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The scientific discussion concerning the development of the promising approaches for phyto-diversity conservation and the rational use of plant resources in Russian Federation was held at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences in December 2019. After the reports of leading scientists from biological institutes, a resolution No. 195 dated December 10, 2019 «Global changes in terrestrial ecosystems of Russia in the 21st century: challenges and opportunities» was adopted. The resolution includes a set of priority scientific aims including the development and application of modern technologies for inventory of the plant communities and the development of vegetation classification in Russia. As a result of the opinion exchange between phytocoenologists from different regions, the Concept of Russian Vegetation Classification was proposed. It is based on the following principles. 1. The use of the ecological-floristic approach and the hierarchy of the main syntaxonomic categories applied for the Classification of Vegetation of Europe. 2. Development of the Russian archive of geobotanical relevés and syntaxa in accordance with international standards and with the remote access functions. 3. Application of strict rules for syntaxon names formulated in the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. The Concept assumes the development of a special program «Russian Vegetation Classification» with the justification of the necessity for targeted funding of the program in Research Institutions and Universities involved for solving this scientific problem on the principle of network collaboration. The final results of this program will be represented in the multi-volume publication «Vegetation of Russia». A shortened version of the Concept (English version was kindly revised by Dr. Andrew Gillison, Center for Biodiversity Management, Cairns, Queensand, Australia) is below. Vegetation classification of Russia Research Program Concept Systematic classification and inventory of plant communities (phytocoenoses) is fundamental to the study and forecasting of contemporary complex processes in the biosphere, controlled among other factors, by global climate change. Vegetation classification serves as a common language that enables professionals in various fields of science to communicate and interact with each other in the process of studying and formulating practical ecosystem-related management decisions. Because plant community types can carry a great deal of information about the environment, nearly all approaches to simulation of changes in global biota are based inevitably on vegetation categories. Phytocoenosis is a keystone element when assessing the biodiversity genetic potential, formulating decisions in biological resource management and in sustaining development across Russian territories. Among the world’s vegetation classification systems, phytosociology is a system in which the concept of plant association (basic syntaxon) is the basic element in the classification of phytocoenoses. The phytosociological approach as applied in this concept proposal, has its origins in the Brussels Botanical Congress in 1910. However, despite the broad acceptance of phytocoenotic diversity as a fundamental methodological tool for understanding biosphere processes and managing biological resources nowadays, we still lack a unified approach as to its systematization at both global and country levels with the consequence that, there is no a single classification system. The results obtained by vegetation scientists working under European Vegetation Survey led by L. Mucina became the effective reference for international cooperation in vegetation classification. In the last 17 years they have produced a system of vegetation classification of Europe, including the European part of Russia (Mucina et al., 2016. «Vegetation of Europe: hierarchical floristic classification system of vascular plant, bryophyte, lichen, and algal communities»). Despite the fact that «Vegetation of Europe» is based on ecological and floristic principles, it nevertheless represents an example of the synthesis of one of the most effective approaches to systematizing vegetation diversity by different vegetation science schools. The synthetic approach implemented in this study assumes full accounting of the ecological indicative significance of the floristic composition and structure of plant community and habitat attributes. The approach has already demonstrated its high efficiency for understanding and forecast modeling both natural and anthropogenic processes in the biosphere, as well as in assessment of the environmental and resource significance of vegetation (ref). The demand for this approach is supported by its implementation in a number of pan-European and national projects: NATURE 2000, CORINE, CarHAB, funded at the state and pan-European levels. Currently, one of the main systems for the study and protection of habitats within the framework of environmental programs of the European Union (Davies, Moss, 1999; Rodwell et al., 2002; Moss, 2008; Linking..., 2015; Evans et al., 2018) is EUNIS (European Nature Information System), the framework of which is a multilevel classification of habitats in Europe has been established. EUNIS was used as the basis for the preparation and establishment of the Red List of European Habitats (Rodwell et al., 2013). It is approved by the Commission of the European Union (EU) (Habitats Directive 92/43 / EEC, Commission of the European Communities) for use in environmental activities of EU countries. In its Resolution of 10.12.2019, the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) expressed the need in a modern vegetation classification for the assessment of the ecosystem transformations under current climate changes and increasing anthropogenic impacts, as well as in development of effective measures for the conservation and rational use of plant resources of Russia. The resolution recommended the development of the Concept of Vegetation Classification of Russia to the Science Council for biodiversity and biological resources (at RAS Department of biological sciences — Section of Botany). As a consequence, a group of Russian vegetation researchers has developed the Concept for Vegetation Classification of Russia and proposed principles and a plan for its implementation. Aim Elaboration of a system of vegetation classification of Russia reflecting the natural patterns of plant communities formation at different spatial and geographical levels and serving as the fundamental basis for predicting biosphere processes, science-based management of bioresources, conservation of biodiversity and, ultimately, rational nature management for planning sustainable development of its territories. Research goals 1. Development of fundamental principles for the classification of vegetation by synthesis of the achievements of Russian and world’s vegetation science. 2. Inventory of plant community diversity in Russia and their systematization at different hierarchical levels. Elaboration and publication of a Prodromus of vegetation of Russia (syntaxon checklist) with an assessment of the correctness of syntaxa, their Nomenclatural validization and bibliography. Preparation and publication of a book series «Vegetation of Russia» with the entire classification system and comprehensive description of all syntaxonomic units. 3. The study of bioclimatic patterns of the phytocoenotic diversity in Russia for predictive modeling of biosphere processes. Assessment of qualitative changes in plant cover under global climate change and increasing anthropogenic impact in its various forms. 4. Assessment of the conservation value of plant communities and ecosystems. Habitat classification within Russia on the basis of the vegetation classification with a reference to world experience. 5. Demonstration of the opportunities of the vegetation classification for the assessment of actual plant resources, their future prognoses under climate and resource use change, optimization of nature management, environmental engineering and planning of projects for sustainable development. Basic principles underlying the vegetation classification of Russia I. Here we address the synthesis of accumulated theoretical ideas about the patterns of vegetation diversity and the significant features of phytocoenoses. The main goal is to identify the most significant attributes of the plant cover at different hierarchical levels of classification: floristic, structural-phytocoenotic, ecotopic and geographical.We propose the following hierarchy of the main syntaxonomical categories used in the classification of European vegetation (Mucina et al., 2016) by the ecological-floristic approach (Braun-Blanquet): Type of vegetation, Class, Order, Alliance, Association. Applying the ecological-floristic approach to the vegetation classification of Russia will maximize the use of the indicative potential of the plant community species composition to help solve the complex tasks of modern ecology, notably plant resource management, biodiversity conservation, and the forecast of vegetation response to environmental change of environment changes. II. We plan to establish an all-Russian archive of geobotanical relevés in accordance with international standards and reference information system on the syntaxonomical diversity coupled with implemented remote access capabilities. At present, the archives in botanical, biological, environmental and geographical institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as those of universities, have accumulated a large mass of geobotanical relevés for most regions of Russia (according to preliminary estimates — more than 300,000). These documents, which are fundamental to solving the most important national tasks for the conservation and monitoring of the natural human environment, need to be declared a National treasure. In this respect, the development of the all-Russian Internet portal for the vegetation classification is an urgent priority. III. The vegetation classification procedure will be based on a generalization of field data (geobotanical relevés) performed in accordance with international standards, using up-to-date mathematical and statistical methods and information technology. IV. The vegetation classification of Russia will be based on strict rules for naming of syntaxa, according to their validity as formulated in the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature, which is constantly being improved (Weber et al., 2020). These underlying principles will help develop the ecological indicative potential of a wide range of vegetation features that can be used to focus on solving a range of global and regional ecology problems, plant resources management, biodiversity protection, and forecasting of the consequences of environmental changes. Prospects for the implementation of the concept «Vegetation classification of Russia» At present, the academic research centers and universities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Murmansk, Crimea, Bashkiria, Komi and other regions have sufficient scientific potential to achieve the goals in the framework of the special Program of the Russian Academy of Sciences — that is, to develop a vegetation classification of Russia. To achieve this goal will require: - organization of a network of leading teams within the framework of the Scientific Program of the Russian Academy of Sciences «Vegetation classification of Russia», adjustment of the content of state assignment with the allocation of additional funding. - approval of the thematic Program Committee by the RAS for the development of organizational approaches and elaboration of specific plans for the realization of the Scientific Program, - implementation of the zonal-geographical principle in organization of activity on developing the regional classifications and integrating them into a single classification system of the vegetation of Russia. - ensuring the integration of the system of vegetation classification of Russia with similar systems in the countries of the former USSR, Europe, USA, China, Japan, etc. Potential organizations-participants in the scientific Program — 18 institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and 8 Universities. Estimated timelines of the implementation of the concept «Vegetation classification of Russia» — 2021–2030. General schedule for the entire period of research 2021. Approval of classification principles, unified methodical and methodological approaches by project participants. Discussion and elaboration of the rules of organization of the all-Russian archive of geobotanical relevés and syntaxa. 2022–2026. Formation of all-Russian archive of geobotanical relevés and syntaxa. Development of plant community classification and identification of the potential indicative features of units of different ranks based on quantitative methods and comparative syntaxonomic analysis with existing classification systems in Europe, North and East Asia. Justification of new concepts for key syntaxa. The study of environmental and geographical patterns of the vegetation diversity in Russia using up-to-date methods of ordination modeling and botany-geography ana­lysis. 2022. Publication of a Prodromus of vegetation classification of Russia. Schedule for the publication of volumes of the «Vegetation classification of Russia» 2023. «Boreal forests and pre-tundra woodlands» 2024. «Forests of the temperate zone» 2025. «Tundra and polar deserts» and «Alpine ve­getation» 2026. «Steppe vegetation» and «Meadow vegetation» 2027. «Aquatic and bog vegetation» 2028. «Halophytic vegetation» 2029. «Synanthropic vegetation» 2027–2030. Development of criteria for assessing the environmental significance of the plant community syntaxonomic categories for various natural zones based on world criteria. Preparation of the volume «Classification of habitats of Russia and assessment of their environmental significance».

