The importance of ecotonic habitats in the spatial organization of the Late Pleistocene ecosystems of Yakutia

• Published in: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
• Main Authors: Protopopov, A, Protopopova, V, Neizvestnykh, A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: IOP Publishing 2019
• Subjects: permafrost; Yakutia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/395/1/012025; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/395/1/012025/pdf; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/395/1/012025

Abstract The mosaic of the existing vegetation cover of Yakutia in the Late Pleistocene is due to a combination of arid climate, as well as because of permafrost spreading and frequent fires. The combination of these factors creates necessary conditions for the formation of ecotone natural systems represented by dissipative plant communities. Sparse plant communities are characterized by the absence or weak expression of phytocenotic bonds. Their formation occurs stochastically under the absolute influence of external factors and is genetically entirely dependent on the surrounding vegetation, which acts as a donor of patient and ruderal species. Such processes were characteristic of the Late Pleistocene ecosystems of the Northern Hemisphere. A low productivity of such biotopes did not allow them to act as the main pastures for the representatives of the mammoth megafauna, apart from the saiga and bighorn sheep, but contributed to the increase in the biodiversity of the late Pleistocene ecosystems.