Biological diversity of plants in steppe specially protected natural areas of the Rostov region

УДК 502.4+58.006(471.61)

Abstract

Specially protected natural areas play a significant role in conserving the biological diversity of plants in the Rostov region. Currently, there are 89 specially protected natural areas of federal (3 SPNA), regional (72 SPNA) and local (14 SPNA) significance with a total area of 232 thousand hectares in the Rostov region, which is 2,3 % of its territory. The Rostov region is located in the steppe zone of Eurasia. There are three subzonal types of steppes that are common in the region: herb-bunchgrass, bunchgrass and desert half-shrub-bunchgrass (or wormwood-bunchgrass). Due to differences in zonal soils and in non-zonal positions, edaphic variants of steppe vegetation are formed: psammophytic, hemipsammophytic, petrophytic and halophytic. By now, the Don steppes have been almost completely plowed. The surviving steppes, including their edaphic variants, occupy 17,3 % of the total area of the Rostov region; before plowing, they occupied about 90 % of its territory. The article presents preliminary results of the study of the biological diversity of plants growing in all 14 steppe protected areas of the Rostov region. The flora of vascular plants in steppe protected areas has a total of 812 species, including 59 «red-listed» taxa, including 16 species that have federal protection status.