Features of Quasi-Natural Ecosystems and Their Role in the Conservation of Biodiversity

Abstract

This work aims to justify the potential for biodiversity conservation in moderately exploited lands that are characterized by a low degree of technogenic transformation and occupy an intermediate position between natural and artificial ecosystems due to their ecological features. Ecosystems of such kind can be referred to as quasi-natural. In this study focus is made on the most typical objects in this respect - multipurpose ponds and protective forest belts in Ukraine. Conventional ecological methods were used for accounting for the composition of the communities and assessing their productivity. The general species richness and diversity of groups in communities of quasi-natural ecosystems, as a rule, reach high values, than in their surroundings. In the survey of 30 pond-fish farming areas in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine, 150 species of vertebrate animals (except fish) were found there, of which more than 90 are listed as protected. Forest shelterbelts of the steppe zone of Ukraine are the habitat of 584 species of beetles, and in forest-steppe protective forest belts there can be found up to 30 protected plant and animal species per hectare of stand. Arable land, pastures and haymaking steppe areas of southern Ukraine support rare bird species, of which 10 are listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. Therefore the considered quasi-natural ecosystems undoubtedly play a significant role in the conservation of wildlife and there is a need to provide opportunities for comprehensive implementation and enhancement of their conservation potential.