The paper represents the results of grass pine forests classification in Dagestan by the Brown-Blanquet method. A number of 68 releves of pine forests (taken from the paper by Abdurakhmanova et al., 2018) were included in two higher categories of vegetation – the boreal forests of the class Vaccinio–Piceetea Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et al. 1939 and the sub-Mediterranean thermophilous forests of the class Erico–Pinetea Horvat 1959 based on the quantitative classification. Comparative syntaxonomic analysis of the Caucasian communities of the Erico–Pinetea class revealed their high level of floristic originality in comparison with similar forests of southern Europe, Western Asia and Crimea. This corresponds to the unique bioclimatic conditions of Dagestan located on the territory with a clear effect of «rain shadow» from the high mountain ranges of the Greater Caucasus stretching on the way of the western Atlantic moist air masses that result in the high climate continentality. These essential ecological and floristic peculiarities of the grass pine forests of the Eastern Caucasus provided a basis for the description of a new order — Alchemillo sericaceae–Pinetalia sylvestris ord. nova hoc loco representing the extreme eastern part of the Erico–Pinetea class range. The diagnostic species group of the order includes dominantly Eastern-Euxinian, Caucasian endemics and Eurasian xerophilous species: Juniperus oblonga, Alchemilla sericata, Galium valantioides, Peucedanum ruthenicum, Thalictrum foetidum, Rosa elasmacantha, Filipendula vulgaris, Koeleria cristata, as well as diagnostic species of subordinated alliances. The order includes two alliances demonstrating the ecological and floristic differences of Dagestan pine forests due to the thermic factor. The alliance Bupleuro polyphylli–Pinion sylvestris all. nova hoc loco (holotypus of the order) includes grass pine forests with predominance of thermophilous floristic elements. Differential species of the alliance are Astrantia major, Valeriana alliariifolia, Polygonatum verticillatum, Pyrethrum coccineum, Psephellus daghestanicus, Galium rubioides, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Rubus saxatilis, Brachypodium pinnatum, Fragaria vesca, Fragaria viridis, Primula macrocalyx, Anthriscus sylvestris, Amoria ambigua, Bupleurum polyphyllum, Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Dicranum scoparium, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Rhodobryum roseum, Climacium dendroides, Abietinella abietina, Plagiomnium cuspidatum, Betula litwinowii, B. pendula. Three associations and two non-rank communities were included in the alliance (Carici albae–Pinetum sylvestris Ermakov, Abdurakhmanova, Potapenko 2019 — holotypus of the alliance, Ranunculo caucasicae–Pinetum sylvestris ass. nova hoc loco, Viburno lanatae–Pinetum sylvestris Ermakov, Abdurakhmanova, Potapenko 2019, community Stachys atherocalyx–Pinus sylvestris, community Centaurea phrygia–Pinus sylvestris). The alliance Onobrichido cornutae–Pinion sylvestris all. nova hoc loco includes unique cryophilous pine forests with predominance of the cushion plants in the gound layer and numerous constant species of Caucasian cryophilous and xerophilous endemics. Diagnostic species of the alliance are Onobrychis cornuta, Festuca woronowii, Gypsophila tenuifolia, Salvia canescens, Rosa elasmacantha, Androsace koso-poljanskii, Galium brachyphyllum, Thymus daghestanicus, Asperula alpina, Anthemis dumetorum, Scutellaria oreophila, Satureja subdentata, Potentilla recta, Teucrium polium, Euphorbia virgate, Scabiosa gumbetica, Astragalus alexandri, A. fissuralis, Seseli alexeenkoi, Pseudomuscari pallens, Rhamnus pallasii, Vincetoxicum funebre, Jurinea ruprechtii, Helianthemum dagestanicum, Stipa caucasica, Centaurea edmondii, Selaginella helvetica, Scorzonera filifolia, Dracocephalum austriacum, Viola somchetica, Oxytropis lanata. At present the alliance is represented by a single association – the Onobrichido cornutae–Pinetum sylvestris ass. nova hoc loco. The results of the classification have demonstrated a significant level of originality of the Caucasian grass pine forests and a high floristic status of the Caucasus as a one of the important centers of modern phytodiversity.

