The indicators of the sanitary condition of woody plants in the conditions of natural and artificial ecosystems of the Voronezh and Saratov Regions were established and analyzed. In suburban ecosystems of the research area, the state of woody plants is determined at the level of weak damage. In suburban areas of Balashov with the greatest economic and technosphere potential, woody plants reach an average (moderate) degree of damage. In remote relatively preserved ecosystems (control parameters), the state of these organisms corresponds to a weak ecological diagnostic criterion. According to the identified average arithmetic sanitary indicators in the Voronezh Region, the best condition is characterized by woody plants in the ecosystems of Novohopersk and Gribanovsky, in the Saratov Region - in Turki and Samoylovka. There were also significant differences in the arithmetic mean parameters of the sanitary condition of this group plants representatives differentiated by functional zones. The highest damage values are typical for woody plants in the urban ecosystems of industrial zones. The maximum danger to woody plants was observed within these zones in Povorino, Borisoglebsk, and Balashov with high-level average values of damage to these organisms. Significant concern is also caused by the defeat of the analyzed group of organisms in these cities as part of the ecosystems of the settlement zones. The results of the assessment of the sanitary condition of woody plants should be used as a scientific basis for landscaping, environmental protection and reforestation. Measures are proposed to improve the condition of woody plants in various types of ecosystems in the research area. According to the sanitary state of these organisms, it is possible to determine the limits of sustainability of ecological frameworks and differentiate the parameters of environmental comfort for the local population in different territorial categories.

The aim: to perform research of the species composition and condition of urban and suburban ecosystems of the Khopyor River Region. The route method was used for the species composition of woody plants. Also, using this method the conditions of the growth of trees and shrubs were described. The data of field ecological observations and researches were analyzed in the laboratory conditions. Plant species were identified by means of determinants. The geographical analysis and floristic belonging of plants in towns and villages is carried out. A diagnostics of the vital state of woody plants is carried out according to the complex of their external signs on ecologically different territories. It is found that the greatest species diversity is characterized by the family Rosaceae Juss. The poverty of the species composition of woody plants in the towns and villages of the research area is associated with insufficient introduction. The largest number of species of trees and shrubs in urban areas are characterized by parks and squares. Of great concern is the weakening of the vital condition of woody plants in the area of suburban highways. The greatest values of damages of the objects of the research are revealed at wood plants as part of roadside territories of towns and villages. The expediency to restore greening in ecologically problematic urban areas is obvious.

The composition of plant and silage microflora affects the fermentation processes in the silage and its final quality. To date, reports about studying fodder plants and silage microbiota by means of molecular genetic methods are few and limited to descriptions of composition and function of some groups of microorganisms. Moreover, the NGS (next generation sequencing) data on diversity of epiphytic microflora and silage microbiocoenosis are not still reported. We first used this approach in studying phyllosphere and silage microbiom, and reported it to be rather rich in composition and abundance that is in contrast with conventional understanding. At that, the pathogenic and non-culturable microbes were detected in the microbiota, including specific inhabitants of mammalian gastrointestinal tract. So using NGS we examined the structure and diversity of bacterial community of Dactylis glomerata L. harvested plants and the biomass ensilaged with chemical preservative AIV 2000 Plus (KEMIRA OYJ Inc., Finland) composed of mixture of formic, propionic and benzoic acids. Assays were carried out on days 3, 7, 14 and 30 of ensilaging. The results showed that the bacterial community of silage from D. glomerata sharply differed from the composition of foliage microorganisms and varied greatly in the course of successive changes which occurred during maturation of silage preserved by mixture of organic acids. The composition of plant microorganisms and silage were found to be very various in contrast with a traditional view. Among foliar microorganisms of D. glomerata there were mostly the bacteria of phylum Proteobacteria (94.1 %), and in the silage the bacteria of phylums Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were main representatives (up to 59.5 % and 74.9 %, respectively). In taxonomic diversity of the order Lactobacillales, mainly involved in ensilaging, there were genera Lactobacillus (up to 39.6%), Enterococcus (up to 36.36 %), Lactococcus (up to 14.4 %), Pediococcus (to 1.45 %) and the family Leuconostocaceae (to 3.52 %). Interestingly, in the silage there were the bacteria of phylum Bacteroidetes, families Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Selenomonadales considered the common inhabitants of the mammals' gastrointestinal tract, and also the uncultured and pathogenic microorganisms. Particularly, these were 15 genera of family Enterobacteriaceae, including genera Klebsiella, Salmonella, Yersinia, etc., among which the dangerous mammalian pathogens are frequent. On days 3 and 7, the phylum Bacteroidetes prevailed (59.53 and 48.91 %, respectively). On days 14 and 30, the phylum Firmicutes was dominant (up to 74.85 %) with the facultative aerobic bacteria of order Lactobacillales mostly found (up to 74.76 %). Using NGS, a total of 70 genera were attributed in the plant phyloshere, and in the silage there were 84 genera on day 3, 96 genera on day 7, 51 genera on day 14, and 69 genera on day 30. Classical microbiology methods are not enough to detect these bacteria among silage microbiota.

