Wildfire is regarded as important environmental factor determining the vegetation of the Earth. We analyzed 11 plots at different types of forest affected by fire at the southern boundary of the taiga zone. These differ in structure of the forest stand and herb-shrub layer. Investigated factors included edaphic (moisture, pH, nitrogen) and climatic (light, temperature, continentality) characteristics. Also, projective cover of Epilobium angustifolium L. and undergrowth of secondary growth trees (including forest stand survived after fire influence) were studied. Multivariate data analysis revealed that the rate and character of the vegetation recovery was depended on the ratio of environmental factors and on the species composition of herb-shrub layer. No significant differences were found in Ellenberg’s indicator values between different years of study. All tested forest habitats were distinguished into three main groups: Group I includes broadleaf forests with the forest stand survived after fire influence, Group II includes spruce and birch forests deprived the forest stand due to fire impact, Group III includes more or less dry pine-dominated forests with the forest stand gradually died after fire influence. Two marshy plots have prerequisites to their allocation to a separate group close to the oligotrophic bog forests.

AbstrACt. Cypripedium calceolus is considered as one of the flagship plant species of nature conservation. It is legally protected throughout Eurasia. Due to its wide distribution range, this Eurasian species could be considered as Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered taxon. We performed an analysis of the status for some C. calceolus populations in Central Russia located in the Republic of Mordovia, with emphasis on populations situated in the federal protected areas. The aim of our study was to asses the modern state and the endangerment of C. calceolus populations. The environment conditions and species composition in five habitats with rare species in Mordovia were compared using phytoindication methods. Changes in stage spectrum and total abundance dynamics in C. calceolus populations over 2011-2016 were estimated and compared with available data from other locations within species' range. Reproductive ability of populations from the federal protected area, Mordovia State Nature Reserve, were studied. The results showed that C. calceolus grows in three habitat types that differed in environment conditions and floristic composition. Convallaria majalis was the only species registered in all studied locations, together with C. calceolus. In Central Russia this species occurs in broad-leaved, coniferous and mixed forests. The three populations of C. calceolus within the Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park "Smolny" were characterized by the dominance of vegetative individuals in stage spectrum, while generative plants predominated in two other populations located in mixed forests. No correlation between total abundance of individuals and stage spectrum in populations of threatened species has been found over the study period. The population in Mordovia Reserve showed a higher fruit set (36.7% as a mean) than others reported within its range. Continued population monitoring of C. calceolus in Central Russia from different habitat types is suggested. Generalization of jointly obtained demographic, ecological, phytocoenological data will be appropriate in order to develop measures for conservation and management of C. calceolus habitats.

================== ДИСКУССИИ ================== ================== DISCUSSIONS ==================В настоящей работе представлены результаты оценки таксонов, включенных в первый том Красной кни-ги Республики Мордовия, согласно категориям и критериям Красного списка Международного Союза Охраны Природы (МСОП). Помимо категорий Красный список содержит критерии для каждого из 177 оцененных таксонов сосудистых растений, мохообразных и водорослей, охраняемых на территории Ре-спублики Мордовия. Из них 73 таксона являются находящимися на грани полного исчезновения (������ �����-cally Endange�ed), 41 таксон оценен как исчезающие (Endange�ed), 23 таксона -как уязвимые (VU) и категория «Находящийся в состоянии, близком к угрожаемому» (�ea� ���ea�ened) представлена 31 ви� �ea� ���ea�ened) представлена 31 ви� ���ea�ened) представлена 31 ви� ���ea�ened) представлена 31 ви� ) представлена 31 ви-дом. Девять таксонов отнесены к категории «Недостаток данных» (�a�a �e� ��en�) из�за отсутствия не� �a�a �e� ��en�) из�за отсутствия не� �e� ��en�) из�за отсутствия не� �e���en�) из�за отсутствия не� ) из�за отсутствия не-обходимого объема фактического материала для проведения оценки. 59 таксонов первого тома Красной книги Республики Мордовия (35 видов макромицетов и 24 вида лишайников) не были оценены в насто-ящей работе ввиду недостатка данных, необходимых для проведения адекватной оценки. Поэтому они на настоящий момент имеют статус «Неоцененные» (�o� Evalua�ed), но могут быть отнесены к любой из категорий угрозы исчезновения в результате дополнительных иследований и проведения оценки соглас-но категориям и критериям Красного списка МСОП. Настоящая работа является основой для создания Красного списка таксонов Республики Мордовия.Ключевые слова: водоросли, Красная книга, Красный список, Международный союз охраны природы, мохообразные, область обитания, область распространения, сосудистые растения, Республика Мордо-вия, эффект спасения

