Population characteristics of the regionally rare species Chamaerion dodonaei (Vill.) Holub. in Kamyanets Transdnistria

Abstract

The phytodiversity protection problem at the regional level is a very relevant and necessary direction of modern sozology. After an inventory of vascular plants flora, conducted by L.H. Lubinska and L.S. Yuglichek the list of regionally rare species includes 168 species. The aim of this study is to research the features of the regionally rare species Chamaerion dodonaei (Vill.) Holub. The researched territory is located near the village of Sakhkamin, KamenetsPodilskyi district, Khmelnytskyi region and it is a ridge of calcite heaps which were formed as a result of calcite excavation. The age of the technogenic ecotopes under study is from one to 50 years, and the length is two km. Duration of the research is — 2012–2019. The study area includes significant species richness. 61 species of 24 families and divisions of Pinophyta and Magnoliophyta are growing here. The most numerous are the families Asteraceae and Rosaceae, and 12 families are represented by one species. According to dependence on calcium, we separated four environmental groups. Chamaerion dodonae is hypercarbonatophilus, biomorphic by shrub with long, thick and fleshy underground shoots. The species is common in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Chemerovetskyi, Dunaievetskyi districts of the Khmelnytsky region. The reasons for the change in numbers are the destruction of ecotopes.We have investigated ontomorphogenic statuses for Chamaerion dodonaei. The seedlings appear after fertilization and into the juvenile and immature statuses by the end of the growing season. The following vegetative year, the plants are in a status of immaturity. During the third year of development, in a virgin status, a life form is formed — a hemisphere. The ontogenic statuses of the species population are analyzed and the predominance of immature individuals is revealed. The population characterizes the pioneer settlement. For Chamerion dodonaei there is a posibility of an increase in territory and number of individuals in the population. But the ecotope is technogenic and, if necessary, can be devastated by industrial use. The population is at risk of death. Under natural conditions, this species is not found. Therefore, our proposal is to leave these heaps and create a reserve, despite the fact that it is a technogenic ecotope, and the regulation of the conditions for the growth of the species will ensure its existence.