Steppe-tundra is considered to have been a dominant ecosystem across northern Eurasia during the Last Glacial Maximum. As the fossil record is insufficient for understanding the ecology of this vanished ecosystem, modern analogues have been sought, especially in Beringia. However, Beringian ecosystems are probably not the best analogues for more southern variants of the full-glacial steppe-tundra because they lack many plant and animal species of temperate steppes found in the full-glacial fossil record from various areas of Europe and Siberia. We present new data on flora, land snails and mammals and characterize the ecology of a close modern analogue of the full-glacial steppe-tundra ecosystem in the southeastern Russian Altai Mountains, southern Siberia. The Altaian steppe-tundra is a landscape mosaic of different habitat types including steppe, mesic and wet grasslands, shrubby tundra, riparian scrub, and patches of open woodland at moister sites. Habitat distribution, species diversity, primary productivity and nutrient content in plant biomass reflect precipitation patterns across a broader area and the topography-dependent distribution of soil moisture across smaller landscape sections. Plant and snail species considered as glacial relicts occur in most habitats of the Altaian steppe-tundra, but snails avoid the driest types of steppe. A diverse community of mammals, including many species typical of the full-glacial ecosystems, also occurs there. Insights from the Altaian steppe-tundra suggest that the full-glacial steppe-tundra was a heterogeneous mosaic of different habitats depending on landscape-scale moisture gradients. Primary productivity of this habitat mosaic combined with shallow snow cover that facilitated winter grazing was sufficient to sustain rich communities of large herbivores.

Site-scale species richness (alpha diversity) patterns are well described for many present-day ecosystems, but they are difficult to reconstruct from the fossil record. Very little is thus known about these patterns in Pleistocene full-glacial landscapes and their changes following Holocene climatic amelioration. However, present-day central Asian ecosystems with climatic features and biota similar to those of the full-glacial periods may serve as proxies of alpha diversity variation through both space and time during these periods. We measured alpha diversity of vascular plants, bryophytes, macrolichens and land snails, as well as environmental variables, in 100-m(2) plots located in forests and open habitats in the Russian Altai Mountains and their northern foothills. This region contains adjacent areas that possess climatic and biotic features similar to mid-latitude Europe for both the Last Glacial Maximum and contemporaneous Holocene ecosystems. We related alpha diversity to environmental variables using generalized linear models and mapped it from the best-fit models. Climate was identified as the strongest predictor of alpha diversity across all taxa, with temperature being positively correlated to number of species of vascular plants and land snails and negatively correlated to that of bryophytes and macrolichens. Factors important for only some taxa included precipitation, soil pH, percentage cover of tree layer and proportion of grassland areas in the landscape around plots. These results, combined with the high degree of similarity between the current Altai biota and dry-cold Pleistocene ecosystems of Europe and northern Asia, suggest that vascular plant and land snail alpha diversity was low during cold phases of the Pleistocene with a general increase following the Holocene climatic amelioration. The opposite trend probably existed for terricolous bryophytes and macrolichens.

An ecological ordination model of higher units of steppe vegetation in the mountains of the southern Middle Siberia was created based on indirect ordination (detrended correspondence analysis) of 326 complete geobotanical descriptions and on a correlation analysis of the values of main axes with climatic, soilground, and geographical parameters. Ecological series of coenofloras of the steppe vegetation are observed in the space of the two first leading axes of ordination. They are oriented by climatic factors of the annual and seasonal precipitation amounts, temperature, oceanity–continentality, and substrate rockiness. A syntaxonomic interpretation of the observed ecological-geographical steppe types is given, and a hierarchy of higher classification units is substantiated from ecological positions.

