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.