Rare and endangered orchids’species in forest plant communities of the Tungussky state nature reserve (southern Evenkia)

Abstract

We provide information on distribution, ecosystems occurrence and density of local populations of 7 rare and en-dangered species of Orchidaceae family (Orchidaceae Juss.). The species were investigated on representative for the Sountern Evenkia area of state natural reserve ‘Tungussky’. Four of these species (Calypso bulbosa (L.) Oakes, Cypripedium calceolus L., C. macranthon Sw., C. ventricosum Sw) are included to the Red Book of the Russian Fed-eration (2008) and three (Cypripedium guttatum Sw., Dactylorhiza cruenta (O. F. Muell.) Soo, Epipactis helleborine (L.) Grantz) to the Red Book of the Krasnoyarsky Krai (2012). Six of rare and endangered orchid species (except for Cypripedium guttatum) found in the reserve are near the north boundary of their range. Six of the species (except for Dactylorhiza cruenta) are typical forest plants and occur mostly in herb-shrub story of rare Larix and Pinus-Larix forests with shrub-green moss or low-herb-green moss cover, on warm southern and western slopes. The habitats of Dactylorhiza cruenta are very different from other species. Local populations of the species are located on the narrow coast of the Hushma river, covered with shrub-leguminous meadows and shrub thickets. The density of populations of Calypso bulbosa varies from very low (1 specimen/sq.m.) to dense (19 specimen/sq.m.). The density of Cypri-pedium calceolus и C. macranthon varies similarly from 1.2 to 6.3 specimen/sq.m. The density of local populations of C. ventricosum is low. It is about 2.5 specimen/sq.m. Long-root species C. guttatum has population density from 11.15 to 78.18 partial scions/sq.m. Epipactis helleborine occurrence is very rare. This species occurs only as singular specimen. The density of populations of Dactylorhiza cruenta is from 4.3 to 9.2 species/sq.m. Despite that most of the rare and endangered Orchid species exist on the boundary of their range, all species found in the reserve are stable, blossom and produce harvest each year and reproduce themselves by seed and/or by vegetative reproduction.

Keywords

• rare and endangered species
• orchids
• Tungussky state nature reserve
• southern Evenkia