Aim Soil pH is considered an important driver of fine-scale plant species richness in terrestrial ecosystems. However, it is unclear to what extent this relationship is influenced by precipitation, which often directly affects both soil pH and species richness. We asked: (1) what is the relationship between fine-scale vascular plant species richness and soil pH in regions with different levels of precipitation and (2) what are the relative effects of soil pH and precipitation on species richness? Location Dry grasslands in eight regions of northern Eurasia. Methods Species richness and soil pH were measured in 1055 10 m × 10 m plots and precipitation values were derived from global datasets. Relationships between variables were explored using general linear models, mixed-effect models and partial regressions. Variation partitioning was used to assess the relative effect of each predictor on species richness. Results In wetter regions, soil pH range was broader, mean species richness was higher and the richness–pH relationship was unimodal. In drier regions, mean soil pH was higher and its range narrower, species richness was on average lower and less variable, and the richness–pH relationship was negative or absent. The richness–pH relationship persisted after controlling for the effect of precipitation, but precipitation, uniquely or together with soil pH, explained more variation in species richness in most regions than did pH alone. Main conclusions The relationship between plant species richness and soil pH in dry grasslands changes from unimodal, through negative, to none with decreasing regional precipitation in Eurasia. However, it seems that the species richness–soil pH relationship in dry grasslands over broad areas is substantially influenced and confounded by precipitation either indirectly, by shortening and shifting the pH gradient, or directly, by decreasing the negative effects of drought stress on richness.

Recent botanical and zoological studies have suggested that the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia are an important refugium of the last glacial biota that used to be widespread across northern Eurasia before the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. To obtain insights into the history of this relict biota, we modelled the spatial distribution of habitats during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Russian Altai. We prepared a map of the current vegetation of this area based on the ground-truthed remote sensing data, and modelled the distribution of the current vegetation types using the Random Forest technique with climatic predictors. The models were projected onto the CCSM3 model of the LGM climate for the Russian Altai and interpreted for 72% of its area because the remaining part is supposed to have been glaciated during the LGM. The models projected LGM predominance of desert-steppe across most of the non-glaciated area of the Russian Altai, probably associated with areas of typical steppe, tundra grasslands and some other habitat types, including forest patches in stream valleys. It is likely that during the LGM, these habitats supported the cold-adapted open-landscape biota. In the Holocene, most of the previous grassland area changed into forest or forest-steppe and the Pleistocene biota retreated, with the exception of the Chuya Basin and the Ukok Plateau in the southeast, where the habitat change was very small and desert-steppe and associated vegetation types remained preserved. This refugial area is currently rich in the relict Pleistocene species. A different history was suggested for the precipitation-rich area in the northernmost Altai (north of Lake Teletskoye), where the LGM models suggested occurrence of patches of open forest of Larix sibirica and Pinus sibirica in forest-tundra and forest-steppe landscapes. These forests may have provided the LGM refugium for the temperate forest species that currently occur in this precipitation-rich area.

Knowledge of present-day communities and ecosystems resembling those reconstructed from the fossil record can help improve our understanding of historical distribution patterns and species composition of past communities. Here, we use a unique data set of 570 plots explored for vascular plant and 315 for land-snail assemblages located along a 650-km-long transect running across a steep climatic gradient in the Russian Altai Mountains and their foothills in southern Siberia. We analysed climatic and habitat requirements of modern populations for eight land-snail and 16 vascular plant species that are considered characteristic of the full-glacial environment of central Europe based on (i) fossil evidence from loess deposits (snails) or (ii) refugial patterns of their modern distributions (plants). The analysis yielded consistent predictions of the full-glacial central European climate derived from both snail and plant populations. We found that the distribution of these 24 species was limited to the areas with mean annual temperature varying from _6.7 to 3.4 °C (median _2.5 °C) and with total annual precipitation varying from 137 to 593 mm (median 283 mm). In both groups there were species limited to areas with colder and drier macroclimates (e.g. snails Columella columella and Pupilla loessica, and plants Kobresia myosuroides and Krascheninnikovia ceratoides), whereas other species preferred areas with relatively warmer and/or moister macroclimates (e.g. snails Pupilla turcmenica and P. alpicola, and plants Artemisia laciniata and Carex capillaris). Analysis of climatic conditions also indicated that distributional shifts of the studied species during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition were closely related to their climatic tolerances. Our results suggest that the habitat requirements of southern Siberian populations can provide realistic insights into the reconstruction of Eurasian, especially central European, glacial environments.

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (relevés) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001; ... 1,000 m²) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetation-plot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database “sPlot”. Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale- and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board. Abbreviations: EDGG = Eurasian Dry Grassland Group; EVA = European Vegetation Archive; GrassPlot = Database of Scale-Dependent Phytodiversity Patterns in Palaearctic Grasslands; SAR = species-area relationship.

The drivers of plant richness at fine spatial scales in steppe ecosystems are still not sufficiently understood. Our main research questions were: (i) How rich in plant species are the natural steppes of Southern Siberia compared to natural and semi-natural grasslands in other regions of the Palaearctic? (ii) What are the main environmental drivers of the diversity patterns in these steppes? (iii) What are the diversity-environment relationships and do they vary between spatial scales and among different taxonomic groups? We sampled the steppe vegetation (vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens) in Khakassia (Russia) with 39 nested-plot series (0.0001-100-m(2) plot size) and 54 additional 10-m(2) quadrats across the regional range of steppe types and measured various environmental variables. We measured beta-diversity using z-values of power-law species-area relationships. GLM analyses were performed to assess the importance of environmental variables as predictors of species richness and z-value. Khakassian steppes showed both high alpha- and beta-diversity. We found significant scale dependence for the z-values, which had their highest values at small spatial scales and then decreased exponentially. Total species richness was controlled predominantly by heat load index, mean annual precipitation, humus content and soil skeleton content. The positive role of soil pH was evident only for vascular plant species richness. Similar to other studies, we found that the importance of environmental factors strongly differed among taxonomic groups and across spatial scales, thus highlighting the need to study more than one taxon and more than one plot size to get a reliable picture.

