Intralandscape differentiation of the local flora in the central part of the Gydansky Peninsula (West Siberian Arctic)

• Main Author: Khitun, Olga V.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Masaryk Univerzity 2016
• Subjects: vascular plants; local flora; habitat types; species richness; beta-diversity; Arctic
• Online Access: http://journals.muni.cz/CPR/article/view/12898

The paper aims to describe Russian approaches to inventory of vascular plants diversity in the Russian Arctic. In the study, the local flora method is used. It provides comparable data for spatial comparisons between different locations. The method includes the study of species distributions within a landscape, therefore the concept of “partial flora” was elaborated. A complex estimate “activeness” allows to assess a species role within the landscape. These theoretical concepts are applied at the local flora of a hardly accessible central part of the Gydansky Peninsula. The local flora numbers 191 vascular plant species. Altogether, 18 habitat types were distinguished with partial floras numbering from 15 to 75 species. The highest alfa-diversity was recorded on steep slopes, many rare species occurred there as well. These habitats occupied less than 10% of the area but provided almost 75% of local flora. Although the morphology of relief was better developed at this locality compare to the others at the Gydansky Peninsula, the intralandscape structure of flora is continuous, showing a low beta-diversity and high similarity of species composition between different habitats. It is explained by a high proportion of “active” species, which occur in many different habitat types. Along the zonal gradient within the Gydansky Peninsula, a decrease of species richness at local flora level was found but no change at partial floras level.