Coastal vegetation of the river estuaries on the Kanin peninsula
Authors: Moseev D. S. , Sergienko L. A. 
Published: December 2020

The study of the Kanin Peninsula coastal vegetation started at the beginning of the 20th century (Grigoryev, 1929) and was continued in 1932 by famous researcher A. A. Korchagin who described plant cover in the estuaries of the Nes, Mgla, Vizhas rivers and introduced the first classification of halophytic plant communities of that area (Korchagin, 1935). The data on the analogous vegetation on the shores of the White and Barents seas (in the estuaries of the Chizha, Chesha, and Semzha rivers) were obtained by the first author of this paper in the course of two expeditions: in 2014 (organized with the support of the Russian Geographical Society) and 2017 (Shirshov’s institute of oceanology of the RAS).

According to the Braun-Blanquet floristic classification the Prodromus includes 13 associations and 2community types which belong to 7 alliances within 4 orders and 4 classes. Two associations, previously described by A. Korchagin (1935) on marshes in the southern part of the peninsula following the ecological-floristic approach, are validated: Alopecuro arundinacei–Caricetum salinae Korchagin 1935 ex Moseev et Sergienko, Agrostio stramineae–Alopecuretum arundinacei Korchagin 1935 ex Moseev et Sergienko.

A new variantof the ass. Puccinellietum phryganodis is described — P. p.var. Tripolium vulgare var.nov.

The vegetation on marshes of the studied area is similar with that in the southern part of the Kanin Peninsula (according to the Korchagin’ relevés), as well as on the western coast of the White Sea (associations Agrostio stramineae–Alopecuretum arundinacei, Alopecuro arundinacei–Caricetum salinae, Festucetum rubrae, Plantaginetum maritimae, Salicornietum europaeae, Scirpeto–Hippuridetum tetraphyllae, Triglochino–Caricetum subspathaceae) established by N. V. Babina (2002) and on the southeastern coast of the Barents Sea (Caricetum subspathaceae, Festuco–Caricetum glareosae (syn.: Caricetum glareosae Molenaar, 1974), Scirpeto–Hippuridetum tetraphyllae, Puccinellietum phryganodis (Matveyeva, Lavrinenko, 2011; Lavrinenko, Lavrinenko, 2018).

The ass. Caricetum aquatilis is quite common for the lowland mires and lake shores of the taiga zone European part of Russia (Raspopov, 1985; Teteryuk, 2008).

There are three geographical groups of syntaxa in the rivers’ estuaries: typical arctic (Caricetum subspathaceae, Puccinellietum phryganodis), hypoarctic (Agrostio stramineae–Alopecuretum arundinacei, Alopecuro arundinacei–Caricetum salinae, Festuco–Caricetum glareosae, Salicornietum europaeae, Scirpeto–Hippuridetum tetraphyllae, Matricario–Leymetum arenarii, Triglochino–Caricetum subspathaceae), and boreal (Caricetum aquatilis, Festucetum rubrae,Plantaginetum maritimae, Triglochinetum maritimi), that reflects the zonal gradient on the Kanin Peninsula from the forest-tundra to the southern and typical tundra subzones.

New data expand information on the species composition and structure of salt marsh vegetation of the Arctic seas coasts which can be used in recommendations for maintaining a stable state and protections to oil spills of these the extremely vulnerable communities which are the very important as the reindeer’ pastures and as well as the waterfowl and near-water migratory bird nesting habitats.