Rastitelʹnye resursy

—A list of forage plants, lichens and fungi of reindeer pastures of the Olyutorsky District of the Koryak Region was compiled for the first time. 233 species of vascular plants from 37 families, 37 species of forage lichens and 7 genera of mushrooms were identified. The main species of fodder lichens in the Korjak District are: Cladonia stellaris (Opiz) Pouzar et Vězda, C. rangiferina (L.) F.H. Wigg., C. arbuscula (Wallr.) Flot. s.l., C. mitis Sandst., Flavocetraria cucullata (Bellardi) Kärnefelt et Thell at all. The main forage plants are: Salix pulchra Cham., S. alaxensis Cov., S. krylovii E. Wolf, S. saxatilis Turcz. ex Ledeb., S. arctica Pall. et all; Betula exilis Sukacz., B. middendorffii Trautv. et Mey.; Arctophila fulva (Trin.) Anderss., Calamagrostis purpurea (Trin.) Trin. s.l., Poa L. spp., Festuca L. spp.; Carex lugens H. T. Holm., C. globularis L., C. appendiculata (Trautv. et C.A. Mey.) Kük., C. lyngbyei Hornem. subsp. Cryptocarpa (C.A. Mey.) Hultén, C. rhynchophysa C.A. Mey.; Eriophorum vaginatum L., E. polystachyon L., E. russeolum Fries, E. scheuchzeri Hoppe; E-quisetum L. spp.; Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Polygonaceae species. For each species, the family, life-form (biomorph), edible plant organs and grazing seasons were indicated. Regional patterns of the reindeer pastures vegetation in the North of the Koryak Region are discussed; some grazing preferences of Chukchi deer breed are noted.

—Thymus mongolicus (Ronniger) Ronniger (Lamiaceae) is a valuable medicinal and aromatic plant. T. mongolicus is the implicitly polycentric dwarf shrub widely distributed in different environments of Tuva. The breeding system of T. mongolicus was studied in three steppe and meadow habitats. Statistically significant differences between bisexual and pistillate flowers of T. mongolicus were established based on three morphological features of the flower: the length of the upper lip of the corolla and the length of stamen filament of the upper and lower stamens (p 0.0001–0.016). The length of the upper lip of corolla of the bisexual flower is 1.3 times longer than that of the pistillate flower; the lengths of stamen filaments of upper and lower stamens of bisexual flowers are 3.7 and 4.1 times longer (respectively) than the length of staminodes of pistillate flowers. The stamens of the pistillate flowers are underdeveloped and do not form fertile pollen. The frequency of females occurrence in coenopopulations is insignificant (2.1–3.4% of the total number of generative individuals), and females are absent in some phytocoenoses. Reproduction of T. mongolicus occurs both by seed and vegetatively. The distribution of T. mongolicus individuals by ontogenetic groups showed that both pregenerative individuals (33.0–38.1% of the total number of individuals) and generative individuals (31.2–63.7%) are well represented in cenopopulations. Analysis of the ratio of genets and ramets in the steppe petrophyte coenopopulation showed the significant predominance of the vegetative individuals in all ontogenetic groups: in general, there are 3.7 times more ramets than genets. In the meadow coenopopulation, the germination of seeds and the spread of generative individuals is prevented by the relatively high total projective cover of the herbage. It can be assumed that the low occurrence of T. mongolicus females is a-ssociated with a low seed renewal and specificity of offspring inheritance.

—Effects of dry storage under ambient laboratory conditions on germination and survival was tested for seeds of rare species Ephedra monosperma. The seeds without pregermination treatment were placed in Petri dishes with a moistened filter paper at room temperature 20 ± 3 °C. Seeds maintain high germination when dry stored for 5 years (mesobiotic), further storage leads to a sharp decrease in germination. At the same time, dry storage of seeds does not change the time of the beginning of germination, the duration of germination and the curve of seed germination. Freshly harvested seeds and seeds stored at room temperature germinate 2–4 days after seeding, 50% of seeds – in 7 days, and 98–100% – within 2 weeks. The seed germination curve has two peaks; the highest one is the first, which is observed on the 3rd day from the start of germination.

