Расширение ареала Cotoneaster lucidus Schlecht. в лесопарках г. Екатеринбурга

Abstract

Shiny cotoneaster (Cotoneaster lucidus Schlecht.) is one of the oldest plants. It originated in Southeast Asia and has many primitive traits. Its survival strategy is fascinating. Its introduction range extends throughout Eurasia. The cotoneaster has been actively introduced to all forest parks and city forests around Yekaterinburg. Its spread was facilitated by the presence of edible, long-preserved fruits on the shoots, which were the food supply for many bird species. The research aims at analyzing the distribution patterns and features of ecological occurrence of Cotoneaster lucidus in the forest parks of Yekaterinburg. There were 15 forest parks surveyed, and in 11 of them it is found in the undergrowth. The studies were carried out on the basis of forest inventory materials. Local habitats were monitored in four forest parks most visited by the population of the city: Sanatorny Forest Park, Uktusskiy Forest Park, Park named after Foresters of Russia, Shartashskaya Forest Park. Optimal environment for cotoneaster growth are mixed herbs pine forests with stand density of 0.7–0.8. Mature stands of the 1st resistance class are also appropriate. The highest occurrence of cotoneaster in the Central Forest Park is 7 % of the total area of the forest park. The density of cotoneaster increases with increasing stand density from 320 to 1,140 individuals. At a density of 0.3–0.5 the number of individuals per unit area decreases, and at 0.1–0.2 cotoneaster disappears completely as a result of increased anthropogenic load and the inflow of light in excessive amounts. High shade tolerance is a bioecological feature of Cotoneaster lucidus. Morphometric parameters of plants in the studied forest parks depend on the density of the tree canopy; the maximum values were found for specimens in the Sanatorny Forest Park, where the distribution of shrubs is rare with a density of the stand of 0.7. A positive correlation of plant height with projection area and crown volume was found. The spatial distribution of individuals varies depending on the forest park and its attendance by people. For instance, in the Shartashsky Forest Park 60.4 % of cotoneasters are located in dense undergrowth, and in the Uktusskiy Forest Park 66.7 % are found in sparse undergrowth. Immature individuals are present in all of the Forest Parks, which indicates successful naturalization and high potential of the species.