0585-B1

A Biological Diversity of Forest Biomes of Russia

G. Ogureeva^[1] and A. Danilenko

Abstract

The opinion that biomes are fundamental ecological units of the biosphere was initially limited by allocation of them at a planetary level. Others have offered a scheme of levels of biome organization in which zonobiomes and orobiomes reflected the interplay of climate with regional biota and substratum. One advantage of studies of biomes lies in the possibility of an integral analysis of botanical and zoogeographical components of the biotic cover. This scheme is accepted as a basis for the classification of ecosystems for a map of the "Biomes of Russia" (1:8 000 000).

Regional biomes as an average level of division of the biosphere take a central place in the mapping of bioclimatic potential of territories. They are represented within the limits of zonobiomes on plains and orobiomes - in mountains. Regional biomes include plant communities and animal populations, which are interdependent of one another.

The forest biomes are the most variable in the territory of Russia. The characterization of a forest regional biome includes the quantitative assessment of the flora and fauna, and a description of the structure of the vegetation cover and the coenotic spectra with an indication of background plant communities. The animal population is characterized by qualitative (species composition) and quantitative indicators (abundance). The territorial groupings of the animal population are characterized by abundant and rare species. The creation of electronic map of biomes of Russia, based on the background described above, is conducted with the use of a geographical information system.

Introduction

An opinion that biomes are fundamental ecological subdivisions of the Biosphere is developed in the biogeography on the basis of a concept of geographic dimension of geosystems and dynamic approach to their classification (Clements 1916; Schelford 1935; Carpenter 1938; Sotchava 1978). H. Walter and S. Breackl (1983) offered the scheme of biome organization of the Biosphere. Zonal biomes and orobiomes-I, as hierarchical structures of the biotic cover on the planet level, in turn, may be divided into smaller-sized ecosystems - from biomes on the regional level to elementary ecosystems or biogeocoenoses - on the local level. The regional biomes are reflecting the interaction of a climate with a regional biota and soils. An advantage of study of biomes consists of a possibility of the integral analysis of phyto- and zoogeographical components of the biotic cover, and ability to conjugate analysis of biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems.

The idea about biomes as ecological units is workred out on a planetary level. In the viewpoint of ecology, the distribution of vegetation and animal population reflects the interaction between climate and regional biota. Zonal biomes as complexes of the vegetation and animal population are connected to each other. It depends on that components which use abiotic enviromental factors most effectly because of historical adaptation to them. They are connected with zonal and high-altitudinal zonality climatic conditions and exist by definite correlation with temperature and moisture. Such biome diversity has found the reflection on review maps. The number of zonal biomes vary from 6-8 (Odum 1986; Nebel 1993) to 10-20 (Walter 1979, Kuchler 1990; Panfilov 1998). Legends of such maps are saturated by the ecological information available within a research and by th analysis of a biome cover.

Nowadays regional biomes system and their mapping are poorly developed. As the complexes of natural ecosystems, the regional biomes were formed simultaneously with historical development of region. The regional biomes are connected with zonal and high-altitudinal - zonal climatic and landscape conditions. They include the vegetation and animal population mutually bounding one another. The biome as an ecological unit of the middle level, in turn, may be divated on smaller elementary ecosystems or biogeocoenosis on the local level. They are shown within the limits of zonal biomes on plains and orobiomes-I - in mountains. The mountain regional biomes or orobiomes-II are connected with the high-altitudinal spectra of the climax communities reflecting bioclimatic potential of the mountain territories on a provincial level.

Specific features of the regional biomes are determined by dominance of that life forms, which are at a greatest degree adapted to unique in space combinations of climatic and landscape conditions, both historically added up, and transformed by human activity. The latter is especially important because of the vegetation is more inertial in this aspect and can keep for a long time a specific structure and species composition of initial communities. The animal population reacts faster to changing ecological situation and consequently its ecological structure often does not correspond with a bioclimatic potential of a territory. As an example a territorial grouping of the animal population of natural grasslands arisen in place of forests or steppes etc. can be mentioned. The regional biome is a basic unit of the concept of a new map "Biomes of Russia".

Materials and methods

The mapping as a main method of the analysis of biome diversity of the Russian territories was selected. Map sources and authoring original stuffs on a vegetation and animal population of the territories of Russia and separate regions were used. As the base sources for mapping of biomes of Russia two equally scaled (1/8 000 000) maps were used: "Zones and altitudinal zonality types of vegetation of Russia and ajacent territories" (Ogureeva et al. 1999) and "The population of terrestrial vertebrates of Russia" (Danilenko et al. 2000).

On the first map the spatial regularity of a vegetation macrostructure are reflected connecting the differentiation of an environment at a subcontinental level. It demonstrates zonal differentiation of vegetation of plains verified on the data of modern researches, and for the first time shown a vegetation cover of mountains classified for the high-altitudinal zonality types. On the second map there is the information about a zonal subdivision of the animal population and their ecological groupings

The electronic versions of these maps were built with application of geoinformation systems (GIS). The joint analysis of electronic versions was conducted by compiling a map of regional biomes of Russia. The borders between zonal divisions of the animal population and vegetation on the plains and main macrostructures in mountains, as a rule coincided. The borders of such rank are estemated as biogeographic limits of zonal biomes and orobiomes-I. The coincidence of borders at a level of geographic versions of vegetation macrostructures and zoogeographical regions allowed to esteem them in a rank of borders of regional biomes.