Questions We discovered forests with very high local numbers of vascular plant species in southern Siberia. Are these the most species-rich forests of the Eurasian boreal and temperate zones, and which factors cause such high species richness? Location Altai Mountains in southern Siberia, Altai Republic, Russia. Methods We sampled vegetation and measured environmental variables across the Altai Mountains in plots of 100 m2 and established series of nested plots of the size from 1 to 1000 m2 at sites with the highest species richness. We compared the richest forests with other forests of the Altai and with literature records of species-rich vegetation types from elsewhere. Results The richest forests contained 45 vascular plant species per 1 m2, 82 per 10 m2, 114 per 100 m2 and 149 per 1000 m2. They are open hemiboreal forests dominated by Pinus sylvestris, with an admixture of Betula pendula, and sparse shrub and moss layers. About 95% of their vascular plant species are in the herb layer. All species are native. These forests occur in a forest-steppe landscape of the northern Altai, where the mean January temperature is between –12.5 and –10 degrees C, mean July temperature is 16–18 degrees C, and total annual precipitation is 560–610 mm. Soils are deep and mesic, with a pH of 6.2–6.4. Conclusions Hemiboreal forests of the northern Russian Altai are probably the most species-rich forests in boreal and temperate Eurasia. Such a high concentration of many species in small plots probably results from the incidental combination of several factors conducive to high species richness. These factors include the rich regional flora of the Altai Mountains, stability of the environment of this region since the Pleistocene, heterogeneity of the mountainous forest-steppe landscape with a combination of forested areas on north-facing slopes and steppes on south-facing ones, an open canopy that ameliorates microclimate conditions but does not exclude light-demanding species through strong shading, a macroclimate that is not too harsh, mesic soils with near-neutral pH, and limited competition within the herb layer.

Question: What is the syntaxonomical diversity of boreal oligotrophic pine forests in Western Eurasia? Location: Boreal zone of Northern Europe and Western Siberia. Methods: Classification of forest vegetation plots using Ward's clustering and the Braun-Blanquet approach. Results: North European and West Siberian boreal oligotrophic pine forests can be assigned to the Vaccinio-Piceetea Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et al. 1939; Pinetalia sylvestris Oberdorfer 1957; Cladonio stellaris-Pinion sylvestris Kielland-Lund ex Ermakov et Morozova 2011, seven associations (Cladonio arbusculae-Pinetum sylvestris (Kielland-Lund 1967) Ermakov & Iirozova 2011; Flavocetrario nivalis-Pinetum sylvestris Morozova et al. 2008; Pinetum sibiricae-sylvestris Makhatkov et Ermakov 2010; Hedysaro alpini-Laricetum sibiricae Saburov 1972; Linnaeo borealis-Pinetum sylvestris (Kielland-Lund 1967) Ermakov & Iirozova 2011; Barbilophozio-Pinetum sylvestris Br.-Bl. et Sissingh in Br.-Bl. et al. 1939; Bazzanio-Pinetum sylvestris Kielland-Lund 1967; Calamagrostio lapponicae-Pinetum sylvestris Br.-Bl. et Sissingh in Br.-Bl. et al. 1939) and six subassociations. Syntaxonomical and geographical boundaries between the alliances Cladonio stellaris-Pinion sylvestris and Dicrano-Pinion (Libbert 1933) Matuszkiewicz 1962 were defined. Conclusion: We propose the concept of alliance Cladonio stellaris-Pinion sylvestris, which includes all associations of oligotrophic pine forests within the boreal zone of Europe and Western Siberia. Analysis of a data set from Northern Europe and North-western Siberia demonstrates a common set of ecological, floristic and phytocoenotic features of all types of oligotrophic pine forests. This supports Oberdorfer's concept of a single Eurasian order Pinetalia sylvestris.

A brief history of development of the Prodromus vegetation of Yakutia is given. The characteristic of classes is given in a table.

This study focuses on a phytosociological system of the extensive Larix gmelinii and Larix cajanderi dominated forests and woodlands that span the nemoral, boreal and subarctic zones in northeast Asia in the Russian Far East, Eastern Siberia and northern China, an area that covers more than 5 million km2. A total of 299 releves representing different parts of the larch forest range were used to classify communities in this area into the boreal Rhytidio rugosi-Laricetea sibiricae and Vaccinio-Piceetea and to the nemoral Querco mongolicae-Betuletea davuricae. The hierarchical system of lower syntaxa of larch forests and woodlands of northeast Asia includes 24 associations and nine subassociations. Nineteen associations and two alliances – Rhododendro aurei-Laricion cajanderi and Rhododendro daurici-Laricion gmelinii – are described for the first time. Two associations were classified into Dictamno dasycarpi-Quercion mongolicae of Lespedezo bicoloris-Quercetalia mongolicae representing the nemoral class Querco mongolicae-Betuletea davuricae. All larch communities in the nemoral zone represent different post-fire-event stages. Eleven associations occurring in humid conditions of the boreal zone and in the areas influenced by the Pacific Ocean are classified into Abieti nephrolepidis-Piceion jezoensis, Piceion jezoensis and Pino pumilae-Piceion jezoensis representing boreal forests of humid maritime regions belonging to the order Abieti veitchii-Piceetalia jezoensis. In this area seral larch communities occupy zonal sites, and primeval larch forests may occur only in edaphic conditions restricting the distribution of zonal dominants, Picea jezoensis and the species of Abies. The area of continuous permafrost within the boreal zone having continental and ultracontinental climate conditions is occupied by primeval larch forests united in Ledo palustris-Laricion cajanderi and Rhododendro aurei-Laricion cajanderi of Ledo palustris-Laricetalia cajanderi, and on sites with dry soils with a deeper frozen horizon in Lathyro humilis-Laricion cajanderi of Lathyro humilis-Laricetalia cajanderi.

