Plant diversity and spatial vegetation structure of the calcareous spring fen in the "Arkaulovskoye Mire" Protected Area (Southern Urals, Russia)

The bryophyte composition of monodominant black alder forests was studied in the Republic of Bashkortostan (the Southern Urals region). Fifty-six moss species and fifteen liverworts were recorded. The annotated species list with precise locations is provided. The bryophyte richness of studied communities is not very high because of waterlogging regime of habitats and rarity of these communities in the region. Forests occurring in habitats with short inundation time (mostly at small rivers and lake shores) are more than double rich in bryophytes, then communities located in river valleys with wide floodplain and in karst depressions, where staying water preserves for a long time during growing season. In investigated black alder forests, rare relict species (Helodium blandowii, Tomentypnum nitens, Riccardia latifrons, Pseudobryum cinclidioides) grow in small isolated populations at the southern limit of the species range. It is essential to improve the protection of these rare ecosystems in the future.

Новые ассоциации классов антропогенной растительности Sisymbrietea Gutte et Hilbig 1975 и Digitario sanguinalis–Eragrostietea minoris Mucina, Lososová et Šilc in Mucina et al. 2016 в Республике Башкортостан

The article presents the results of the classification of lawn vegetation of the Ufa city. Lawns are the most common element of urban landscapes which, as a rule, occupy 60–80 % of the total green area of cities. A lawn is a community of herbs growing on a uniform area and forming a turf cover for which mixture of seeds of perennial cereals is selected on the basis of local climatic conditions and soil, as well as having in mind the purpose of the lawn. The research was conducted in 2018 in the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan — the Ufa city with a population of 1100 thousand people. The Ufa city (54°44′00″ N and 55°58′00″ E) is situated on the banks of the Belaya River, at the Ufa and Dema ri­vers confluence, on the Pribelskaya hilly plain, 100 km west of the Southern Ural ranges within the northern part of forest-steppe zone. The city area is 707.93 km², the length from north to south is 53.5 km, that from west to east is 29.8 km in the widest part. The climate is temperate continental. The mean annual air temperature is 3.8 °С; the amount of precipitation is 589 mm. Negative mean monthly temperatures are typical for five months a year; some frosts are possible all over the year except July and August. The mean January temperature is –14.6 °С, with absolute minimum –54 °С; this of July is 19 °С, with absolute maximum 40 °С. The frost-free period averages 137 days. 100 relevés (authors Anishchenko I. E. and Zhigunov O. Yu.) of various types of lawns were included in the base of synanthropic vegetation of settlements of the Republic of Bashkortostan by using the ­TURBOVEG program (Hennekens, 1995). The size of the sample plot is 4 m2. The species abundance was evaluated on the Braun-Blanquetscale (Mirkin, Naumova, 1998). Names of species are given according to S. K. Cherepanov (1995), and P. F. Mayevskiy (2014). The classification was carried out using the Braun-Blanquetmethod (Braun-Blanquet, 1964; Westhoff, Maarel, 1978) by using the JUICE program (Tichý, 2002); the names of the new units are in accordance with the “Code of phytosociological nomenclature” (Weber et al., 2005). All syntaxa were compared with the units previously described in the Republic of Bashkortostan and other regions (Ishbirdin et al., 1989; Vegetace..., 2007; and others). Synoptic tables are given in reduced form with species of constancy III and higher in one or several syntaxa. The names of the higher syntaxa are given after “Vegetation of Europe...” (Mucina et al., 2016). The Prodromus includes four associations related to class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea and alliance Cynosurion cristati: Leontodonto–Poetum pratensis Anishchenko et Ishbirdina in Ishbirdina et al. 1989 ex Anishchenko et al. ass. nov. hoc loco (with two subassociations and four facies, see below); Poo pratensis–Plantaginetum majoris Ishbirdin et al. 1988, Inulo britannicae–Trifolietum repentis Solomeshch in Ishbirdin et al. 1988, Lolietum perennis Gams 1927. Associations