Forest communities of the Salair ridge as habitats of protected lichen species

Abstract

For a comprehensive assessment of the habitats of rare and vulnerable lichen species, four key sites inthe Eltsovsky, Togulsky and Zarinsky districts of the Altai territory were studied, which described plant communities –spruce forests, forests with spruce and cedar pine, as well as fir-aspen forests. In total, 20 geobotanical descriptionswere performed, each with an area of 400 sq. m; the vertical and horizontal structure and composition of species weredescribed. Fir-aspen forests and their derivatives are distributed along the peaks and slopes and are dominant in the axialpart of the ridge. They are significantly disrupted by logging. Spruce forests occupy low relief elements – river valleys,small in area. Despite the good development of spruce trees in these forests, they do not have any significant economicsignificance, as they are located in hard-to-reach places, often swampy. However, they can also be transformed as a resultof fires. The main threat to their existence is the process of gold mining in the valleys of small rivers, which destroys notonly spruce forests, but also the entire complex of environmental conditions necessary for their existence. Five species oflichens listed in the Red data book of the Altai territory were found in the studied forests.