Mountain tundra vegetation in the axial part of the Polar Urals

Abstract

The syntaxonomic diversity of mountain tundra vegetation within the axial part of the Polar Urals is described. We distinguished 5 associations and 3 subassociations assigned to 3 classes of phytosociological classification. 4 associations and 3 subassociations are described for the first time: Pediculari lapponicae–Betuletum nanae ass. nov., Dactylino arcticae–Empetretum subholarctici ass. nov. and Br yocaulo diverg entis–Vaccinietum uliginosi solorinetosum croceae subass. nov. we assigned to the class Loiseleurio procumbentis–Vaccinietea Eggler ex Schubert 1960; Dicrano laevidentis– Bistortetum viviparae ass. nov. – to the class Carici arctisibiricae– Hylocomietea alaskani Matveyeva et Lavrinenko 2023, Rhytidio rugosi–Dryadetum octopetalae ass. nov. with 2 subassociations – typicum subass. nov. and salicetosum arcticae subass. nov. – to the class Carici rupestris–Kobresietea bellardii Ohba 1974. Specificity of altitudinal and latitudinal distribution of different syntaxa in Polar Urals is shown. Communities of the mountain tundra in the southern part of the Polar Urals are analogous to the zonal communities of the southern tundra, those in the middle part of Polar Urals are similar to such in the southern stripe of the typical tundra, and those in the northern part are analogous to the northern stripe of the typical tundra subzone.