Syntaxa of dark coniferous forests and Siberian dwarf pine thickets in the Russian Far East (the class Vaccinio-Piceetea)
Authors: Korznikov K. A. , Krestov P. V. 
Published: December 2023

This paper presents a characterization of the syntaxa of zonal dark coniferous forests dominated by Abies nephrolepis, A. sachalinensis, Picea jezoensis, P. glehnii, and P. obovata of the class Vaccinio-Piceetea Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et al. 1939 and the order Abieti veitchii–Piceetalia jezoensis Miyawaki, Ohba, Okuda, Nakayama et Fujiwara 1968. The order Pinetalia pumilae Suzuki 1964, which unites thickets of Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila), is also included. Each syntaxon is presented with its diagnostic taxa list, distribution, and habitat conditions. Furthermore, we validate the names of one alliance, two associations, and two subassociations of dark coniferous forests, because these syntaxa were described invalidly earlier (Vegetation…, 1988; Krestov, Nakamura 2002).

Ass. Piceetum glehnii Nakamura ex Korznikov et Krestov ass. nov.

Diagnostic species: Picea glehnii, Menziesia pentandra, Pogonatum japonicum (Krestov, Nakamura, 2002).

Synonyms: Piceetum glehnii Suzuki ex Nakamura in Miyawaki 1988 nom. inval. (3o, 5a); Piceetum glehnii Suzuki ex Krestov et Nakamura 2002 nom. inval. (3o, 5a).

Subass. Piceetum glehnii typicum Korznikov et Krestov subass. nov.

Diagnostic species: Arachniodes mutica, Rhododendron brachycarpum, Scapania sp. (Krestov, Nakamura, 2002).

Synonyms: Piceetum glehnii subass. von Rhododendron brachycarpum Nakamura in Miyawaki 1988 (orig. name) nom. inval. (3e, 3o, 5); Piceetum glehnii rhododendretosum brachycarpi Nakamura ex Krestov et Nakamura 2002 nom. inval. (3o, 4a, 5)

Subass. Piceetum glehnii sasetosum kurilense Krestov et Nakamura ex Korznikov et Krestov subass. nov.

Diagnostic species: Sasa kurilensis (Krestov, Nakamura, 2002).

Synonyms: Piceetum glehnii sasetosum kurilense Krestov et Nakamura 2002 nom. inval. (4a).

Ass. Piceo jezoensis–Abietetum sachalinensis Ohba ex Korznikov et Krestov ass. nov.

Diagnostic species: Acer mono subsp. mayrii, Galium kamtschaticum, Hydrangea petiolaris, Kalopanax septemlobus, Toxicodendron orientale, Trillium smallii, Prunus ssiori, Quercus mongolica (Krestov, Nakamura, 2002).

Synonyms: Piceo jezoensis–Abietetum sachalinensis Ohba 1967 nom. inval. (2b); Piceo jezoensis–Abietetum sachalinensis Ohba ex Nakamura in Miyawaki 1988 nom. inval (3o, 5a); Piceo jezoensis–Abietetum sachalinensis Ohba ex Krestov et Nakamura 2002 nom. inval. (3f, 3o, 5a, 16).

All. Pino pumilae–Piceion jezoensis Krestov et Nakamura ex Korznikov et Krestov all. nov.

Diagnostic species: Allium ochotense, Betula pendula subsp. mandshurica, Equisetum sylvaticum, Lonicera chamissoi, Pinus pumila, Pyrola asarifolia subsp. asarifolia, Sorbus aucuparia subsp. glabrata, Sorbus sambucifolia, Spiraea betulifolia var. aemiliana (Krestov, Nakamura, 2002).

Synonyms: Pino pumilae–Piceion jezoensis Krestov et Nakamura 2002 nom. inval. (3o, 5a).

Two alliances and two suballiances of larch forests, which belong to the class Vaccinio-Piceetea, are also validated in this paper. These names were previously published invalidly (Krestov et al., 2009; Sinelnikova, 2016).

All. Rhododendro aurei–Laricion cajanderi Krestov, Ermakov, Osipov et Nakamura ex Korznikov et Krestov all. nov. hoc loco

Diagnostic species: Pinus pumila, Spiraea betulifolia var. aemiliana, Rhododendron aureum (Krestov et al., 2009).

Synonyms: Rhododendro aurei–Laricion cajanderi Krestov, Ermakov, Osipov, Nakamura 2009
nom. inval. (3f).

Suball. Junipero sibiricae–Laricenion cajanderi Krestov, Ermakov, Osipov et Nakamura ex Korznikov et Krestov suball. nov.

Diagnostic species: Carex pallida, Chamaenerion angustifolium, Equisetum pratense, Juniperus sibirica, Lathyrus pilosus, Pyrola incarnata, Solidago decurrens (Krestov et al., 2009).

Synonyms:Junipero sibiricae–Laricenion cajanderi Krestov, Ermakov, Osipov et Nakamura 2009 nom. inv. (4a, 5a, 17).

All. Roso acicularis–Laricion cajanderi Sinelnikova ex Korznikov et Krestov all. nov.

Diagnostic species: Betula platyphylla, Calamagrostis langsdorffii, Chamaenerion angustifolium, Equisetum pratense, Galium boreale, Larix cajanderi, Ribes triste, Rosa acicularis, Rubus arcticus (Sinelnikova, 2016).

Synonyms: Roso acicularis–Laricion cajanderi Sinelnikova 2016 nom. inval. (3o, 5a).

The current phytosociological diversity of dark coniferous forests in the region includes one order, three alliances, and 17 associations. In further development of the Vaccinio-Piceetea classification system, we propose dividing the azonal subalpine forests from the temperate zone and the zonal boreal forests into two orders: the order Abieti veitchii–Piceetalia jezoensis s. str. for the temperate zone in Japan and Korea, and a new order for the boreal zone. The order Vaccinio–Pinetalia pumilae Suzuki 1964, which includes the alliance Vaccinio–Pinion pumilae Suzuki 1964 and two associations, Vaccinio–Pinetum pumilae Maeda and Shimazaki ex Suzuki 1966, and Ledo–Pinetum pumilae Kobayashi 1967, unites communities dominated by Pinus pumila. The syntaxonomical concept of the order Vaccinio–Pinetalia pumilae was established based on vegetation data from Japan (Kobayashi, 1967; 1971) and should be updated with vegetation relevés from the Russian Far East.