Seasonal dynamics of hydration of shoots of resource species of shrubs in the mediterranean subarid subtropics

Abstract

   An attractive region for tourism - the Southern Coast of Crimea, including the vicinity of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden – is experiencing a high year-round anthropogenic load. This has a negative impact on the conservation and renewal of woody and herbaceous resource species, many of which are ornamental, food and medicinal. As part of the study of the possibilities of renewing the resources of ornamental shrubs and assessing their adaptive potential in the conditions of the Mediterranean subtropics, the article characterizes the water content in buds and shoots based on the methodology for determining the percentage of water per dry mass. The dynamics of the hydration of shoots in winter, spring and autumn is shown. A comparative analysis of the saturation of shoots with water in unstable and stable species at different times of the year is carried out. Species with minimum and maximum water saturation of buds and shoots have been identified. The difference is indicated in the studied species in terms of water content before saturation in natural conditions and after, already in thelaboratory. Attention is drawn to the dependence of species stability on the month of saturation. The characteristic of saturation of plant tissues with water is given when weather conditions change in spring (rainy and dry weather, thaw) when modeling climatic conditions in the laboratory. The species in which the maximum saturation with water occurs both during imitation of rainy weather and during a thaw are highlighted. These studies were conducted for the first time on the described species in the conditions of the Mediterranean subtropics.