Taxonomic and ecological composition of the native groupings of the birds of the dry steppe zone of Ukraine

The classifications of the grouping of the birds reflect the faunistic or the ecological position of the species in certain habitats and landscapes. Most of them consider the species diversity of the birds of the studied regions in general, including synanthropic, invasive and widespread species. This approach prevents singling out the habitats which are important for supporting the existence of native (or autochtonous) species and their groupings. Native groupings of the birds in the dry steppe zone of Ukraine are almost not studied despite the rapid contraction in the range and population of most component species, especially Anthropoides virgo, Otis tarda, Tetrax tetrax and Burhinus oedicnemus. The definition of the taxonomic and the ecological composition of these grouping will help in understanding the strategy of the reproduction and the protection of native avifauna. In connection with this, the faunistic-topomorphic classification of native birds in the dry steppes zone of Ukraine according to the following scheme is proposed: ornithofaunistic complex (by priority landscapes and habitats) – the place of the feeding (by priority substrate on/in which a species’ diet is extracted) – the nesting place (by the priority substrate of the location of the nest for nesting individuals) – the place of rest (the priority substrate where non-nesting individuals rest). The classification is aimed at the definition of the general requirements of native birds and their groupings in terms of the landscapes and the habitats which provide the conditions for their preservation and the protection in the researched region. It has been determined that in the south of Ukraine 33 nesting species are dry-steppe autochthons (18.3% of nesting species of the region), of which 18 species form the ornithofaunistic complex of dry steppes (Buteo rufinus, Perdix perdix, Anthropoides virgo, Otis tarda, Tetrax tetrax, Burhinus oedicnemus, Glareola nordmanni, Galerida cristata, Calandrella cinerea, C. rufescens, Melanocorypha calandra, Anthus campestris, Motacilla feldegg, Saxicola rubetra, S. torquata, Oenanthe oenanthe, Oe. isabellina, Emberiza melanocephala), and 15 species form the complex of the sea coast (Phalacrocoraх aristotelis, Phoenicopterus roseus, Tadorna ferruginea, T. tadorna, Mergus serrator, Charadrius alexandrinus, Recurvirostra avosetta, Larus ichthyaetus, L. melanocephalus, L. genei, L. cachinnans, L. michahellis, Gelochelidon nilotica, Hydroprogne caspia, Thalasseus sandvicensis). The above-mentioned species are mainly xerophiles (54.6% of species) and hygrophils (24.2% of species), and they are in the most threatened position because they feed, nest and rest mainly or exclusively on the soil surface. According to the proposed classification, native birds of dry steppes require: for xerophiles – areas of soil without vegetation or with rarefied low grass, which does not prevent birds from moving freely, searching and obtaining food, leading their chicks, looking over their territories; for hygrophiles – shallow water bodies with islands, surface vegetation, shallows, adjacent meadows and salt-marshes; for dendrophiles – single shrubs and trees or small groves; for most xerophiles and dendrophiles – fresh or slightly saline water bodies for drinking. Unfortunately, in the protected natural territories of the researched region, most native birds do not have this combination of the above-mentioned habitats, which are simultaneously suitable for feeding, nesting and resting.

SOIL-MICROBIOLOGICAL METHODS IN MONITORING OF NEAR-LAKE ECOSYSTEMS OF THE WESTERN BAIKAL REGION

The article analyzes the main characteristics of the state and metabolic activity of the biomass of soil microorganisms in the ecosystems of the near-lake salt meadows and dry steppes of the Western Baikal region. It is shown that during the transition from semi-hydromorphic soils (lake salonchak) to automorphic soils (chestnut soils of dry steppes), the levels of moisture and salinity decrease. Changes in soil properties lead to a significant transformation of the soil microbiocenosis. The study demonstrated that such soil-microbiological indicators as the carbon content in the biomass of soil microorganisms, basal respiration and specific metabolic activity, estimated by the value of the metabolic coefficient, can be successfully used in the practice of environmental monitoring of the near lake areas of the Tazheran steppe.

Floristic diversity of Dagestan florocoenotypes

The paper provides information on the floristic diversity of the florocenotypes of Dagestan 43 florocenotypes and 3 types of plant communities in anthropogenically altered habitats which are combined into three groups have been identified. It is registered that the most floristically rich florocoenotypes in the lowlands and in the zone of low foothills are shrub steppes (498 species), xerophilous forests and light forests of the Mediterranean type (462), forbs dry steppes of foothills (431) and herbcereal dry meadows of foothills (334), and in the mountain areas: polyurus vegetation (499 species), steppe after forest meadows (381), mixed deciduous forests (362), subalpine meadows (312) and xerophytic lithophyton with 310 species. Floristically poor florocenotypes are aquatic vegetation of mountain lakes with 14 species, vegetation of water bodies (53 species), precaspian floodplains (67) and precaspian curtain meadows (78 species). During the analysis of the floristic similarity, the florocoenotypes were combined into several clades, which we conditionally distinguished into the following groups: desert, hydrophytic, mesophytic, steppe, and arid.