Results

The map "Biomes of Russia" represents the first experience of joint mapping of regularities of spatial differentiation of a biotic cover at a level of the regional biomes. The forest biomes are the most variable ones in the territory of Russia. In the legend of the map the characteristics of forest regional biomes include peculiarities of their structure, quantitative assessment of flora and fauna, coenotic spectra with the indication of background plant communities of zonal vegetation types. The animal populations are characterized by qualitative (species composition) and quantative indicators (abundance). The territorial groupings of the animal populations are characterized by abundant and rare species. The map demonstrates the distribution of ca. 40 groups of forest regional biomes on plains and 22 groups of orobiomes in mountains (totally 150 regional biomes) in Russia.

The databases of the characteristics of vegetation cover and animal population of regional biomes were created. The structural organization of Databases by a territorial principle is conducted. The following parameters constituted the botanic block of the database: à) a characteristic of a bioclimatic situation (mean annual parameters of temperature of air and amount of precipitation, sum of temperatures of air for a growing season); á) a phytocoenotic characteristic at a level of groups of plant associations; â) a quantity of plant species, as quantity in separate formations, data on Concrete floras and integral parameters for all biomes; ã) a characteristic of floristic and coenotic complexes. The Database of the zoogeographical block contains the following data: a) a list of four classes vertebrates; b) a structure of animal population: 1) systematic, 2) ecological, 3) biotopical. The foundation of unified biogeographic Database for creation of an integrated system of regional biomes is prepared.

Discussion

For the first time the regional biomes are illustrated on the map "Biomes of Russia" (s. 1: 8 000 000) reflrecting the present status of their ecosystems. In the legend of the map the characteristic of the vegetation and the animal population at all levels of division of the Biosphere according to a scale the map, i.e. from zonobiome, to subzonebiome, geographic group of biomes up to a regional biome is given.

The characteristic of zonal biomes and orobiomes-I includes the leading types of vegetation conforming to a zonal conditions and features of landscape structure of territory. The zoogeographical characteristic contains the most common information about the biodiversity levels (one is characterized qualitatively on a scale: very high, high, mean, rather low, low, lowest), structure and features of distribution of animal population, participation of classes of terraneous vertebrates in the animal population (as a whole most common distinctive features: habitats, distribution and structure of a fauna) are indicated.

The characteristic of the subzonal biomes includes the information on the leading classes of plant formations. The taxonomic structure of the animal population is resulted with the indicating of a lobe of classes of terrestrial vertebrates in a species composition, with indication of leading ones; animal species are enumerated, their structure at a level of locations is updated. The animal population is characterized by number of animal species, their quantitative ratio and general estimation of abundance of the animals.

The characteristic of the geographic groups of regional biomes includes: the parameters of climatic conditions; the main structural subdivisions of a vegetative cover with the indication of leading plant communities and their typical species. The taxonomic structure of the animal population is constructed on participation of the species combinations of the conforming systematic categories (at a level of classes, squads, families and subfamilies) in common abundance of the population of biomes. For this purpose the generalized characteristic of the animal population of biomes' containing species lists and estimations of abundance of each grouping are uncovered. The contribution of the biotopical groups to formation of common abundance with the indicating of the leading and scale dimensionally-trophic groups are enumerated.

The botanical characteristic of the regional biomes consists on two main parameters - coenotic spectra and floristic diversity. In the characteristic of biomes the ecological structure of territory is reflected, therefore the estimation of a coenotic diversity is carried out at a level of spectra of communities of separate formations.

The characteristic of regional biomes includes the groups and species of animals with reflection of their abundance (a species composition of taxonomic and ecological structure of the animal population). The groups and the species of animals are enumerated in the following order: mammalia - birds - reptiles and amphibians. The animal species and their groups are enumerated in decreasing order of mark estimation of their abundance (by fonts: very infrequent, infrequent, customary, numerous, very numerous) within the limits of each class, very infrequent and infrequent animal species are distinguished in the legend.

Terrestrial vertebrates are characterized by qualitative (species composition) and quantity indicators (abundance). The system of mark estimations of abundance of species (conditional balls) is designed, outgoing from biological features of their populations in limits of a region. On the basis of these estimations the territorial grouping of the animal populations are characterized by abundant and rare species. The contribution of classes in the population animal is uniformity of type for all regional biomes. In the forest biomes the first place belongs to birds, second to mammls, the third and the fourth places take reptiles and amphibians.

This scheme of the biome diversity is adapted for the basis at classification of biological communities for the map "Biomes of Russia" (s. 1/8 000 000). As examples of different levels of biome cover of territory of Russia we shall put the characteristics of forest biomes. The biotic diversity of forest biomes of Russia is explained for a wide range of the zonal in plain and high-altitudinal-zonality systems in mountain conditions. The diversity of forest biomes can be classified under two classes of zonal biomes and under two classes of high-altitudinal-zonality types. The groups of regional biomes and orobiomes-II can be marked within each class. Every group includes several regional biomes, where every one is characterized by the biotic diversity (Tabl. 1).

Table 1. The diversity of the forest biomes of Russia

The experience of mapping the regional biomes is tested on an example of forest-steppe territories of West Siberia (Tabl. 2).

Table 2. - Fragment of a legend of the map "Biomes of Russia".

Conclusions

The mapping as an effective method of the spatial analysis and representation of a biological diversity may be used in future. The distribution of the plant communities and the animal population, their comprehensive characteristics, specific peculiarities may be used to identify indicators of ecosystem health, for use in future community monitoring programmes, for the protection of the biotic diversity. For the present time hundreds of maps are prepared reflecting biodiversity with the help of a net-method, map-diagrams and map-isolines. Basically they are supersmall-scale review maps of continents and separate countries. The new map "Biomes of Russia", in fact representing â- and ã-biodiversity of forest bioms, is prepared for the analysis and the solving of practical problems on protection of biodiversity at a regional level.

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