Juniperus communis L. at the southern limit of its distribution in Eastern Polesie

Abstract

The authors investigated the occurrence of Juniperus communis in different vegetation syntaxa at the southern limit of its distribution in Eastern Polesie: pine forest communities representing the associations Peucedano-Pinetum W. Mat. (1962) 1973, Cladonio-Pinetum Juraszek 1927, Veronico incanae-Pinetum Bulokhov et Solomeshch and oak-pine forests – the Querco-Pinetum association (W. Matuszkiewicz 1981) J. Matuszkiewicz 1988.

New localities of J. communis were found for the first time in Eastern Polesie. The largest populations of the species (in terms of area covered and the number of individuals) in Eastern Polesie occur in the territory of Ukraine (Pridesnyansky physical-geographic region) and Russia (Nerusso-Desnyansky and Snovsky physical-geographic regions). In Eastern Polesie, the population of the spe- cies occupies the largest area (22 ha) in the Klimovo forest district (Bryansk region, Russia), and is characterised by the dynamic equilibrium between the death and replacement of individuals.

The southern limit (in Eastern Polesie) of the distribution of communities with J. communis codominance was established in the course of the study. It passes through the villages Brahlov–Razlyoty–Ochkino–Navlya. J. communis occurs sporadically south of the distribution limit and shows signs of climate impact: seedlings and juvenile plants are absent, while reproductive individuals are characterised by very low seed production