<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei Didukh 1989 combines chalk outcrop plant communities of the southwestern Central Russian Upland. Its specificity can be attributed to a rather peculiar and heterogeneous flora with a large number of endemic species. The question about its origin has caused a lively discussion, which has been going on since the late nineteenth century. Since 1989 works on the classification of these communities have frequently been carried out, but until today no unanimous decision could be reached. The purpose of our research was to conduct a critical analysis of the syntaxonomical structure of Cretaceous outcrop vegetation and to show its difference from the steppe vegetation of the class Festuco-Brometea Br.-Bl. et Tx. ex Soó 1947. The territory of our research covers the southwestern foothills of the Central Russian Upland and the Donetsk Range, located only within the steppe zone and characterised by Cenomanian chalk outcrops. In total 354 relevés were used for the analysis. The modified TWINSPAN classification was used for the analysis. Our research has shown that the order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei includes twelve associations belonging to three alliances: Artemisio hololeucae-Hyssopion cretacei Romashchenko et al. 1996, Euphorbio cretophilae-Thymion cretacei Didukh 1989 and Centaureo carbonatae-Koelerion talievii Romashchenko et al. 1996.</p></abstract>

The order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei Didukh 1989 combines chalk outcrop plant communities of the southwestern Central Russian Upland. Its specificity can be attributed to a rather peculiar and heterogeneous flora with a large number of endemic species. The question about its origin has caused a lively discussion, which has been going on since the late nineteenth century. Since 1989 works on the classification of these communities have frequently been carried out, but until today no unanimous decision could be reached. The purpose of our research was to conduct a critical analysis of the syntaxonomical structure of Cretaceous outcrop vegetation and to show its difference from the steppe vegetation of the class Festuco-Brometea Br.-Bl. et Tx. ex Soó 1947. The territory of our research covers the southwestern foothills of the Central Russian Upland and the Donetsk Range, located only within the steppe zone and characterised by Cenomanian chalk outcrops. In total 354 relevés were used for the analysis. The modified TWINSPAN classification was used for the analysis. Our research has shown that the order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei includes twelve associations belonging to three alliances: Artemisio hololeucae-Hyssopion cretacei Romashchenko et al. 1996, Euphorbio cretophilae-Thymion cretacei Didukh 1989 and Centaureo carbonatae-Koelerion talievii Romashchenko et al. 1996.

Syntaxonomy of chalk outcrop vegetation of the order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei

Hacquetia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei Didukh 1989 combines chalk outcrop plant communities of the southwestern Central Russian Upland. Its specificity...

Syntaxonomy of chalk outcrop vegetation of the order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei

Published Online: Mar 06, 2018

Page range: 85 - 109

Received: Mar 14, 2017

Accepted: Nov 10, 3017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hacq-2017-0013

Keywords
Central Russian Upland, Hyssopus flora, lowered alpine plants classification

© by Olga Chusova

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Syntaxonomy of chalk outcrop vegetation of the order Thymo cretacei-Hyssopetalia cretacei

Published Online: Mar 06, 2018

Page range: 85 - 109

Received: Mar 14, 2017

Accepted: Nov 10, 3017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hacq-2017-0013

KeywordsCentral Russian Upland, Hyssopus flora, lowered alpine plants classification

© by Olga Chusova

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Central Russian Upland, Hyssopus flora, lowered alpine plants classification