—Due to the insufficient knowledge of the lilac flowers component composition, a comparative analysis of 6 species of the genus Syringa L. from the collection of the South Ural Botanical Garden-Institute of the Ufa Federal Research Center RAS was carried out. S. emodi Wall., S. josikaea Jacg., S. komarowii Schneid., S. reticulata (Blume) H. Hara ssp. amurensis (Rupr.) P.S. Green et M.C. Chang, S. sweginzowii Koehne et Lingelsh, S. vulgaris L. were studied. The content of the major groups of biologically active compounds, namely flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, tannins and organic acids, was established. The highest content of all identified groups of biologically active substances (BAS) was found in flowers of S. komarowii: flavonoids ‒ 4.25 ± 0.21%, hydroxycinnamic acids ‒ 6.13 ± 0.29%, tannins – 9.3 ± 0.5%, ascorbic acid ‒ 0.468 ± 0.022%, and organic acids ‒ 10.7 ± 0.5%. In S. emodi and S. sweginzowii the content of these BAS is little less than in S. komarowii, and the minimum amount of BAS was found in S. josikaea. A comparative analysis of the qualitative and quantitative profiles of the BAS major groups in some lilac species cultivated in the Republic of Bashkortostan shows the prospects for their further study with the objective of their possible use in scientific medicine, and for the development of herbal remedies.

—The article presents the results of a study of the effect of urban environment in the Donbass on the content of biologically active substances, heavy metals and antioxidant activity of the flowers of Crataegus fallacina Klok., a poorly studied non-pharmacopoeial species of the genus Crataegus L. Under technogenic pollution, in the flowers of C. fallacina a decrease in the concentration of carotenoids and an increase in the content of phenolic compounds (flavonoids, procyanidins, oxycinnamic acids, tannins, anthocyanins), ascorbic and free organic acids was detected. The hermetic response of the content of anthocyanins and procyanidins to the pollution level was observed. The flowers of C. fallacina have a high total antioxidant activity, which increases under technogenic load, indicating plants sufficient adaptation to the urbanized environment. The ability of C. fallacina plants to limit flow of cadmium and lead to generative organs was revealed. The concentration of mercury in flowers exceeds its concentration in soil. C. fallacina flowers harvested in the Donbass meet the regulations on the content of active substances and comply with the requirements with regard to the heavy metals content. The obtained results prove the practicability of using C. fallacina for pharmaceutical purposes along with pharmacopoeial species of the genus Crataegus, and the possibility of their harvesting for medicinal use in the Donbass.

—Logging in mature stands, where part of the forest is harvested in one or several cuts and part is retained (clear-cutting and alternate strip cutting) results in the formation of an ecotone complex: forest (F), transition from forest to clear-cut under the canopy (forest edge – FE), transition from forest to clear-cut outside of the canopy (clear-cut edge – CE), and the clear-cut itself (C). Strips 8 m wide on each side of the mature forest/clear-cut site border form the transitional zone. We studied the ground vegetation composition and structure, and the natural regeneration of woody species (Pinus sylvestris L., Picea abies (L.) H. Karst., Betula sp., Populus tremula L., Sorbus aucuparia L., Juniperus communis L.) in the bilberry pine forest – clear-cut ecotone complex 12–15 years after the stand removal. The studies demonstrate that each of the four zones of the ecotone complex formed after logging of the mature forest has its own structural features of ground vegetation and undergrowth (including tree regeneration). The typical forest (F) habitat is characterized by the minimum number of young regeneration of Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Betula sp., Populus tremula, and Sorbus aucuparia and, on the contrary, by the highest abundance of lingonberry V. vitis-idaea L. and bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus L., and the maximum height of bilberry plants and their yield. The amount of tree regeneration in the FE is almost the same as in the F zone. The projective cover, maximum shoot height and yield of bilberry, and maximum shoot height of lingonberry in the FE zone are reliably lower than in the F zone. The transitional zone on the clear-cut side (CE) and the clear-cut itself (C) are distinguished from the forest sections of the ecotone complex (F and FE zones) by a greater number of deciduous and pine regeneration and the low abundance of dwarf shrubs. The clear-cut itself (C) differs from the CE by the higher abundance of grasses and forbs and an established tree regeneration layer composed of pine, birch, and aspen.