COMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES FOR ENRICHING DENDROFLORA OF FOREST RECLAMATION COMPLEXES
Authors: Khuzhakhmetova Aliya Sh. , Lazarev Sergey E. , Melnik Kristina A. , Sapronova Daria V. 
Published: May 2024

Purpose. In this regard, the purpose of this work is to conduct a comparative ecological and geographical analysis of North American species of the genus Robinia and Gleditsia to predict the prospects for their introduction and to identify common patterns in the formation of cultigenic areas.
Background. Two North American species of the genus Robinia and Gleditsia (R. pseudoacacia and G. triacanthos) are currently common in protective afforestation and landscaping of settlements; other species, despite their high economic value, are used extremely rarely. Different rates of expanding cultivation areas determine the bioecological features of species that are formed under the influence of environmental and climatic conditions in the areas of their natural and secondary expansion. In this regard, the purpose of this work is to conduct a comparative ecological and geographical analysis of North American species of the genus Robinia and Gleditsia to predict the prospects for their introduction and to identify common patterns in the formation of cultigenic areas
Materials and methods. The objects of the current research are North American species of the genus Robinia and Gleditsia, introduced in the cluster dendrological collections of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution «Federal Scientific Centre of Agroecology, Complex Melioration and Protective Afforestation of the Russian Academy of Sciences». Methodologically, forecasting the adaptive capabilities of the species in question under the conditions of introduction relies on the method of climatic analogs, the main provisions of which were formulated in the works of Mayr and subsequently refined by Pavari, Selyaninov, Maleev, and Good.
Results. The findings suggest that the major limiting factors affecting the expansion of the cultigen ranges of the species of the genus Robinia and Gleditsia are low winter temperatures (-37°C) as well as poor moisture supply and uneven distribution of precipitation in the course of the growing season.
Conclusion. Comparative ecological and geographical analysis of donor regions located in North America and the points of introduction in the Volgograd region have enabled us to identify the most promising species of R. neomexicana with a natural expansion area in the states of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, whose meteorological conditions are most similar to the ones of the Volgograd region both in terms of temperature and total precipitation. In the Gleditsia family complex, G. triacanthos was identified as having a considerable natural expansion area located in the humid and arid regions of the North American continent. This species is notable for a high level of ecological plasticity and its ability to grow in various agroforestry areas of the Volgograd region.
Funding. The study was carried out according to the State Task № FNFE-2020-0004 (registration number 121041200195-4) of the Federal Research Center for Agroecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.