Botany - B.Ye. Yakubenko 2017

Part Three. Plant Kingdom (Planthae)
Chapter XII. Fundamentals of Phytocenology. The Concept of Vegetation
12.1. Types of Vegetation

Vegetation refers to the aggregate of plant communities within a specific area that interact with one another and their environment. Rather than a random collection of species, it represents a structured and orderly combination formed over a prolonged period.

Vegetation is a complex biogeocoenotic system that develops and Functions according to its own inherent laws. Uncovering and understanding The Nature of these plant community laws will facilitate the rational utilization of vegetation in agricultural and forestry production.

Numerous inter-coenotic relationships manifest outwardly through the morphological, biotic, and other features of a phytocoenosis. The most characteristic of these include species composition, stratification, cover, Abundance, vitality, aspect, species constancy, regeneration, mosaicism, complexity, spatial distribution, and others.

Class="center">12.1. Types of Vegetation

The vegetation of Ukraine is highly diverse and represented by various types. The Structure of the plant cover is dominated by natural vegetation that has survived in areas difficult to access for development, serving as agricultural lands without radical transformation (hayfields and pastures) or as protected natural areas. A significant portion of the country's territory has been converted into farmland, forest plantations, urban and rural settlements, and industrial sites. Consequently, the normative balance between natural and anthropogenically altered areas has been disrupted. For most European countries, preserving natural vegetation on 60–70% of the total area is considered standard. At the same time, in certain regions of Ukraine, the levels of plowing and technological land use reach 50–70%. Furthermore, the modern plant cover exhibits high fragmentation, which impedes normal genetic exchange, colonization, and species migration at the regional, zonal, and continental levels. Such conditions lead to the impoverishment of the country’s Gene pool and coenopool, as well as The Biosphere as a whole, thereby degrading biodiversity.

Forest vegetation holds a prominent place within the plant cover. In Ukraine, it is best preserved in the Carpathians, Polissia, and Crimea, and to a lesser extent in the Forest-Steppe zone. Highly productive spruce forests of the Carpathians, along with pine forests of Polissia and the Northern Forest-Steppe, are particularly characteristic. Deciduous forests—such as oak and beech forests formed by European beech and Crimean beech—account for a smaller proportion. The smallest share is represented by alder, birch, hornbeam, ash, and other predominantly mixed forests.

Meadow vegetation occupies a notable place in the structure of Ukraine's plant cover, comprising lowland and high-altitude meadows and pastures. To this day, floodplain meadows along large and medium-sized rivers, as well as lowland and upland continental meadows and pastures, remain the best preserved.

Bog vegetation covers over 4 million ha and is represented by open and forested bogs. These are categorized into lowland bogs, characterized by relatively rich Water-mineral supply and a rich, diverse plant cover; transitional bogs, with moderate water-mineral supply and a depleted floristic composition; and raised bogs, featuring poor water-mineral supply, sparse flora, and low community productivity.

Halophytic vegetation occupies up to 1 million ha across the Steppe and Forest-Steppe zones, occurring on soils heavily salinized with carbonates, sulfates, chlorides, and Other Compounds.

Aquatic vegetation is typical of marine and freshwater continental water bodies, comprising specific benthic and planktonic vegetation of microphytes and macrophytes. Synanthropic, psammophytic, petrophytic, littoral, and other vegetation types are less widespread.