Composition and state of soil cover plants in bilberry spruce phytocenoses in the technogenic pollution zone of the pulp and paper mill

• Main Authors: E. A. Robakidze, N. V. Torlopova
• Format: Dataset
• Language: Russian
• Published: Theoretical and Applied Ecology 2015
• Subjects: aerotechnogenous pollution; spruce phytocenoses; diversification in species; bilberry; cowberry; taiga
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25750/1995-4301-2015-2-019-024; http://envjournal.ru/ari/v2015/v2/files/15202.pdf

Technogenic pollution of soil cover plants with pulp-and-paper industry emissions in spruce forests has been studied. Analysis of the plant composition in ground cover of blueberry spruce forest showed a significant similarity with the plant species composition in other spruce blueberry forests growing in the middle taiga subzone. Number of plant species in the impact zone of the ‘Mondi SLPK’ plant and paper mill varies form 15 to 24 which is less than that in the background plot by 1,4-2,2 times. Total projective cover of grasses and dwarf shrubs in spruce forests from the impact zone is not the same as in the background. It is twice as less at the plot being at the shortest distance from the emission source and exceeds the background value by 1,3 at the other two study plots. At the study sample plots (SPs) number of grassy plant species is by 1,8-3,0 and of mosses by 1,1-2,0 as less than at the background plot. Density of bilberry plants in polluted bilberry spruce forests is normally by 3,7 and that of cowberries – by 5,7 times as higher than they are at the background. The disturbance rate of the above dwarf shrubs increases twofold compared to the background and makes 24-34 for bilberry and 8-15% for cowberry.