Studying rare plant species of Ryazan region in terms of culture

Abstract

Background. The study describes 20-year experience of introducing into cultivation and studying 40 protected plant species listed in the Red Book of Ryazan region (2002, 2011, 2021). 4 of them are protected at the federal level (2008): Stipa pennata, Fritillaria ruthenica, Iris aphylla, Cotoneaster alaunicus. The purpose of the work is to correct the list of protected species, their rarity categories, essays in the third edition of the regional Red Book (2021), and clarify their types of life strategy basing on the study of their ontogenesis, annual cycles, behavior of selected plant species in natural habitats and under cultural conditions. Materials and methods. The experiments were carried out on the plots of the biostation of the Russian State University named after S.A. Yesenin (Ryazan) and on an experimental site in a small forest village in the north of the Ryazan region (Kasimovsky district). Results. The studies allowed us to exclude 6 species from the protected in the region: Anemone sylvestris, Corydalis marschalliana, Cerasus fruticosa, Potentilla recta, Astragalus arenarius, Veronica jacquinii, to update the rarity category of 16 protected species (Red Book, 2021). Most of the considered species belong to the forest-steppe floristic complex, implement the life strategy of patients, some species are characterized as violents. It is shown that the rarity of some species in Ryazan region is associated with the anthropogenic transformation of natural communities and with a change in the land use: a number of patients are found in regularly disturbed places (Astragalus arenarius), others began to restore their numbers after breaking of grazing and haymaking use (Serratula coronata). Conclusions. 20-year observations have shown that most of the studied forest-steppe species can successfully go through all stages of ontogenesis in culture. The soil is the main limiting factor for some of them, mostly for the patients needing in a carbonate or sandy soil. Deep study of the ontogenesis and life strategies provided an important information for understanding the reasons for the rarity and vulnerability of species. Not all rare species need in special protection measures and deserve to be included in the regional Red Data Book.

Keywords

• rare plants
• introduction
• red book of ryazan region
• life strategy
• ontogenesis
• biomorphology