Classification of tall-forb vegetation in the Pamir-Alai and western Tian Shan Mountains (Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Middle Asia)

Abstract

Aims: To complete the syntaxonomic scheme for tall-forb vegetation of the montane and alpine belts in the Pamir-Alai and western Tian Shan Mountains in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with some remarks on its environmental predictors. Study area: Middle Asia: Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Methods: A total of 244 relevés were sampled in 2013–2019 using the seven-degree cover-abundance scale of the Braun-Blanquet approach. These were classified with a modified TWINSPAN algorithm with pseudospecies cut-levels 0%, 5% and 25%, and total inertia as a measure of cluster heterogeneity. Diagnostic species were identified using the phi coefficient as a fidelity measure. NMDS was used to explore the relationships between the distinguished groups. Results: Our classification revealed 19 clusters of tall-forb vegetation in Middle Asia. Among others we found forb communities typical for Tian Shan, western Pamir-Alai, forb-scree vegetation of Pamir-Alai, dry tall-forbs and typical forbs of the alpine belt. A total of eight new tall-forb associations and five communities were distinguished. The forb vegetation of Middle Asia has been assigned to the class Prangetea ulopterae Klein. The main factors differentiating the species composition of the researched vegetation are elevation, mean annual temperature, sum of annual precipitation and inclination of the slope. Conclusions: The paper presents the first insight into the comprehensive classification of the alpine forb vegetation in Middle Asia and fosters progress in explaining the relationship of boreo-temperate and Mediterranean-like (Irano-Turanian) vegetation in western Asian and central Asian subregions of the Irano-Turanian phytogeographical region. Taxonomic references: The nomenclature of the vascular plants follows generally Cherepanov (1995) and for Bromus spp. The Plant List (2020) Version 1.1. http://www.theplantlist.org/. Syntaxonomic references: The names of syntaxa are used in accordance with Ermakov (2012), Gadghiev et al. (2002) and Nowak et al. (2018). Abbreviation: NMDS = Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling.

Vegetation Classification and Survey: the first year

“…A long series of publications in various international journals has emerged from these studies (e.g. Nowak et al 2015Nowak et al , Świerszcz et al 2020). In VCS, Nowak et al (2020) addressed the diversity of tallforb vegetation.…”

“…Nowak et al 2015Nowak et al , Świerszcz et al 2020). In VCS, Nowak et al (2020) addressed the diversity of tallforb vegetation. They used a rich dataset of 244 relevés from throughout Tajikistan and southern Kyrgysztan, classified them with TWINSPAN, and characterised the resulting units comprehensively in terms of diagnostic species, distribution (i.e., maps), environmental and biodiversity variables.…”

“…Since VCS has a continuous publishing model, contributions will be published as soon as they are accepted. In fact, the first paper of the Palaearctic grasslands collection has already been published in Volume 1 (Nowak et al 2020). Besides being labelled as part of a collection on the title page, all papers belonging to a collection can be accessed via the "Collections" menu under "Articles" or "Issues" on the VCS website or by going directly to https://vcs.pensoft.…”

Remote Sensing of Pasture Degradation in the Highlands of the Kyrgyz Republic: Finer-Scale Analysis Reveals Complicating Factors

“…While the finer temporal resolution products are better able to obtain clear views of the land surface, coarser spatial resolution products blend together heterogeneous surfaces. This blending or mixing is of particular concern in mountainous terrain, where differential insolation regimes arising from the interaction of aspect and slope generates microclimates that can accommodate distinct vegetation communities exhibiting different phenologies [3,[17][18][19].…”

New syntaxa of tall-forb vegetation in the Pamir-Alai and western Tian Shan Mts. (Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Middle Asia) – an addendum to Nowak et al. 2020

“…As a result of the phytosociological survey in alpine and subalpine belts of Pamir Alai and Tian Shan Mts. in Middle Asia, eleven new syntaxa of tall-forb vegetation were described with the provisional names (Nowak et al 2020). We originally assumed that the paper will be published in 2021.…”