and subassociations reflect disturbance of lawns due to trampling expressed in the larger number of synanthropic species and partly in dominance of the cereals that enter into the lawn grass mixtures. Over the past 30 years, the vegetation of lawns in the Ufa city has drastically changed due to variations in the composition of sown grass mixtures. The ass. Leontodonto–Poetum pratensis is the main lawn association of the Ufa city. It combines coenoses of various types of lawns — from seed to roll ones. Dominants are species of the alliance Cynosurion cristati (Amoria repens, Leontodon autumnalis, Medicago lupulina, Taraxacum officinale, etc.) and the class Polygono–Poetea annuae (Lepidotheca suaveolens, Plantago major, Poa annua, etc.), resistant to the mowing and trampling. The main factor in community differentiation is anthropogenic disturbance, according to which 2 subassociations are distinguished: L.–P. p. typicum subass. nov. hoc loco (Tables 4, 5; nomenclature type: (holotypus hoc loco) — Table 4, relevé 15: Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Monument Druzhby, 16.07.2018, 54.71176 N, 55.96351 E. Authors — I. E. Anishchenko, O. Yu. Zhigunov) — less disturbed lawns and L.–P. p. cichorietosum intybi subass. nov. hoc loco (Tables 6, 7; nomenclature type: (holotypus hoc loco) — Table 6, relevé 14: Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Komsomolskaya str., 108 а, 17.07.2018, 54.75213 N, 56.00659 E. Authors — I. E. Anishchenko, O. Yu. Zhigunov) — more disturbed ones with high amount of the synanthropic species. The type of grass mixture sown also influences on the coenoflora composition. Four facies are distinguished within both subassociations according to variations in abundance of cereals: typica (prevalence of Poa pratensis) (Fig. 1) in subass. typicum; Festuca rubra (Fig. 2) in both ones (disturbed and non disturbed lawns); Festuca pratensis in subass. cichorietosum intybi. The comparative analysis given in Table 1 showed the stabi­lity of the floristic composition of communities, lawns formed by grass mixes of various types: both seed and roll. The differences are either in the degree of weediness of the lawns, or in the nature of the dominance of individual cereals. A comparison of the associations of the union Cynosurion cristati described on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan (Table 2) showed that in urban conditions the constancy and abundance of meadow species (Lathyrus pratensis, Phleum pratense, Prunella vulgaris, Ranunculus polyanthemos, Stellaria gra­minea, etc.) are significantly reduced. while these values for synanthropic species (Capsella bursa-pastoris, Convolvulus arvensis, Tripleurospermum perforatum, etc.) are naturally increasing. This fact suggests specificity of communities of ass. Leontodonto–Poetum pratensis in the system of the union Cynosurion cristati. The associations Inulo britannicae–Trifolietum repentis (Table 10) and Poo pratensis–Plantaginetum majoris (Table 9, Fig. 3) unites old degraded lawns under trampling and are close to similar communities of ruderal vegetation. The ass. Lolietum perennis (Table 11, Fig. 4) is an example of the “introduction” of West European lawns, due to the use of grass mixtures with Lolium perenne. The vegetation of rolled and seeded lawns is not significantly different. In comparison with the syntaxa from different regions of Russia and Europe the lawn communities of the Southern Urals are more clogged and have more thermophilic species such as Carduus acanthoides, Cichorium intybus, Tripleurospermum perforatum, etc. Changes in their composition since 1980s are associated with the use of modern grass mixtures with other grasses.

Ecological and biological characteristics of Cyclachaena xanthiifolia (Nutt.) Fresen., have been studied in four regions of the Southern Urals and Cisural region. Communities including this species have been attributed to association Ivetum xanthiifoliae Fijalkowski 1967 of the class Stellarietea mediae R.Tx., Lohmeyer et Preising 1950. It has been shown that ecological habitat conditions have a significant effect on the majority of morphometric parameters of C. xanthiifolia, accounting for 1.3 to 51.4% of their total variance. Seed production averages 6500 seeds per plant. Extensive dispersal of the species over the Southern Ural region is predicted.

