Botany - B.Ye. Yakubenko 2017

Part Three. Plant Kingdom (Planthae)
Chapter XI. Fundamentals of Phytogeography
11.1. The Concept of Flora

Phytogeography is the scientific discipline that studies the patterns of distribution of species, genera, and other taxa, as well as plant communities across the globe. Plant migration and dispersal have their own history, which is why phytogeography is divided into contemporary and historical branches: the former investigates current environmental conditions and plant distribution patterns on Earth, while the latter examines plant migration in connection with continental drift, mountain building, volcanic eruptions, and other natural phenomena that occurred throughout deep geological history. Historical factors have played a leading role in shaping the modern flora and vegetation of Ukraine.

The current Geographical Distribution of plants is largely driven by human economic activity. There are numerous plant species (including medicinal plants) that have enriched the country's flora through the acclimatization and naturalization of species from other Regions of the world.

Class="center">11.1. METABOLISM/2.html">THE CONCEPT OF Flora

Flora refers to the totality of species growing within a specific territory. In terms of scale, it may encompass an administrative unit (a country, region) or a natural-geographical area (a continent, zone, region, mountain system). The designation of the flora corresponds accordingly, for example: the flora of Europe, Ukraine, the Forest-Steppe zone, the Carpathians, the Donetsk region, or the Shatsk Lakes. When examining flora through the dimension of time, one can distinguish between modern and historical or fossil flora.

The Flora of Ukraine. The vast territory of Ukraine, the heterogeneity of its physiographic factors, and its ancient history have determined the modern diversity of its plant life. More than 25,000 species of higher and lower plants grow in Ukraine, including over 700 species of marine Algae (brown, red, diatom, green, blue-green, etc.) and over 3,300 species of continental algae, including up to 1,700 species of green algae, over 500 diatoms, and more than 500 blue-green algae. Dinoflagellates, cryptomonads, euglenoids, golden algae, yellow-green algae, and red algae are less represented. Ukraine counts over 15,000 species of Fungi and slime Molds, including 70 chytridiomycetes, 200 oomycetes, 250 zygomycetes, and 6,000 ascomycetes. The remaining species are represented by Basidiomycetes and deuteromycetes. Over 1,000 lichen species are known. Consequently, the bulk of Ukraine's flora is represented by lower plants, which play a crucial role in the biosphere and human life.

There are about 6,000 species of higher plants in the native flora of Ukraine, including 1,061 bryophyte species and nearly 5,000 vascular plant species, belonging to clubmosses (9), horsetails (10), ferns (22), and angiosperms (4,429). Angiosperms predominate, comprising 830 monocot and 3,599 dicot species. Among the angiosperms, the highest number of species is found in three families: Asteraceae (700 species), Fabaceae (300), and Poaceae (350 species). The flora of Ukraine includes 522 cultivated species, 800 species used in traditional and scientific medicine, 200 food plants, 300 oilseed plants, 150 vitamin-bearing plants, 100 tannin-yielding plants, 400 essential-oil plants, and over 1,000 honey plants. Furthermore, the Ukrainian flora contains promising species for Introduction into cultivation.