Low Resistance of Native Species of Shrubs and Bushes on Sakhalin Island to Winters with Little Snow

Abstract—Sakhalin Island is located in a zone of cold-temperate monsoon climate with oceanic influence, which causes heavy snow cover in winter. The influence of such conditions on plants and plant communities has been studied in a number of works [1–3]. The mechanisms of acclimatization of foreign plants and adaptation of native species to local natural and climatic features have been identified. Generally favorable local factors include heavy snow cover, weak soil freezing and a decrease in temperature contrasts under the canopy of spruce-fir forests. During cryostadial periods, cooling and aridization occur with a sharp decrease in snow cover thickness. The response of species adapted to the Sakhalin climate to such conditions has been poorly studied. An opportunity for its study is provided by abnormally low-snow winters, which occur approximately once every 20 years. Knowledge of plant responses to anomalies can make it possible to assess the significance of adaptations that exist in native species to certain local factors. Such comparisons can be productive in comparing the responses of native species with non-native species, especially those originating from warmer climates. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that the winter hardiness of Sakhalin shrubs during an abnormal winter decreased more than the winter hardiness of shrubs from other regions.