The paper discusses the role and importance of various plantain species, found in the southern Urals in the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Orenburg Region. The paper contains description of the 7 species of plantain, their ecology, distribution, national economic significance, participation in various syntaxa extracted using eco-floristic approach of Brown-Blanke. Many of the species are plantains of taxonomic rank classes, orders, unions, associations: class SJ - Scorzonero-Juncetea gerardii, order SJg - Scorzonero-Juncetalia gerardii, union CH - Cirsio-Hordeion, TS class - Thero-Salicornietea, class FP-Festuco-Puccinellietea, order Fv - Festucetalia valesiacae, FB class - Festuco-Brometea, class M-A - Molinio-Arrhenantheretea. By origin they belong to different geographic elements: old Mediterranean meadow - Plantago cornuti Gouan; Pontian - Plantago maxima Juss. ex Jacq.; Euro-West Asian forest - Plantago media L.; Euro-West Asian forest-steppe - Plantago urvillei Opiz; Holarctic plyurizonalniy - Plantago major L. There is a species among the plantains that is found in the Red Book of the Republic of Bashkortostan - Plantago krascheninnikovii C.Serg. found in N.Yulbarisovo village of Khaybullinsky District (the Republic of Bashkortostan) near the Erangas river.

of the Southern Urals, candidate of biological sciences, senior researcher at the laboratory of Geobotany and Plant Resources of the Ufa Institute of biology of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, honored ecologist of the Russian Federation Albert Akramovich Muldashev in connection with his 70th anniversary, which was celebrated on August 25, 2024. The species Potentilla muldaschevii Kniaz. et Semerikov (family Rosaceae) is a narrow-local endemic of the Southern Urals (Uchalinsky Uplands). This species was described in 2006 from the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan (RB) by famous scientists from Yekaterinburg M.S. Knyazev and V.L. Semerikov [2006]. The species is included in the Red Data Book of the RB 3rd edition [2021] with the regional protection status: 1) rarity status category: 1 – endangered species; 2) endangered status category: endangered species (EN – Endangered); 3) conservation status: II priority (it is necessary to implement one or more special measures to preserve the species in the Southern Urals). This species is very rare. In the RB, the species is known from 3 points in the Uchalinsky district: the Maly Irendyk ridge west of the village Tungatarovo (locus classicus), ridges to the north and south of the village of Polyakovka [Knyazev, Semerikov, 2006; materials of the LE Herbarium and the SVER Herbarium; Red Data Book…, 2021]. In the Chelyabinsk region, the species is found on the limestone Ustinovskie cliffs along the right bank of the Miass River (Miass district) [materials of the CSUH Herbarium; Knyazev, Semerikov, 2006; Red Data Book…, 2017].

The distribution of rare moss Tomentypnum nitens in the Republic of Bashkortostan has been studied. 13 subpopulations have been found in the minerotrophic mires, and only six of them occur within special nature protected areas. The distribution map of the species and the precise locality data are provided. The conservation status of this species is assessed as Near Threatened in the republic, and it should be included into the next edition of the regional Red Data book.

Satellite Earth observation data to identify anthropogenic pressures in selected protected areas

In spite of high biodiversity within the honeybee species Apis mellifera L., only one geographical race, the dark-colored forest honeybee A. m. mellifera, is uniquely adapted to severe environmental conditions of Eurasian forest and forest-steppe zones. Within the vast range of this race, only single isolates remain, where the dark forest honeybee is purebred. The Bashkir population is supposed to be one of these isolates. Molecular-genetic assessment of the state of the gene pool of this population revealed that southern honeybee races were introduced into the Bashkortostan Republic with great intensity, which was above the assimilation capacity of the population. The main part of the former range of the Bashkir population represents a hybrid zone with approximately equal ratio between gene pools of local and introduced honeybees. Our studies provide the possibility to single out one extant reserve of A. m. mellifera, Burzyanskii raion, in which the proportion of local bees in the gene pool is 0.98.