The geographical distributions of plant communities are usually inferred from mapping releves. Here, we study another approach to map the ranges of associations and higher syntaxa: the joint distribution of the constant species of the associations, i.e. those species most frequently found in the releves. We ask whether the joint distribution of the species reflects the distribution of the associations and higher syntaxa. Because of limited availability of plant distribution maps we consider species occurring in more than 40% of the releves of four associations belonging to Western and Central Siberian hemiboreal forests of the class Brachypodio pinnati–Betuletea pendulae. Those species are the most informative for syntaxonomic considerations. The joint distribution is established by overlaying the distribution maps of the species and numerically compared with the mapped distribution of the vegetation communities using Cohen's Kappa. Most species occurring in the associations have a small to mid-sized range. The range size distribution of the contributing species approaches a normal distribution after logarithmic transformation of the range sizes. The geographical extents of the associations are well reflected by the overlays of all constant species. Removing sequentially the species beginning with those having the smallest distribution ranges from the overlay leads to progressive loss of similarity between mapped and modelled range of the associations. For the higher syntaxa (order and class) the similarity between mapped and modelled range increases first but drops at the end of the removal procedure. The less widespread species are particularly important for the recognition of a local plant community, i.e. the association. In contrast, more widespread species allow the definition of the ranges of higher syntaxa and reveal more large-scale geographic relationships of the vegetation. From our quantitative assessment of mapped and modelled maps of the distribution of plant communities, we conclude that the overlay method is useful to infer the geographical extent of plant communities.

An ecophytocenotic map has been compiled for southern Siberia at a scale of 1 : 1 000 000. The legend for mountainous areas includes information on the vegetation of the mapped units and environmental conditions (Σt > 10°, annual precipitation, altitudes above sea, and topographic features).

Biurrun, Idoia/0000-0002-1454-0433; Rojo, Maria Pilar Rodriguez/0000-0001-5449-9386; Ermakov, Nikolai/0000-0001-7550-990X; De Sanctis, Michele/0000-0002-7280-6199; Svenning, Jens-Christian/0000-0002-3415-0862; Virtanen, Risto/0000-0002-8295-8217; Agrillo, Emiliano/0000-0003-2346-8346; Onyshchenko, Viktor/0000-0001-9079-7241; Marceno, Corrado/0000-0003-4361-5200; Willner, Wolfgang/0000-0003-1591-8386; Fernandez-Gonzalez, Federico/0000-0003-1234-4065; Jansen, Florian/0000-0002-0331-5185; Swacha, Grzegorz/0000-0002-6380-2954; Dengler, Jurgen/0000-0003-3221-660X; Guarino, Riccardo/0000-0003-0106-9416; Sopotlieva, Desislava/0000-0002-9281-7039; Venanzoni, Roberto/0000-0002-7768-0468; Chytry, Milan/0000-0002-8122-3075; Kuzemko, Anna/0000-0002-9425-2756; Danihelka, Jiri/0000-0002-2640-7867; Kuzemko, Anna/0000-0002-9425-2756; Venanzoni, Roberto/0000-0002-7768-0468; Gavilan, Rosario G./0000-0002-1022-445X; Jansen, Florian/0000-0002-0331-5185; Wohlgemuth, Thomas/0000-0002-4623-0894; Svenning, Jens-Christian/0000-0002-3415-0862; Sibik, Jozef/0000-0002-5949-862X; Casella, Laura/0000-0003-2550-3010; Lenoir, Jonathan/0000-0003-0638-9582; Attorre, Fabio/0000-0002-7744-2195; Kacki, Zygmunt/0000-0002-2241-1631; Jandt, Ute/0000-0002-3177-3669; Carni, Andraz/0000-0002-8909-4298; Jirousek, Martin/0000-0002-4293-478X; GARCIA-MIJANGOS, ITZIAR/0000-0002-6642-7782; Campos, Juan Antonio/0000-0001-5992-2753; Fanelli, Giuliano/0000-0002-3143-1212; Haveman, Rense/0000-0001-9127-4549; Acic, Svetlana/0000-0001-6553-3797; De Bie, Els/0000-0001-7679-743X; Font, Xavier/0000-0002-7253-8905; Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold/0000-0001-8591-7149; Martynenko, Vasiliy/0000-0002-9071-3789; Jimenez-Alfaro, Borja/0000-0001-6601-9597; Ejrnaes, Rasmus/0000-0003-2538-8606; Carlon Ruiz, Luis/0000-0003-3442-8710; Angelini, Pierangela/0000-0002-5321-9757; Silc, Urban/0000-0002-3052-699X; Landucci, Flavia/0000-0002-6848-0384; Ewald, Jorg/0000-0002-2758-9324; Dziuba, Tetiana/0000-0001-8621-0890 WOS: 000368074600018 The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation-plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on-going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management of multiple databases that use different species lists. This is facilitated by the SynBioSys Taxon Database, a system of taxon names and concepts used in the individual European databases and their corresponding names on a unified list of European flora. TURBOVEG 3 also includes procedures for handling data requests, selections and provisions according to the approved EVA Data Property and Governance Rules. By 30 June 2015, 61 databases from all European regions have joined EVA, contributing in total 1 027 376 vegetation plots, 82% of them with geographic coordinates, from 57 countries. EVA provides a unique data source for large-scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database. Czech Science Foundation (Centre of Excellence PLADIAS) [14-36079G] Our major thanks go to thousands of European vegetation scientists of several generations who collected the original vegetation-plot data in the field, published them or made their unpublished data available to others, and to those who spent myriad hours digitizing data and managing the contributing databases. EVA data management has been partly funded by the Czech Science Foundation (Centre of Excellence PLADIAS, 14-36079G).

