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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «BIOLOGIYA. ECOLOGIYA»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «BIOLOGY. ECOLOGY»
ISSN 2073-3372 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Biology. Ecology». 2025. Vol 53

Flora of Saline Biotopes in the Surroundings of the Ust-Kut Spa Resort (Irkutsk Region, East Siberia)

Author(s)

N. V. Stepantsova, T. M. Yanchuk, O. G. Lopatovskaya, V. K. Shirshova

Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk, Russian Federation

Abstract
The soils located near the mineral springs of the Ust-Kut spa resort are represented by salt marshes, salinity is sulfate-chloride calcium-sodium and chloride-calcium-sodium. The profile is short and low-power; the humus content from top to bottom decreases from 12.0 to 0.8%. The salt content increases from the lower horizons (2.57%) to the upper horizons (5.25%), which indicates the process of active salinization of soils. Oligodominant communities of Salicоrnia perеnnans Willd. and Suaеda corniculаta (C. A. Mey.) Bunge are formed on the studied salt marshes. Salicornia perennans, as a typical eumesophyte, occupies the most saline and moist biotopes. As soil moisture and salinity decrease, it is replaced by xeromesophyte Suaeda corniculata In the supralithoral belt along the periphery of Saline Lake and along the riverbed sections of saline streams, halophytemixed grass meadows occur in biotopes with less saline soils, which contain both halophytes and glycophytes. Artemisia laciniata Willd., A. nitrosa Weber ex Stechm., Atriplex sagittata Borkh., Chenopodium album L., Melilotus dentatus (Waldst. et Kit.) Pers., M officinalis (L.) Pall., Galatella dahurica DC., Glaux maritima L. and Critesion brevisubulatum (Trin.) A. Löve grow here. The pseudohalophyte Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. is found only along the bank of a © Степанцова Н. В., Янчук Т. М., Лопатовская О. Г., Ширшова В. К., 2025 *Полные сведения об авторах см. на последней странице статьи. For complete information about the authors, see the last page of the article. ФЛОРА ЗАСОЛЁННЫХ БИОТОПОВ ОКРЕСТНОСТЕЙ КУРОРТА «УСТЬ-КУТ» 43 stream flowing out of a lake, forming continuous thickets. Its root system avoids salinization by penetrating unsalted soil horizons, which allows the reed to live on halophytic biotopes. 74 species of higher vascular plants were identified in the flora, of which 8 are halophytes and 32 are halotolerant glycophytes. The leading families contain 72% of the species, and the abundance of species in the Asteraceae, Rhoaceae, Fabaceae, Ranunculaceae, and Rosaceae families reflects the main zonal boreal features of the flora under study, which is typical for Baikal Siberia. The low rank of the Cyperaceae family and the high rank of the Chenopodiaceae family are determined by the specifics of environmental conditions – salinity. Typical halophytes are Salicornia perennans, Suaeda corniculata, Glaux maritima, Artemisia nitrosa, Puccinellia distans (Jacq.) Parl., P. hauptiana V. I. Krecz., Bolboschoenus planiculmis (F. Schmidt) T. V. Egorova, Chenopodium novopokrovskyanum (Aellen) Uotila. Salicornia perennans and Suaeda corniculata are characterized by succulent structural features, which are more pronounced the higher the soil salinity. In the center of the stem of these plants is a large-celled water-retaining parenchyma, above it is an assimilation parenchyma. In addition, in Suaeda corniculata, the central and lower part of the leaf is represented by a water-retaining parenchyma. The increased water content of cells, the accumulation of sugars, free amino acids and other compatible osmolytics in them solves the problem of combating the toxic effect of salts and the absorption of water from saline soil solution. 30% of the flora is represented by adventitious and synanthropic species, which indicates significant violations of the structure of phytocenoses due to strong anthropogenic impact.
About the Authors

Stepantsova Nadezhda Vasilyevna Candidate of Sciences (Biology), Associate Professor Irkutsk State University 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation e-mail: s-nadia11@yandex.ru

Yanchuk Tatyana Mikhailovna Candidate of Sciences (Biology), Associate Professor Irkutsk State University 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation e-mail: panytm@mail.ru

Lopatovskaya Olga Gennadievna Doctor of Sciences (Biology), Associate Professor Irkutsk State University 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation e-mail: lopatovs@gmail.com

Shirshova Valentina Konstantinovna Undergraduate Irkutsk State University 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation e-mail: Sh.Valentina1703@yandex.ru

For citation
Stepantsova N.V., Yanchuk T.M., Lopatovskaya O.G., Shirshova V.K. Flora of Saline Biotopes in the Surroundings of the Ust-Kut Spa Resort (Irkutsk Region, East Siberia). The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Biology. Ecology, 2025, vol. 53, pp. 42-56. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3372.2025.53.42 (in Russian)
Keywords
mineral springs, salinization, salt marshes, flora, halophytes, synanthropic species.
UDC
581.93+581.526.52
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3372.2025.53.42
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