Life forms of plants of natural and anthropogenic landscapes

Abstract

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the solution of environmental issues to preserve the natural biological diversity of plant life forms in Central Asia and the Balkan Peninsula. The most important task of Uzbek botanists is to investigate all aspects of the structural and dynamic organisation of vegetation cover and changes in plant communities in areas affected by the intense impact of anthropogenic factors. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to conduct a comparative characterisation of plant life forms of natural and anthropogenic landscapes of Central Asia and the Balkan Peninsula. The leading approach to the examination of this problem is spatial-comparative, which allows comprehensively investigating the elements of the system of plant life forms of natural and anthropogenic landscapes. In addition, during the empirical study, the collected field material was analysed by generally accepted geobotanical and forestry methods, which consist in describing the topographic position of woody, semi-woody, polycarpic, and monocarpic terrestrial grasses, aquatic plants. The authors used both herbarium and live material from expedition surveys on the Biosphere Reserve and the protected area of the Uvac river gorge by Kazakh, Uzbek, Greek, and Turkish researchers. As a result, a comparative characteristic of the state of modern plant communities of Central Asia and the Balkan Peninsula by the nature and degree of anthropogenic impact was presented. The main life forms of plants of the regions under study were covered; the interrelation of environmental conditions with the process of flora formation was identified and substantiated. The materials of the study are of practical value for ecologists, landscape researchers, geographers, and biologists to use the findings in creating long-term plans for the development of natural landscapes for nature reserves, ecological centres, and nature protection zones. The developed method of comparative characteristics can be used to investigate natural and anthropogenic landscapes of other territories