Том 60, № 4 (2024)

The economic and geobotanical typology of reindeer pastures of the Olyutorsky District of the Koryak Land of the Kamchatka Territory has been developed. Three groups of pastures (lichen-rich, shrub-rich, herb-grass-rich) were distinguished and divided into 17 types of forage lands. Their vegetation characteristics are presented, the species composition and structure of plant communities are discussed. The ratio of economic fractions of forage plants and their share in the total stock of feed were indicated. According to the characteristics of the plant communities of reindeer pastures, their compliance with the associations of dominant-determinant classification has been established.

A comparative study of the shoot apical meristem morphogenesis and shoot growth in Schrenk’s spruce (Picea schrenkiana F. et M.) from the provenances at different elevations within its natural distribution range in the mountains of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains of the Northern Tien Shan was conducted. Each year, the apical meristem undergoes a stage of forming a shortened shoot with covering scales of a new bud, and the stage of initiation of the meristematic primordium of an elongated needle shoot. Before each stage of morphogenesis, the apex goes through an independent growth phase associated with the formation of the mother cell groups of the bud scale and needle phytomers from the peripheral meristem. The initiation of the bud scales primordia in trees growing at elevations of 1600 m, 2045 m, and 2600 m above sea level occurs when positive accumulated temperatures reach 330, 275, and 185℃ respectively. In trees growing at 1600 m, 2045 m, and 2600 m, the stage of the initiation of new meristematic primordial needle-bearing shoots begins when the accumulated effective temperature (above + 5℃) reaches 650, 527, and 210℃ respectively. With the site elevation increase from 1600 m to 2600 m, the number of the initiated rows of primordial needles decreases from 12.0 to 7.5. In spring, during the proliferative longitudinal growth of the meristematic stem primordia, the rate of ground tissue cell division can be estimated by the rate of the stem length doubling. At 5℃, in trees growing at 1,600 m, the stem growth rate of needle-bearing shoots is 0.0066 length doubling cycles per day, while it is 6.3 times greater at 2 600 m. According to the equations for the linear relationship between the average daily rate of stem length doubling and temperature, the temperature of the initiation of primordial shoot cell division decreases with an increase in the provenance elevation from 4.62℃ at 1 600 m to 2.82℃ at 2 600 m. The adaptation of the meristematic cell division process to low temperatures helps to reduce the inhibitory effect of altitudinal environmental factors on the morphogenesis and shoot growth in Schrenk’s spruce.

The article presents the results of 15 years of reintroduction of curly birch, Betula pendula Roth var. carelica (Mercklin) Hämet-Ahti, which has resulted in a restoration of one of its largest natural populations, formerly found within the State Nature Sanctuary Kizhskii (in the buffer zone of the Kizhi Open-air Museum, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List). Our studies revealed the main reasons for its decline (illegal harvesting, critical age of trees, lack of viable advance regeneration), which has become critical for its survival. Seed (derived from free pollination) and vegetative (from clonal micropropagation) progenies of curly birch, single trees of which were found growing naturally on Kizhi Island were used as the source material (planting stock) for this work. A comparative analysis of the survival rates, growth and development of saplings is given for different habitats in the mainland part of the sanctuary and on Kizhi Island itself. A molecular genetic profile of a number the curly birch trees involved in the reintroduction was determined. A conclusion drawn from our study is that when restoring natural populations of curly birch and creating new ones, it is advisable to use progenies of trees of local origin, even if only few of them have survived in their natural habitats. In doing so, seed progeny will help expand the genetic diversity of the population to be restored (or created), while vegetative progeny – to preserve the unique features of the source trees in situ (i.e. in their historically native natural environment).

Using light, scanning electron and confocal laser scanning microscopes, the pollen morphology of 23 wild and introduced melliferous plant species belonging to 21 genera of the Asteraceae family, which are widely distributed in the Leningrad, Novgorod, and Pskov regions was studied. It was found that pollen grains of all the studied species are of medium size, from 18 to 50 microns, 3-aperturate, with an echinate or echinolophate type of exine. Dispersed in honey, pollen is easily determined to the family, subfamily and often to the tribe and genus. The obtained data will help honey producers to identify the pollen of the Asteraceae family plants in the tested honey samples.

Against the backdrop of reduced atmospheric emissions from a large copper-nickel combine (Murmansk region) recorded over the last 20 years, the size and vitality structures of Pinus sylvestris L. stands in middle-aged pine forests in the background area, buffer and impact zones were studied, and the current content of Ni and Cu in forest litter was estimated. It was found that the reduction of the aerotechnogenic load did not lead to a decrease in the level of pollution of the organogenic horizon of Al-Fe-humus podzols by heavy metals; in the impact zone their content is still more than 100 times higher than background concentrations. Distributions of all morphometric parameters of pine stands regardless of the level of aerotechnogenic load are characterised by positive asymmetry, which indicates the predominance of small-sized individuals in pine stands. The vitality spectra of background pine stands are dominated by weakened and severely weakened individuals; with increasing levels of heavy metal pollution of habitats, the vital state of stands deteriorates, and the absolute maximum in vitality spectra shifts to the share of desiccated individuals.

Nonea rossica Steven – a perennial herbaceous plant of the Boraginaceae family and herbal drug preparations obtained from it are of interest as they exhibit indirect anticoagulant properties, antimicrobial and antifungal activity. At the same time, it is known that Boraginaceae species contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids that have a hepatotoxic effect, which makes it difficult to use preparations made from these plants. Along with alkaloids, the toxicity of herbal preparations is also determined by toxic trace elements. The objective of the research was to study the toxic components in the above-ground parts of N. rossica. The composition and content of alkaloids were determined by HPLC. Quantitative determination of trace element content was carried out using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The analyses determined the presence of pyrrolizidine enantiomers intermedine and lycopsamine and their derivatives; their total content in plant raw materials was less than 20000 μg/kg. The content of such toxic elements as As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Be, Sr, Sb, Tl, and U does not exceed legally permissible concentrations.