The ecological features of plants of railway in the Lviv city

Abstract

We found 409 species of mosses and vascular plants in the railways of Lviv city. They include 6 % of a natural component of flora and 94 % of synanthropic component. We have considered the main ecological features of the synanthropic species in the anthropogenically altered ecotopes, such as species relation to humidity, lighting, total salt regime of substrate, temperature. The dominating groups of species by cenoses of mosses are eurytopic (36.6 %), of vascular plants – synanthropic (34.4 %). The bryophytes are characterized by a mat (41.5 %) and turf (39 %) life forms, cushion life form (12.2 %) promotes survival of species in the extreme conditions of the railway. Among vascular plants the herbal plants dominated (87.9%), and considering life form by K. Raunkiyer, hemicryptophytes (41.7 %) and therophytes (30.9 %) are predominant along railways. Analysis of the published data and own field findings reveals that the synanthropic fraction of flora consists of 387 species, 65 % of which are apophytes, including moss species, 35 % – adventive vascular plant species (including 57.7 % species of kenophytes and archeophytes comprising group of 42.3 %). According to the way of entry, a significant number of species is considered to be xenophytes and acolutophytes, and to the degree of naturalization – the epecophytes. The largest number of plant species is growing in the strips along roads, and in the areas of the non-performing railways. The detection and timely recording of invasive species confirms the need for more detailed studies of technogenic transformable ecotypes.

Keywords

• environmental features
• bryophytes
• vascular plants synanthropic flora
• railway
• Lviv city