Ecosystem Transformation (), 3-33

Common reed Phragmites australis in the ecotopes of the White Sea coastal zone

Moseev D.S. , Leshchev A.V., Volkov A.G., Parinova T.A., Bragin A.V.

The tall emergent perennial common reed Phragmites australis is widespread across a vast area from the western to the eastern coast of the White Sea. Studies of phytocenoses dominated by or containing P. australis were conducted on the White Sea coast during the summer periods of 2012–2023. This species forms extensive stands in various ecotopes along the shores of river mouths and shallow marine bays. The results of ordination of phytocenoses dominated by P. australis show that its characteristic ecotope is the brackish water coastal marsh of estuaries. At the same time, the species colonizes and even forms communities in other coastal ecotopes: salt marshes, beaches, shoals of the littoral zone, and tidal flats in the upper reaches of estuaries. In the ecotope of coastal water marshes, communities it dominates can be grouped into the association Phragmitetum australis maritimae. Within the rank of association, numerous ecologically similar subassociations have been identified. In these communities, the codominants with P. australis are the halophytes Juncus gerardii, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Alopecurus arundinaceus, and Glaux maritima. On the beaches of the Unskaya Bay and Onega Bay of the White Sea, codominance of the reed with Honckenya peploides, Leymus arenarius, and Leymotrigia bergrothii is observed. Its spread onto salt marshes, where the species grows alongside obligate halophytes (Plantago maritima, Carex subspathacea, Carex glareosa), indicates its tolerance to soil salinity and saltwater. The development of P. australis in estuaries occurs under varying salinity, but in our studies its communities are limited to waters with a salinity of 22‰. In the spatial structure of the coastal vegetation of the White Sea, P. australis communities often completely encompass the shores of river mouths, where their development is facilitated by spring floods. In shallow lagoons, they frequently occupy areas on the boundary between high-level marshes and forests.

D. S. Moseev
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Nakhimovsky Prospect St. 36, Moscow, 117997 Russia

viking029@yandex.ru

A. V. Leshchev
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Nakhimovsky Prospect St. 36, Moscow, 117997 Russia


A. G. Volkov
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov
Severnaya Dvina Embankment 17, Arkhangelsk, 163002 Russia


T. A. Parinova
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov
Severnaya Dvina Embankment 17, Arkhangelsk, 163002 Russia


A. V. Bragin
Kenozero National Park
Severnaya Dvina Embankment 78, Arkhangelsk, 163000 Russia

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