Protection of rare forest vegetation: current state and threats

Abstract

Forests are characterized as open ecosystems with complex levels of interconnected component organization. The overall planetary value of forests is obvious as well as the fact that they are the most abundant protected areas and centers of biodiversity. It has been noted that conservation of the phytocoenophore as a functional basis of the biosphere, and, above all, a rare phytocoenofund, remains a priority environmental concern. It has been established that the status of rare forest groups of Ukraine has changed significantly over the last few decades. The need to protect forest rarities has been argued. The purpose of the work – to collect and summarize information on the current state of rare forest communities, evaluate their presence in the territories of biosphere and nature reserves and national nature parks and assess the latest threats to rare forest habitat in Ukraine. Field studies have been conducted by classical geobotanical methods (detailed route, bookmarking of test sites, geobotanical releves). It has been determined that nowadays the rare phytocoenofund of the forest vegetation of Ukraine is represented by 308 associations (38% of the total rare phytocoenofund) belonging to 23 formations. The rare phytocoenophund of the forest vegetation, presented in the Green Paper of Ukraine (2009), has been analyzed by indicators of the association of dominant species, botanical and geographical significance, sozological status, and potential of natural regeneration. The current state of distribution of forest rare associations in Ukraine has been characterized. The levels of their representation in the biosphere (BR) and nature reserves (NR) and national nature parks (NNPs) have been established, where they are represented by 218 rare associations of 22 formations. They are protected in 45 nature reserves (PZT) of the highest categorical ranks, including – in two PAs, 11 – PAs, 32 – NPPs. Among the forest formations, the highest degree of representation in the system of the mentioned PAs are rare phytocoenoses of the Querceta roboris formations, which are protected in two PAs and 20 NNPs; Pineta sylvestris – in six PA, 10 NPP; Fageta sylvaticae – in one BR, two PA and 12 NPP. It has been concluded that the systematic organization of regimes of conservation of rare forest fund will contribute to the maintenance of phytocoenogenetic potential, the formation of stable phytocoenoses and ecotopic balance of the vegetation cover of forests.

Keywords: forest vegetation, association of rare forest, rare forest phytocoenofund, Green book of Ukraine, naturally-protected areas.