Vital Structure of the Larix gmelinii Population in an Urban Environment

Abstract

The changes in the life status of Larix gmelinii along the gradient of urbanized ecotypes were considered on the basis of the population analysis and morphometric approach. L. gmelinii growing under different conditions differed in a number of size and growth characteristics of the photosynthetic activity. The highest values were found in plants growing in public gardens and on city streets under conditions of high insolation. Population analysis of L. gmelinii in an urbanized environment was carried out on the basis of quantitative parameters that characterized the growth and morphogenesis of plants (annual growth, indicators of photosynthetic activity). The determining set of characters for the vitality analysis of L. gmelinii consisted of biologically significant characters with a high degree of variability: length of shoot growth (C_V varied from 39.09 to 68.86%), weight of needles at annual growth (C_V 51.81–120.52%), weight of annual shoot (C_V 67.73–119.85). The vitality structure of the populations of the species in the vegetative ontogenetic state changed from depressive to equilibrium, with the population quality index changing from 0.2 to 0.333. The analysis of landscaping of the city transport highways demonstrated that local populations of L. gmelinii in the generative ontogenetic state were of a prosperous type, with the population quality index varying slightly from 0.47 to 0.49. The plasticity of the species and a high viability of L. gmelinii due to the resistance to air pollution and unpretentiousness to soil conditions support a broad application of the larch for landscaping of urban areas.