Ruderal vegetation of the class Polygono-Poetea annuae in Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine)

Nathalia Yeremenko

doi:10.33542/tjb2019-1-01

Abstract

The present paper studies the ruderal vegetation of the class Polygono-Poetea annuae in Kryvyi Rih. We present the ruderal plant communities of short annual species on the open, moist to dry ecotopes. Urban landscapes remain unstudied phytosociologically despite the highly diverse habitat niches. We have carried out the comparisons of communities from other regions of Ukraine and adjacent territories. In total, two associations and two variants, belonging to alliance were identified and categorized as follows Polygono-Coronopodion (the communities with the dominance of Polygonum aviculare). The ordination analysis indicates ecological differentiation of syntaxa investigated in Kryvyi Rih. The most important of them are soil water regime (Hd), variability of damping (fH) and soil aeration (Ae).

Highlights

Polygono-Poetea annuae Rivas-Martinez 1975 is one of the clearest in the definition type of ruderal plant communities
Species of other classes of vegetation are common in floristic composition, of Molinio-Arrhenatheretea Tx. 1937 (Taraxacum officinale), Stellarietea mediae Tx. et al in Tx. 1950 (Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Chenopodium album, Convolvulus arvensis, Conyza canadensis, Diplotaxis muralis, Hordeum murinum, Lactuca serriola)
Communities are the initial stages of succession or form because of regression changes of natural vegetation, under the anthropic influence

Summary

Introduction

Polygono-Poetea annuae Rivas-Martinez 1975 is one of the clearest in the definition type of ruderal plant communities. Plants are adapted to highly and moderately aerated soils with moderate rain and melted water drenching of soils with a predominance of annual plant species. Their composition and structure depend on the disturbance frequency and intensity, and it is subject to soil humidity and nitrogen content in the soil as well as the moisture and content of nutrients in the soil. Communities are the initial stages of succession or form because of regression changes of natural vegetation, under the anthropic influence (there are in the dumps, in the river valleys as a result of grazing or trampling in Kryvyi Rih). The vegetation of class is cosmopolitan and is formed in North America, Eurasia, and, probably, in the tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere (Ishbirdin 2001)

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