Vegetation releves of rich fens of Malaya Sosva Nature Reserve

Study Extent

Field studies were conducted in July 2016 in the southern part of the Nature Reserve. 5 fen areas with a total area of about 2.5 thousand hectares were surveyed, on which 72 complete geobotanical descriptions were performed and about 500 samples of bryophytes were collected.

Sampling

The project involved standard protocols of a floristic and geobotanical study including herbarium collection, and description of vegetation using ecological-floral approach of the J. Brown-Blanke school.

Method steps

1. The routes were planned in all main elements of the vegetation structure of the fen areas using Landsat 8 satellite images with a resolution of 15 m.
2. The descriptions were carried out within homogeneous contours, encompassing, as far as possible, the diversity of plant communities within the contour on the satellite image.
3. The geographical coordinates of the descriptions were determined using GPS.
4. The area of ​​descriptions ranged from 25 m^2 in homogeneous grass and moss-grass communities to 100 m^2 in fen communities with a well-marked tree layer.
5. At each site, a complete list of species of higher vascular plants, mosses and liverworts was revealed, indicating the projective cover in percent (%).
6. All species of bryophytes and liverworts were collected in the herbarium for further indentification in the laboratory.
7. The latin names for vascular plants are given according to C.K. Cherepanov [1995], mosses - according to M.S. Ignatov et al. [Ignatov et al., 2006], liverworts - according to N.A. Konstantinova et al. [Konstantinova et al., 2009].
8. For details on methods see also in related publication (Lapshina et al., 2018).

179 species have been identified, including 84 species of higher vascular plants, 69 species of mosses and 26 species of liverworts.

1. Tracheophytes
   common name: Vascular plants rank: phylum
2. Bryophyta
   common name: Mosses rank: phylum
3. Marchantiophyta
   common name: Liverworts rank: phylum

A geobotanical survey of rich fens was made on the left-bank terraces of the Em-Egan River, the right tributary of the Malaya Sosva River in the southern part of the nature reserve Malaya Sosva.