In this paper we present nomenclatural adjustments and validations of syntaxa of the forest vegetation of Europe. We introduce a new, valid name of the class of nemoral coniferous or mixed forests (Asaro europaei-Abietetea sibiricae) replacing the deciduous Carpino-Fagetea in the easternmost Europe and Siberia. We describe two new orders for birch and birch-poplar woodlands, formerly included in the Betulo pendulae-Populetalia tremulae. We validate the names of two alliances for the deciduous forests of the Southern Urals and the name of an alliance for hemiboreal forest swamps. The suballiance Ostryo-Tilienion, coined to accommodate the xerothermophilous ravine forests of SE Europe, is here elevated to the rank of alliance. Finally, we validate the name Quercion alnifoliae (evergreen oak forests of Cyprus).

Vegetation classification consistent with the Braun-Blanquet approach is widely used in Europe for applied vegetation science, conservation planning and land management. During the long history of syntaxonomy, many concepts and names of vegetation units have been proposed, but there has been no single classification system integrating these units. Here we (1) present a comprehensive, hierarchical, syntaxonomic system of alliances, orders and classes of Braun-Blanquet syntaxonomy for vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen, and algal communities of Europe; (2) briefly characterize in ecological and geographic terms accepted syntaxonomic concepts; (3) link available synonyms to these accepted concepts; and (4) provide a list of diagnostic species for all classes. Location: European mainland, Greenland, Arctic archipelagos (including Iceland, Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya), Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Caucasus, Cyprus. Methods: We evaluated approximately 10 000 bibliographic sources to create a comprehensive list of previously proposed syntaxonomic units. These units were evaluated by experts for their floristic and ecological distinctness, clarity of geographic distribution and compliance with the nomenclature code. Accepted units were compiled into three systems of classes, orders and alliances (EuroVegChecklist, EVC) for communities dominated by vascular plants (EVC1), bryophytes and lichens (EVC2) and algae (EVC3). Results: EVC1 includes 109 classes, 300 orders and 1108 alliances; EVC2 includes 27 classes, 53 orders and 137 alliances, and EVC3 includes 13 classes, 24 orders and 53 alliances. In total 13 448 taxa were assigned as indicator species to classes of EVC1, 2087 to classes of EVC2 and 368 to classes of EVC3. Accepted syntaxonomic concepts are summarized in a series of appendices, and detailed information on each is accessible through the software tool EuroVegBrowser. Conclusions: This paper features the first comprehensive and critical account of European syntaxa and synthesizes more than 100 yr of classification effort by European phytosociologists. It aims to document and stabilize the concepts and nomenclature of syntaxa for practical uses, such as calibration of habitat classification used by the European Union, standardization of terminology for environmental assessment, management and conservation of nature areas, landscape planning and education. The presented classification systems provide a baseline for future development and revision of European syntaxonomy. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Southern Siberian mountain ranges encompass strong climatic contrasts from the relatively oceanic northern foothills to strongly continental intermountain basins in the south. Landscape-scale climatic differences create vegetation patterns, which are analogous to the broad-scale vegetation zonation over large areas of northern Eurasia. In their southern, continental areas, these mountains harbour forest types which potentially resemble the full-glacial forests recently reconstructed for Central Europe. To identify forest vegetation–environment relationships in the southern Siberian mountain ranges, forest vegetation of the Western Sayan Mountains was sampled on a 280 km transect running from the northern foothills with oceanic climatic features to the continental Central Tuvinian Basin in the south. Based on the species composition, vegetation was classified into hemiboreal forests, occurring at drier and summer-warm sites with high-pH soil, and taiga, occurring at wetter, summer-cool sites with acidic soil. Hemiboreal forests included Betula pendula-Pinus sylvestris mesic forest, Larix sibirica dry forest and Pinus sylvestris dry forest. Taiga included Abies sibirica-Betula pendula wet forest, Abies sibirica-Pinus sibirica mesic forest and Pinus sibirica-Picea obovata continental forest. Hemiboreal forests were richer in vascular plant species, while taiga was richer in ground-dwelling cryptogams. Vegetation–environment relationships were analysed by indirect and direct ordination. Winter and summer temperatures and precipitation exerted a dominant influence on species composition. Soil pH was also an important correlate of species composition, but this factor itself was probably controlled by precipitation. At a more local scale, the main source of variation in species composition was topography, producing landscape patterns of contrasting plant communities on slopes of different aspects and valley bottoms. The response of tree species to major environmental factors was expressed with Huisman–Olff–Fresco models. Larix sibirica appeared to be most resistant to drought and winter frosts, Pinus sibirica was adapted to low temperatures both in winter and summer, and Picea obovata had an intermediate response to climate. Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris and Populus tremula were associated with the warmest sites with intermediate precipitation, while Abies sibirica was the most moisture-demanding species, sensitive to deep winter frosts.

A new concept of classification of petrophytic vegetation, i. e. plant communities on rock outcrops and screes, is proposed for the steppe and forest-steppe belts of the southern Siberian mountains, using the Braun-Blanquet approach and original releves from the Altai and Western Sayan Mts. In these areas with arid continental climate, the species composition of petrophytic vegetation seems to be less differentiated from the other habitats than is usual in Europe or the Far East. The main habitats of petrophytic vegetation include rock crevices, shallow soils on weathered rock outcrops, disturbed screes with herbaceous vegetation, and shrubberies in less disturbed places. In the proposed classification petrophytic vegetation is divided into three phytosociological classes. The vegetation of moderately dry rock crevices is included in the Eurasian class Asplenietea trichomanis (Br.-Bl. in Meier et Br.-Bl. 1934) Oberdorfer 1977 and the alliance Selaginellion sanguinolentae Hilbig 2000. Vegetation of disturbed or strongly drought-stressed rock outcrops and screes is included in the class of central Asian steppes, Cleistogenetea squarrosae Mirkin et al. ex Korotkov et al. 1991. Within this class, vegetation with predominance of succulent plants is assigned to the alliance Sedion hybridi all. nova and xeric rock-crevice vegetation to the alliance Eritrichio pectinati- Selaginellion sanguinolentae all. nova. A distinct type of central Asian petrophytic vegetation is assigned to the class Artemisio santolinifoliae-Berberidetea sibiricae cl. nova, which includes xeric shrubberies on mobile screes and rock outcrops of different lithology. Seven associations, three subassociations and four communities without syntaxonomic rank are documented in an ordered species-by-releve table and briefly described with respect to their phytosociological affinities and ecology. The DCA ordination of the releves was used to demonstrate patterns of floristic differentiation of the higher vegetation units in the Altai and Western Sayan.