Currently there are 215 specially protected natural areas of various categories in the Republic of Bashkortostan, which is 7.2 % of the total area. These indicators are less than the all-Russian level; moreover, specially protected areas are located unevenly. In the conditions of intensive development of the mining industry, the landscapes of the Bashkir Trans-Urals are especially vulnerable, which accounts for the smallest share of protected areas. The article considers the prospects for organi­zing specially protected natural areas in the southern part of the Irendyk ridge within the Baymak district of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The purpose of work is the development of recommendations for a specially protected natural areas network development of the Republic of Bashkortostan within the Bashkir Trans-Urals. The object of the research is a network of specially protected natural areas (SPNA) in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The subject is the prospects for the development of the PA network in the Republic of Bashkortostan, with an emphasis on the Bashkir Trans-Urals. The methods included collecting and summarizing existing information, route and distance studies. The territory is characterized by high biological and landscape diversity. Mountain steppes are the place of growth of relics and endemics, there are 10 species of such in the study area, 41 species of rare and endangered plants are noted. Examples are bedrock outcrops (diabases) in the ridge of the Schrau-Tau, Kynyshtau massifs near the village Baishevo, which are evidence of underwater volcanism in the Paleozoic; jasper and jasper-containing rocks, which are a part of the Jasper belt, the basin of the ancient lake Sagykul. In the southern Irendyk, an abnormally high concentration of archaeological sites is recorded, which also need protection and protection. The study area meets the requirements of the organization of protected areas of the regional level and is promising for a specially protected areas network development of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Native honeybee populations are declining worldwide due to habitat loss caused by human activity, hybridization, the spread of diseases, and pesticide use. Natural areas, particularly protected areas, are crucial for the conservation of wild honeybee populations in their natural range. This study presents the results of monitoring the gene pool of the dark forest honeybee, Apis mellifera mellifera, in protected and unprotected areas of the Republic of Bashkortostan (RB). Using genetic markers of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, the level of introgression of the gene pool of the evolutionary lineage C was determined in A. m. mellifera samples from protected (Shulgan-Tash State Nature Reserve and Altyn Solok State Nature Reserve) and unprotected (apiaries from the Burzyansky and Yanaulsky districts) populations. As a result, we found that the bee sample in the protected area of the Burzyansky district had a lower level of hybridization compared to the sample collected outside protected areas. The lowest level of hybridization with the C evolutionary lineage was recorded in the unprotected sample from the Yanaulsky district of the RB—3.6 and 3.3%, according to analysis of nuclear loci and a mitochondrial marker, respectively. We hypothesize that the natural preservation of this population is facilitated by the presence of an isolation zone in Perm Krai, Udmurtia, and neighboring districts of the RB, where the dark forest bee predominantly inhabits. While honeybee populations bordering the Burzyansky district are of hybrid origin, the majority of colonies are descended from the C evolutionary lineage, based on analysis of the mitochondrial DNA locus.

The first unofficial edition of the “Red Book of the Bashkir ASSR” was published in 1984. This Red Book was very different in structure from modern editions and had no official status. 170 plant species were included in this Red Book. In 1987, it was reissued with minor changes. These editions aroused great interest in the scientific community and significantly stimulated the study of rare species. The first official edition of the Red Book of the Republic of Bashkortostan (RB) in the section “Plants and Fungi” was published in 2 volumes in 2001 and 2002. In the new edition, the list of taxa was significantly revised. About 70 species were excluded and about 100 new species were included. Adhering to the principle of unity of the Red Books of the Russian Federation and regions, a number of spe- cies that are generally rare for Russia, but common in the Republic of Bashkortostan, was included in the Red Book by force. In 2011 and 2021, the 2nd and 3rd official editions of the Red Books of the Republic of Bashkortostan were published, respectively. They critically revised the list composition, included 232 species each, of which only 88 species were included in the 1984 edition. In total, 347 species were included in all editions, which is about 16% of the entire flora of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The Red Books played a huge role in protecting the biodiversity of the republic. They stimulated compre- hensive studies of rare species in many scientific centers. In the conditions of the Botanical Garden, more than 80 species were covered by research, i.e. 30% of the total number of “Red Book” species of the Republic of Bashkortostan. More than 10 botanical and 60 complex natural monuments were created to protect “Red Book” species. The data from the Red Book were widely used in the development of the mapscheme “System of Protect- ed Natural Territories of the Republic of Bashkortostan”, approved by the Government of the Republic of Bash- kortostan in 2004. Since 2002, an annual summary “Maintenance of the Cadastre of Rare and Endangered Species of Higher Vascular Plants of the Republic of Bashkortostan” has been compiled, the materials of which are used for the re- publication of the Red Book.

