Database of anthropogenic vegetation of the Urals and adjacent territories

The main data on the geobotanical database – Datab ase of antropogenic vegetation of Urals and adjacent terri tories registered in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases and the E uropean Vegetation Archive are presented. The database includes more t han 4,000 complete geobotanical relevés made between 1984 and 2020. Th e database contains the territories of 3 subjects of the Russian Federat ion (the Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk regions) and 1 the Republic of Kazakhstan (Aktobe region). For each relevés, a com plete list of species with indication of abundance in points on the BraunBlanquet scale. The main indicators (total cover, average height of the grass, etc.). For most descriptions, GPS coordinates and location are give n. The ecological conditions were assessed with use of average values of E. Landolt scale. In the J. Braun-Blanquet classification system, all comm unities included in the database belong to nine vegetation classes (7 a nthropogenic and 2 semi-natural), 75 associations and various types of c mmunities. Geobotanical relevés with the dominance of such agg ressive invasive species ( Acer negundo, Ambrosia psylostachya, Echinocystis lobata, Elodea canadensis, Solidago canadensis, Heracleum sosnowskyi, Hordeum jubatum, Xanthium albinum etc.) are also included in the database. Currently topical problem of phytocenology is creat ion of the centralized databases on geobotanical releves for the majority of regions of Russia. Similar databases serve for the centralized storage of large volumes of geobotanica l information and also exchange of geobotanical material between colleagues from Russi a and other countries by means of their registration in different archives. The large st archives of vegetation pots today are the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) [1] and the inter ational consortium sPlot [2]. Today, 311 databases with 3628497 vegetation plots are reg istered in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plant Databases (GIVD). Such databases m ake it possible to study the global patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity at the level of plant communities. Geobotanical databases including anthr opogenic vegetation types are of particular interest in the study of global anthropo genic changes in vegetation. To date, a small number of special geobotanical databases on a nthropogenic vegetation types have * Corresponding author: jaro1986@mail.ru © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). BIO Web of Conferences 38, 00037 (2021) Northern Asia Plant Diversity 2021 https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20213800037

Currently topical problem of phytocenology is creation of the centralized databases on geobotanical releves for the majority of regions of Russia. Similar databases serve for the centralized storage of large volumes of geobotanical information and also exchange of geobotanical material between colleagues from Russia and other countries by means of their registration in different archives. The largest archives of vegetation pots today are the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) [1] and the international consortium sPlot [2]. Today, 311 databases with 3628497 vegetation plots are registered in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plant Databases (GIVD). Such databases make it possible to study the global patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity at the level of plant communities. Geobotanical databases including anthropogenic vegetation types are of particular interest in the study of global anthropogenic changes in vegetation. To date, a small number of special geobotanical databases on anthropogenic vegetation types have been registered in GIVD in Russia (for example, Database of weed vegetation of the Northwest of the European part of Russia etc.).
For the first time, the database of anthropogenic vegetation of the Urals and adjacent territories was registered in the Global Vegetation Data Index (GIVD) [3] in 2020, in the same year it was included in the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) [1]. For today the database (00-RU-008 -Database of antropogenic vegetation of Urals and adjacent territories, http://www.givd.info/ID/00-RU-008) included more than 4000 complete geobotanical relevés. All relevés were entered into the database using TURBOVEG software.
The database contains the territories of 3 subjects of the Russian Federation (the Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk regions) and 1 -the Republic of Kazakhstan (Aktobe region). From the position of physical and geographical zoning, the covered territory is located at the junction of the East European Plain and the Ural mountain country, and also includes the Subural plateau.
The database also provides environmental characteristics for each geobotanical relevés. The ecological conditions were assessed with use of average values of E. Landolt [18] scale. Average values are calculated on the following scales: humidification (M), acidity (R), soil richness with mineral nutrition elements (N), humus (H) content, mechanical composition and soil structure (D), illumination (L) etc.
The total list of collectors totals 21 people, the proportion of geobotanical relevés of various authors included in the database is shown in Table 1. The database presents geobotanical relevés of various types of vegetation: 2% of geobotanical relevés of forest phytocoenoses and 98% of grass. The composition of grass communities contains 4% of water and coastal-water coenoses. Most of the geobotanical relevés were made in anthropogenic phytocoenoses, 2% in semi-natural ones.
In the J. Braun-Blanquet classification system [19], all communities included in the database belong to nine vegetation classes. The names of vegetation classes are given by "Vegetation of Europe..." [20]. Invasive plant species are one of the leading components of plant communities of anthropogenic habitats. Included in the database are geobotanical relevés dominated by aggressive invasive species such as: Acer negundo, Ambrosia psylostachya, A. trifida, Bidens frondosa, Echinocystis lobata, Elodea canadensis, Iva xanthiifolia, Solidago canadensis, Heracleum sosnowskyi, Hordeum jubatum, Xanthium albinum etc. This allows us to study the distribution, invasive potential, and features of the invasions mechanisms at the regional and continental level. In the classification of communities with the dominance of invasive species, the Kopeсký-Hejný deductive method [21] was used, along with the classic Braun-Blanquet method.
The main difficulty in case of its realization was unavailability of complete geobotanical relevés of a row of authors. So often in the dissertations are given only synoptic tables without full geobotanical relevés there are also a lost source of field data. Serious part is occupied also by final -the verification stage of the database formation. It consists in check of floristic composition of geobotanical relevés (identification of incorrectly determine species of plants, correction of the database in compliance with the current state of a taxonomy).
The creation of geobotanical database becomes an important part of modern geobotanical investigations. The preservation of field geobotanical materials in electronic form will benefit as modern scientists from Russia and around the world.