PHYTOSOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE PICEA JEZOENSIS FORESTS OF THE FAR EAST.

Forest communities dominated by Picea jezoensis (Yezo spruce) are described from across their entire distributional range in eastern Asia, including the territories of the Russian Far East and Japan. A total of 476 relevés are used representing the following dominant types of spruce forests: pure P. jezoensis, mixed P. jezoensis and Abies sachalinensis, mixed P. jezoensis and Abies nephrolepis, and pure Picea glehnii communities. The vegetation is classified into 11 associations, 2 community types, 6 subassociations, 25 variants and 8 subvariants. Nine associations, including the Asaro heterotropoidis-Abietetum sachalinensis, Weigelo middendorffianae-Piceetum jezoensis, Lysichito-Piceetum glehnii, Swido albae-Piceetum obovatae, Oplopanaco elati-Piceetum jezoensis, Philadelpho tenuifolii-Piceetum jezoensis, Vaccinio-Piceetum jezoensis, Rhododendro aurei-Piceetum jezoensis, and Moneseto uniflorae-Piceetum jezoensis, are described for the first time. The ecology and structure of all communities are described and their syntaxonomy discussed. The communities are placed in three alliances, Piceion jezoensis, Abieti nephrolepidis-Piceion jezoensis and Pino pumilae-Piceion jezoensis, all. nov. All of the communities described are considered to belong to the order Abieti-Piceetalia of the class Vaccinio-Piceetea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]