No abstract

There are 15 plant species included in the Russian Red Book, which occur in the Republic of Mordovia: Najas tenuissima, Koeleria sclerophylla, Stipa dasyphylla, S. pennata, S. pulcherrima, S. zalesskii, Fritillaria ruthenica, Iris aphylla, Cypripedium calceolus, Cephalanthera rubra, Epipogium aphyllum, Neottianthe cucullata, Orchis militaris, Neotinea ustulata, Thymus cimicinus. Of these, only C. calceolus is included in the Global Red List as Critically Endangered. Threat status for studied species in Mordovia was assessed, and their distribution dynamics in this region throughout 12 years was described. Recent floristic studies, inspections of herbariums and literature were used for searches all provided data. Grid mapping and IUCN criteria were used. Nine taxa were determined as Critically Endangered, three as Endangered, one as Vulnerable, one as Near Threatened and one as Data Deficient. The areas of occupancy and extent of occurrence in Mordovia were assessed for each taxon. All studied species should be included in the next edition of the Mordovian Red Book. F. ruthenica, E. aphyllum, N. ustulata, T. cimicinus require additional studies to confirm earlier observations. Za naštete vrste smo ocenili status ogroženosti in njihovo dinamiko razširjenosti v tej regiji v zadnjih 12 letih. Za predstavljene podatke smo uporabili nedavne floristične raziskave, preglede herbarijskih zbirk in literaturo. Uporabili smo metodo kartiranja kvadrantov in kriterije IUCN. Devet taksonov smo ocenili kot skrajno ogrožene, tri kot ogrožene, enega kot ranljivo vrsto, enega kot potencialno ogroženega in enega kot vrsto za katero obstaja premalo podatkov. Za vsak takson smo določili območje celotne in dejanske razširjenosti. Vse obravnavane vrste je potrebno vključiti v naslednjo izdajo rdečega seznama Mordovije. Za vrste Fritillaria ruthenica, Epipogium aphyllum, Neotinea ustulata, Thymus cimicinus so potrebne dodatne raziskave, ki bi potrdile prejšnja opažanja. Izvleček

Protected Areas are considered as an important and widely applied tool for biodiversity conservation. They are especially relevant for conservation of threatened species populations. This paper presents study aimed to investigate population status and suitability of habitat conditions of a regionally Critically Endangered plant species, Bupleurum aureum (Apiaceae). Our research has been conducted in National Park "Smolny" (European Russia). The field studies were carried out in 2008, 2013-2018 in two study sites (Plot1, Plot2). In each study sites, square plots (1×1 m) were established to cover the most number of B. aureum individuals. The population status was assessed on the basis of the morphometric traits of individuals (height of generative individuals, number of umbellulas per umbella, number of schizocarpiums per umbellula), number of individuals per population, age structure of populations, composition of accompanying flora. We analysed relationships between environmental conditions (shadiness, soil moisture, salt regime of soil, soil nitrogen, soil pH, soil moisture variability) and morphometric and population traits of B. aureum to reveal the most influencing environmental factors. We found that at the northwestern limit of the range, B. aureum has relatively low abundance and height of individuals in compare to available data from other parts of its range. The population age structure indicated higher habitat suitability in Plot1 due to presence of both vegetative and generative individuals. At the same time, in Plot2, B. aureum population is under serious threat due to a lack of vegetative individuals noted during almost whole study period. We suppose a forthcoming threat of probable loss of this B. aureum population. Environment data obtained in both habitats of B. aureum populations in National Park "Smolny" (Russia) indicated high relationships between soil moisture and the number of inflorescences formed by plants. We suppose a threat of extinction of the B. aureum population due to the building activity of Castor fiber inhabiting the small river Bakhmustika located nearby of study area. If the small river will be dammed, it could lead to decrease in B. aureum population in both studied sites due to the increase in ground water level.

Aim of the study: Biological invasions are one of the most important areas of forest research. In this study, we revealed invasibility of fire-damaged forests at the southern boundary of the taiga zone.Area of study: The Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Central Russia). Material and Methods: Altogether, 11 square plots of each 100 × 100 m were established in different types of fire-damaged forests. To test plant invasion outside the established plots, field researches were carried out by route method in fire-damaged area of the Mordovia Reserve.Main Results: Six alien species (Erigeron canadensis, E. annuus, Oenothera biennis, Lactuca serriola, Sambucus racemosa, Viola arvensis) were registered within the established plots in 2011-2014. In addition, two alien invasive plants (Solidago canadensis and Bidens frondosa) were found outside these plots. No differences were detected in invasibility of the tested forest ecosystems.Research highlights: Among the revealed alien species, Erigeron canadensis, Lactuca serriola and Solidago canadensis are the most invasive plants in forest ecosystems. The first one was observed with a high occurrence frequency and abundance in all forest types tested. The second one has not been differed by abundance, but it characterized by a high competition as well as a large biomass and a large number of seeds. Solidago canadensis penetrated to natural forest ecosystem in a short time period due to closest location of its dispersal centers near the boundary of the Mordovia Reserve. These species are the most probable invaders of the forest ecosystems.

Long-term studies of plant populations provide valuable knowledge on the influence of various environmental factors on plant species. The status of edge-range species populations is especially important to be studied due to their higher vulnerability to extinction. This paper aimed to study the Lunaria rediviva population at the eastern border of its range (National Park “Smolny”, Republic of Mordovia, Russia). The study was carried out in 2013–2018. Assessment of the L. rediviva population was performed on the basis of individual parameters of plants (height of the individual, number of leaves per individual, number of inflorescences, flowers, fruits per one generative individual, and the fruit set), and density of individuals. Ontogenetic structure of the population was identified by distinguishing juvenile, mature vegetative, and reproductive individuals. The relationships between weather conditions (mean values of temperature, air moisture, wind strength, precipitation divided to three decades per month) and population parameters of L. rediviva were identified. Results showed changes in the ontogenetic structure of the population. The type of its population changed from vegetatively oriented to bimodal, with a decrease (R2 = 0.686) in the proportion of mature vegetative individuals. We demonstrated a significant decline in some parameters of the L. rediviva reproduction. We found a significant negative correlation between the fruit set and the moisture at mid-July (r = −0.84, p < 0.05), and wind strength in late May (r = −0.83, p < 0.05) and early June (r = −0.83, p < 0.05). It was found that the number of both flowers and fruits per individual is significantly positively correlated with the precipitation in late April, and they negatively correlated with these parameters and the temperature in late July. We assume that the habitat shading negatively influences the L. rediviva population status.