The Petrophytic Steppes of the Urals: Diversity and Ecological Drivers
Abstract
The diversity and main compositional patterns of the petrophytic steppes of the Urals were studied. Two questions were considered in detail: (i) How rich is the phytocoenotic diversity of the petrophytic steppes? and (ii) What kind of ecological drivers determine its differentiation? A dataset of 1,025 relevés was compiled,
representing communities of different climatic and geological conditions. Using formalized classification (TWINSPAN algorithm), eight vegetation types on the petrophytic steppes were defined. DCA-ordination was used to determine the main ecological drivers (both climatic and edaphic) of plant communities’ diversity. Among them are mean annual temperature and precipitation, aridity, rockiness and local habitat moisture. The interaction of different ecological and geographical factors leads to high levels of floristic and coenotic diversity of vegetation in dry rocky habitats.
Keywords: petrophytic steppes, ecological drivers, ordination, Southern Urals
References
[1] Török, P., Ambarli, D., Kamp, J., et al. (2016). Step(pe) up! Raising the profile of the Palaearctic natural, grasslands. Biodiversity Conservation, no. 25, pp. 2187–2195.
[2] Wesche, K., Ambarli, D., Kamp, J., at al. (2016). The Palaearctic steppe biome: A new synthesis. Biodiversity Conservation, no. 25, pp. 2197–2231.
[3] Knyazev, M. S., Mamaev, S. A., and Vlasenko, V. E. (2007). Relict communities and populations of petrophilous plant species in northern regions of Sverdlovsk Oblast and problems in their conservation. Russian Journal of Ecology, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 317–322.
[4] Yamalov, S. M., Bayanov, A. V., Martynenko, V. B., et al. (2011). Endemic associations of the petrophytic steppes of the South Ural Palaeoreefs. Vegetation of Russia, vol. 19, pp. 117–126.
[5] Poluyanov, A. V. (2009). Petrophytic feather-grass and thyme steppes in the southeast of the Kursk Region (within the limit of the Oskol River Basin). Vegetation of Russia, vol. 14, pp. 49–62.
[6] Korolyuk, A. Yu. and Makunina, N. I. (2009). True steppes of the Altai-Sayan Mountain area (order Stipetalia krylovii Kononov, Gogoleva et Mironova 1985). Plant Life of Asian Russia, vol. 2, pp. 43–53.
[7] Janišová, M. and Dúbravková, D. (2010). Formalized classification of rocky Pannonian grasslands and dealpine Sesleria-dominated grasslands in Slovakia using a hierarchical expert system. Phytocoenologia, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 267–291.
[8] Dúbravková, D., Chytry, M., Willner, W., et al. (2010). Dry grasslands in the western Carpathians and the northern Pannonian Basin: A numerical classification. Preslia, no. 82, pp. 165–221.
[9] Polyakova, M. A. (2016). Trends in the formation of cenotic diversity of steppe vegetation in mountain steppe landscapes of Khakassia. Russian Journal of Ecology, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 207–210.
[10] Gorchakovskii, P. L. and Zolotareva, N. V. (2006). Phytodiversity of relict steppe enclaves in the Urals: Experience in comparative assessment. Russian Journal of Ecology, vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 378–386.
[11] Lebedeva, M. V., Yamalov, S. M., and Korolyuk, A. Yu. (2017). Ecological cenotic groups of species in the Bashkir trans-Ural steppes in relation to key ecological factors. Contemporary Problems of Ecology, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 455–463.
[12] Tichý, L. (2002). JUICE, Software for Vegetation Classification. Journal of Vegetation Science, vol. 13, pp. 451–453.
[13] Ter Braak, C. J. F. and Šmilauer, P. (2002). CANOCO Reference Manual and CanoDraw for Windows User’s Guide: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (Version 4.5). Ithaca: Microcomputer Power.
[14] Ramensky, L. G., Tcatcenkin, I. A., Chijikov, O. N., et al. (1956). Ecological Assessment of Forage Land According Plant Cover. Moscow: Sel’khozgiz.