Liverworts of Magadan: Life on the Edge of Beringia

Abstract

Magadan Province, located on the southwestern edge of Greater Beringia, combines various floristic elements in its flora, including Beringian and circum-boreal species. The geographic position and habitat diversity of Magadan Province predicts its liverwort flora is one of the richest hemiarctic floras in Asia. The distribution of species throughout the region is uneven, and while its southern part shows close connections with the suboceanic floras of Kamchatka, the middle and central parts are clearly related to the floras of Chukotka, where the Beringian land bridge directly lies in the past. The wide distribution of basic rocks here leads to the existence of a significant complex of basiphylous taxa. A total of 214 taxa (including 205 species and nine varieties) are reported in the present paper. The study of liverworts of Magadan Province should be continued and several new additions to the floral list are highly likely.