatively rich soils. The swamped forest communities belong to the class Alnetea glutinosae. The both classes so far are pointed out for the Burlinskiy pine forest only.