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Are There Mountain Xerphytes in the Mountains of South Siberia?

  • SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF ARID TERRITORIES
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Abstract

The regularities of biomorphological, ecological, and species differentiation of phytocenoses in the most arid southeastern sector of the Altai Republic reflect a tendency towards the local formation of a complete type of arid vertical zoning. This is typical for arid mountains of Central Asia and includes the following belts (from bottom to top): (1) dwarf shrub deserts, (2) communities of thorn cushion plants (mountain xerophytes), (3) high-mountain steppes, and (4) cryophyte cushion plant formations. The relatively wide spread of this zoning type (in areas with sufficient height of the mountains), including belts of thorn cushion plants and cryophyte cushion plant formations, requires the revision of traditional botanical–geographical concepts in order to increase the diversity of higher vegetation syntaxa and orobiomes both in the Southeastern Altai and in the mountains of South Siberia in general.

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Funding

This research was performed on the equipment of a Unique Scientific Installation System of Experimental Bases Located along the Latitudinal Gradient, Tomsk State University, and was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia (project no. RF-2296.61321X0043, 13.UNU.21.0005, Contract No. 075-15-2021-672) and by Tomsk State University Development Program (Priority-2030), project no. NIR 2.2.2.22 ONG.

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  1. Tomsk National Research State University, 634050, Tomsk, Russia

    I. V. Volkov & I. I. Volkova

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  1. I. V. Volkov
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  2. I. I. Volkova
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Correspondence to I. V. Volkov.

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Translated by I. Bel’chenko

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Volkov, I.V., Volkova, I.I. Are There Mountain Xerphytes in the Mountains of South Siberia?. Arid Ecosyst 13, 395–402 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096123040182

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096123040182

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