Ecotopic occurrence and forms of Cypripedium L. species at the south of Primorye Region

УДК 582.594.4+581.52(571.63)

Abstract

For the first time in the forests of the southern part of the Primorye Region, the condition, form diversity and characteristics of the chorological distribution of the Cypripedium species were studied. These studies are consistent with the strategy of the international Convention on Biological Diversity and correspond to one of the main directions of environmental management in the Far East - the conservation of the biological diversity of relict forests of the Primorye Region. The studies were carried out in derived forests of the Ussuri and adjacent districts, typical for subregion, from 1995 to 2023. A survey of the territory where Cypripedium species grow showed that they are most often found on the slopes of southern exposures and plume of slopes of northern exposures in dry and fresh oak forests with Betula davurica and Acer mono (С. calceolus), less often - in mixed broad-leaved forests of shady slopes and valleys (C. macranthon, C. х ventricosum, C. guttatum). When growing in one phytocenosis, along with ecological plasticity, a confinement of different types of slippers to specific microsites can be traced. The most common and rare forms have been identified and described: C. macranthon - 2, C. calceolus - 4, C. х ventricosum - 11 forms. The color and shape of the perianth organs were used as signs to distinguish forms. A steady, widespread decline in the number of coenopopulations of all Cypripedium species has been noted, the main reasons for which are forest fires and high recreational pressure.