Ecological-Phytocenotic Organization of Psammophytic Communities of the Tsimlyanskiy Sandy Massif

Aim. Evaluation of species diversity and ecological and phytocenotic organization of psammophytic communities of the grass-shrub layer of the Tsimlyanskiy sandy massif, Rostovskaya Oblast and Volgogradskaya Oblast, Russian Federation

Material and Methods. Generally accepted methods in environmental-geobotanical surveys were used. Species composition and yield of phytocenoses, dominant species and relative percentages of species in the phytomass were determined and vegetation groups were identified with respect to soil moisture and to nutrition.

Results. 69 species from 17 families were identified. The largest number of species is from the Asteraceae (18), Poaceae (15) and Fabaceae (12) families. In terms of classification in relation to moisture, the largest numbers of species were xeromesophytes (30) and xerophytes (23). Species saturation was assessed as 3-6 species per 1 m². The vegetation of the massif is azonal with a tendency in the direction of decreasing xerophyticity and the intrusion of meadow-bog and forest communities. As regards classification according to nutrition, of the total number of species, the largest number was of meso-trophs (41). In the communities of sandy steppe II terraces grains dominate (66.5%) with the proportion of grasses being 33%. Here 16 species were identified with a high proportion of the herbs Agropyron pectinatum (Bieb.) Beauv., Elytrigia elongata (Host) Nevski, Festuca valesiaca Gaudin, F. beckeri (Hack.) Trautv., Poa pratensis ssp. pratensis and Stipa capillata L., S. pennata L. Conclusions. The Tsimlyanskiy sand massif is characterised by regionally bo-tanico-geographic specific vegetation. In the flora, there are typical hemip-sammophilous and psammophilous species with a dominance of cereals -characteristic of the regional soil and climatic conditions. The species composition of communities varies depending on the landscape-ecological conditions.

1. Gayel A.G., Smirnova L.F. Peski i peschanyye pochvy [Sands and sandy soils]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1999, 460 p. (In Russian)

2. Gozhev A.D. Tipy peskov oblasti Srednego Dona i ikh khozyaystvennoye ispolzovaniye [Types of sands of the Middle Don region and their economic use]. Mos-cow-Leningrad, Selkhozgiz Publ., 1929, 172 p. (In Russian)

3. Dubyanskiy V.A. Peski Srednego Dona i ispolzovaniye ikh v selskom i lesnom khozyaystve [Sands of the Middle Don and their use in agriculture and forestry]. Moscow, Selkhozgiz Publ., 1949, 232 p. (In Russian)

4. Polynov B.B. Peski Donskoy oblasti. Ikh pochvy i landshafty [Sands of the Don region. Their soils and landscapes]. St. Petersburg, Akademizdat Publ., 1927, part 2, 197 p. (In Russian)

5. Demina O.N. Eco-biomorphological analysis of steppe coenofloras of the Don basin. South of Russia: ecology, development, 2011, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 31-40. (In Russian) DOI: 10.18470/1992-1098-2011-1-31-40

6. Dmitriyev P.A. Psammofitnaya rastitelnost bas-seyna Dona (v granitsakh Rostovskoy oblasti) [Psam-mophytic vegetation of the Don basin (within the borders of the Rostov region)]. Materialy V Vserossiyskoy geobotanicheskoy shkoly-konferentsii s mezhdunarod-nym uchastiyem, Sankt-Peterburg, 4-9 oktyabrya 2015 [Materials of the Vth All-Russian Geobotanical School-Conference with International Participation, St. Petersburg, 4-9 October, 2015]. St. Petersburg, 2015, 60 p. (In Russian)

7. Zasoba V.V. Condition of stands and use of sand in the Don-Tsimlyansky sand massif of the Rostov region. Vestnik nauchnykh konferentsiy [Bulletin of scientific conferences]. 2016, no. 8-1(12), pp. 29-32. (In Russian)

8. Saburova N.E., Zavaley V.A. Peschanyye massivy Severnogo Prikaspiya [Sandy massifs of the Northern Caspian]. Materialy mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy kon-ferentsii «Inzhenerno-geologicheskoye i ekologo-geologicheskoye izucheniye peskov i peschanykh mas-sivov», Moskva, 27-28 sentyabrya 2018 [Proceedings of the international scientific conference "Engineering-geological and environmental-geological study of sand and sand massifs", Moscow, 27-28 September, 2018]. Moscow, 2018, pp. 229-232. (In Russian)

9. Senator S.A., Vasjukov V.M., Zibzeev E.G., Korolyuk A.Yu., Saksonov S.V. Materials for the flora of Volgograd region. Phytodiversity of Eastern Europe, 2018, vol. 12, no. 4, рр. 23-43. (In Russian) DOI: 10.24411/2072-8816-2018-10032

10. Vlasenko M.V., Kulik A.K. Modern State of the Steppe Vegetation of the Don Sand Massifs. Agrarian Russia, 2017, no. 9, рр. 22-29. (In Russian) DOI: 10.30906/1999-5636-2017-9-22-29