This paper considers the results of the ordination analysis of weed communities in two regions the Leningrad Region (LR) and the Republic of Bashkortostan (RB). The dataset includes 1726 relevs of the weed communities executed by the authors during 20002018 in cereal and root crops. The calculation of the ecological statuses of communities on 9 scales of D.N. Tsyganov is carried out for ecological characteristics of habitats. The values of the scales corresponding to climatic factors (thermoclimatic scale, cryoclimatic scale, aridity-gumidity scale), edafic factors (salt regime, soil acidity, nitrogen richness, variability of moistening) as well as scales of soil moisture and lightning are attracted to the analysis. The communities ranges on each scale are determined. The detrended correspondent analysis (DCA-ordination) with CANOCO 4.5 software package is used for the identification of ecological patterns of species and communities distribution and definition of the main drivers. It is demonstrated that the sets of the scales reflecting main ecological drivers significantly differ for the compared regions. Only the thermoclimatic scale and the scale of variability of moistening are common for both regions. The scales of nitrogen richness, variability of moistening and cryoclimatic influence generally on floristic composition differentiation in the LR. The scales of aridity-gumidity, the salt regime, lightning, moistening and soil acidity determine the floristic differentiation in the RB. A large number of scales in RB are defined by a variety of zonal vegetation types in the region which are connected with landscapes of forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones as well as a mountain-forest belt of the Southern Ural. The zonal vegetation of LR belongs only to subzones of the southern and average Taiga. The exception is the lightning scale which high values of correlation are connected with a considerable share of sunflower and corn in cultivated crops in RB.

This article discusses the use of «traditional» methods within the A.A. Bobrinsky historical-cultural approach to pottery analysis that allow us to consider each vessel as a source of information of the design and starting of the hollow body of the vessel. Thus, a more or less whole vessel may render information about a particular container design pattern or the skills of a particular potter group. This approach to ceramics allows you to study the cultural traditions in the manufacture of ceramics and, accordingly, closed family groups which have produced, and on the basis of radiocarbon dating to determine the time of its manufacture: Usmanovo I - III settlements (1930 - 1750 BC - Beta Analytic) and Kazburun I barrows (AMS 1820 - 1795 BC - Beta Analytic). However, ceramic archaeological complex Kazburun neighborhood has become one of the important factors in identifying cultural transformations and cultural interactions in the Late Bronze Age in the Southern Urals. Experimental methods of historical-cultural approach A.A. Bobrinsky to reconstruct the pottery of the late Bronze Age, the Southern Urals. Methods of technical and technological analysis of pottery made it possible to reconstruct not only the pottery tradition of the Late Bronze Age of the Southern Urals, but also allowed a glimpse into the past of the studied population. As a «new» method of ceramic petrographic study research method was applied, which revealed the inclusion of various minerals in the blood vessels dough, to determine the temperature and the intensity of the burning, and to prove the presence of sludge in ceramic test. Further application of this method will allow in the future to determine the locations of ancient Clay and ceramic technology to reconstruct the Late Bronze Age of the Bashkir Transurals.

The study of rare plants at the level of cenothic populations throughout the range greatly contributes to the identification of the features of their biology and ecology. We carried out the identification of the features of the age and spatial structure of the Adenophora lilifolia (L.) A. DC. cenothic populations in the ecological conditions of the steppe, foreststeppe zones of the Middle Volga (Samara region) and the Southern Urals (Republic of Bashkortostan), as well as the mountainous zone of the Southern Urals. Adenophora lilifolia is included in the Red Book of the Samara region (category 3 – a rare species).The study of A. lilifolia populations was carried out in different years on the territory of specially protected territories of different rank. In determining the structure of cenothic populations, standard techniques were used. The studied cenopopulations are located on the fringes of oak-lime, birch, less often maple-linden or aspen forests, sparse forests or forest potholes. The total density of individuals varies from 0.8 to 4.2 specimens/m2. The mean values of the generative fraction in the populations are 81.1 %, the prevalent fraction is 19.3 %. The basic ontogenetic spectrum of A. lilifolia is characterized as centered. Although the share of generative individuals in all cenopopulations is high, the distribution by ontogenetic groups in the two regions differs. The average values of demographic indices indicate a fairly high stability of the species populations. Of the 14 investigated cenopopulations of A. lilifolia, according to the “delta-omega” criterion, most are mature, in addition, transitional and maturing are identified. In general, the state of the populations in the Southern Urals is fairly prosperous. All studied populations in the Samara region have a high anthropogenic load, and the number of individuals in specific habitats is low.