Aim: to assess the aesthetic appeal of tree and shrub plantations of urban ecosystems (for example, the settlements of Central Russia). The research is implemented on the example of common, special and limited use plantations. Environmental diagnostics aesthetic qualities of the plantings carried out on the basic biological and ecological signs. The paper considers one of the key indicators of the environmental comfort, taking into account anthropogenic impacts. It is the decorative effect of tree and shrub plantations. These plants make the basis of an autotrophic component of the urban systems of Central Russia and form the functional core of their ecological frameworks. A high level of decorative plantings of woody plants and shrubs in the research areas was established. The highest points of decorative plantings were found in the town of Novokhopersk and in the urban village of Gribanovsky. In the region under consideration reliable differences in esthetic qualities of tree and shrub plantations are revealed. Planting of trees and shrubs have a high aesthetic appeal. It characterizes the degree of culture of urban landscapes and technogenic pressure upon them. The results obtained can be used in the system of environmental monitoring of the urban environment in Central Russia.

A b s t r a c tThe presence of mycotoxins in the feeds is a big problem in the world. Result of improper silaging is the occurrence of mycotoxins, the metabolic products of molds. Today there is too little information on the accumulation of mycotoxins in silage during ensiling, and there is no answer to the question how to resolve this problem. This article includes results of mycotoxins' analysis (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol) in the original forage plant material of cocksfoot Dactylis glomerata L. and in the silage at various stages of experimental ensilaging. Also the influence of biological preparations Biotrof and Biotrof-111 (Biotrof+ Ltd, Russia) and chemical preparations AIV 3 Plus and AIV 2000 Plus (KEMIRA OYJ, Finland) for the preservation of silage on reducing the amount of toxic fungal metabolites was investigated. Analysis of the amount of mycotoxins in the samples was performed by the enzyme immunoassay method using ELISA test kit AgraQuant TM (Romer Labs, Inc., Austria). Analysis of the accumulation of mycotoxins in feed plant material and silage showed that mycotoxins already occurred in forage plants as a result of fungal attacks during the growing season and later in the silages if conditions were suitable for mold growth. The biological preparations for ensiling effectively decrease the accumulation of mycotoxins in the silage compared to the variant without supplementation. At the end of silage storage the amount of aflatoxins in the variants with Biotrof and Biotrof-111 was lower by 17.7 and 9.1 %, respectively, compared to the control, with a decrease in the value of ochratoxin A by 21.4 and 34.9 %, T-2 toxin by 20.1 and 32.8 %, zearalenone by 17.7 and 10.4 %, and deoxynivalenol by 0.8 and 55.8 %, respectively. So far as in Russia no maximum permissible concentrations are specified for mycotoxins in silage, the values for feed grain of oats, wheat and barley taxonomically close to perennial cocksfoot grass were used for comparison (corn, one more cereal crop, is not a traditional forage plant in the North West region of Russia). The greatest deterrent effect on accumulation of mycotoxins had the preparation based on Bacillus subtilis. Chemical preparation decreased the accumulation of some mycotoxins in the storage silage. However, the silage' total toxicity in presence of the chemical preparation was quite high relatively the maximum permissible concentrations used in this study as the reference values. It significantly surpassed control in the second half of storage. As it is well known, due to changes in environmental conditions the production of mycotoxins by molds increases. In this regard, in our experiment, the influence of chemical preparation has become a stress factor that caused the active synthesis of mycotoxins by molds.Keywords: mycotoxins, forage plants, silage, maximum limit of mycotoxins content, the biological preparation for ensiling, the chemical preparation for ensiling.