Classification of tall-forb vegetation of the Altai using the Braun-Blanquet approach was carried out on the basis of a wide ranging set o[ data from different altitudinal belts. Three main phytosociological types of the tall-forb communities were distinguished within the class MulgedioAconitetea, order Tmllio - Crepidetalia due to performed syntaxonomic analysis. The thermophilous tall-forb communities occurring in the subnemoral belt at altitudes of 259-700 m were included in the alliance Cacalio hastatae - Aconition septentrionalis all. nova. The montain tall-forb meadows of the dark-coniferous taiga belt (altitudes of 800-1700 m) were included in the alliance Triseto sibiricae-Aconirlon septentrionalis all. prov. The moderately cryophilous subalpine tall-forb communities widespread at the upper boundary of the forest belt at altitudes of 1000-1900 m were included in the alliance Rhaponticion carthamoidis. Altaian tall-forb vegetation shows a distinct phytosociological and plant geographical unity with European subalpine communities but the closeness of the floristic relations varies in certain altitudinal groups. Most thermophilous tall-forb Siberian meadows of the alliance Cacalio-Aconition which occur at lower altitudes demonstrate strong plant geographical relations with North and Central European meadows of the Adenostyletalia. Gradual decrease of the European floristic relations in the Altaian tall-forb meadows at higher altitudes is shown.

Using the Braun-Blanquet approach, five associations of boreal forests were distinguished in central Yakutia, the most continental part of eastern Siberia. Ecological features of the syntaxa were explained with the use of the DCA ordination of 50 releves. All available data from eastern Siberia were involved in the study for syntaxonomic analysis. Central Yakutian boreal forests were classified into two classes:Rhytidio-Laricetea sibiricae Korotkov etErmakov 1999 — ultracontinental light coniferous hemiboreal forests, andVaccinio-Piceetea Br.-Bl. inBr.-Bl. et al. 1939 — typical coniferous taiga forests of northern Eurasia. A new concept of higher syntaxonomic units of the classVaccinio-Piceetea in eastern Siberia has been developed. Three orders represent the diversity of taiga forests: (1)Cladonio-Vaccinietalia Kielland-Lund 1967 (with alliancesHieracio umbellati-Pinion sylvestris Anenkhonov etChytrý 1998 andSaxifrago bronchialis-Pinion sylvestris all. nov.) — light coniferous boreal forests occurring in dry and moderately dry oligotrophic sites in various climatic sectors of Northern Eurasia; (2)Lathyro humilis-Laricetalia cajanderi ord. nov. (with alliancesAulacomnio acuminati-Laricion cajanderi all. nov. andRhododendro daurici-Laricion gmelinii all. nov.) — zonal boreal forests with xeric elements, which are typical of regions of northern Asia with cold, dry ultracontinental climate; (3)Ledo-Laricetalia cajanderi ord. prov. (with allianceLedo-Laricion cajanderi prov.) — North Eurasian boreal forests occurring in cold sites with excessive soil moisture, sometimes water-logged. Phytogeography and ecology of these orders are discussed in comparison with other regions of northern Asia.

Aim Shells of fossil molluscs are important for palaeoecological reconstructions. However, habitat requirements of snail species typical of central European full-glacial loess sediments are poorly known because most of them became very rare or extinct in Europe. The recent discovery of an almost complete extant assemblage of such species in mountainous regions of central Asia enables more precise characterization of their habitats, which may significantly improve reconstructions of Pleistocene environments. Location Altai Mountains, Russia. Methods Terrestrial snail assemblages, vegetation composition and selected environmental variables were recorded at 118 sites along a gradient of climatic continentality in the Russian Altai. Habitat characteristics of sites where the species typical of full-glacial period occurred were described using a classification tree. Results Seven of the eight species that are typical of central European full-glacial loess sediments were found in the study area. They were confined to cool areas with January mean temperatures below -17 C, but occurred mainly in sheltered habitats with a warmer microclimate such as scrub or open woodland. Pupilla loessica and Vallonia tenuilabris had the broadest habitat range, occurring from woodland to dry steppe. Unexpectedly, Columella columella, Pupilla alpicola, Vertigo genesii, V. parcedentata and V. pseudosubstriata were mainly found in wooded fens and shrubby tundra rather than in open steppe. Most of these seven species were recorded in base-rich wooded fens. Very dry open steppe habitats usually supported no snails. Main conclusions Habitat ranges of the studied snails in the Altai indicate that the full-glacial landscapes of central European lowlands that harboured these species were not completely dominated by open and dry loess steppe. Most probably they contained a significant component of shrubby vegetation, patches of wet habitats, and probably also areas of woodland at sites with favourable mesoclimate.

Forest vegetation of northeastern Asia was studied, in particular in easternmost Russia, northeastern China, North Korea and northern Japan. Forest communities belonging to following classes have been differentiated: Vaccinio-Piceetea, Betulo ermanii-Ranunculetea japonici, Querco-Fagetea crenatae, Querco mongo-licae-Betuletea davuricae, Populetea laurifolio-suaveolentis, and Salicetea sachalinensis. Within of these classes, a total of 20 orders, 45 alliances, 174 associations, and 103 units without rank (communities, forest types, formations etc.) were also distinguished. The survey of syntaxa represents a first attempt towards consolidation of classification of forest vegetation in northeastern Asia and is therefore only preliminary.