Ecologica Montenegrina 24: 58-65 (2019) This journal is available online at: www.biotaxa.org/em Comparative Characteristics of the Greek Juniper (Juniperus excelsa Beieb.) Populations in the Southeastern Crimea VIKTORIA YU. LETUKHOVA & IRINA L. POTAPENKO Department of Biodiversity Studies and Ecological Monitoring, T. I. Vyazemsky Karadag Research Station – Nature Reserve of Russian Academy of Sciences, Nauki Str. 24, 298188 Feodosia, Russia. E-mail: [email protected] Received 20 July 2019 │ Accepted by V. Pešić: 1 November 2019 │ Published online 3 December 2019. Abstract Population studies of a relic Mediterranean species Juniperus excelsa Bieb. in the southeastern Crimea were conducted. We laid out test plots in such sites of the region: Semidvorje (a natural landmark of local significance); Kanaka (a botanical reserve of national significance); Novy Svet (a botanical reserve of national significance); Kiziltash (a natural landmark having no any conservation status); Karadag (a state nature reserve). The density of Greek juniper populations is approximately similar, varying within 400–500 plants/ha. We have estimated age structure, age index and regeneration index of studied populations. They are dominated by normal left-sided age spectra. It has been established that the current level of recreational load does not pose a threat to the existence of juniper communities: the intensity of natural regeneration is rather high. However, the threats for juniper forests may be a reduction their area due to the construction of new resort facilities and their infrastructure, as well as illegal tree cutting. Key words: rare species, Greek juniper population, southeastern Crimea, Russia. Introduction The Greek juniper (Juniperus excelsa Bieb.) is a relic Mediterranean species listed on the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and the Red Data Book of the Republic of Crimea (under the category of species with “Decreasing number”). It has a disjunctive range being distributed fragmentary over the Crimea, the Balkan Peninsula, Cyprus Island, Asia Minor, and western Transcaucasia (Miheev 2008; Fateryga 2015). In the Crimea, Greek juniper is at the northern boundary of its range, where it grows under extreme conditions. To date, the ancient Mediterranean forests have shrunk to only small groves scattered along the coast, urgently need protection. As is commonly known, the anthropogenic factor negatively affects the state of juniper open woodlands: exposed to anthropogenic impacts, these communities rapidly degrade and then recover very slowly (Fateryga 2009; Kuznetsova 2009). For this reason, almost all the communities in the southeastern Crimea are now protected and assigned one or another conservation status. However, due to the continuous tourists’ flow, the increased recreational load in summer, and too liberal interpretation of laws by the local authorities and business companies, the juniper communities still require constant monitoring. Ecologica Montenegrina, 24, 2019, 58-65 LETUKHOVA & POTAPENKO The goal of the work is to conduct comparative studies of the unique juniper populations in the southeastern Crimea and to identify the factors posing threat to them. Material and Methods The material for this publication was the data collected from various sites of natural growth of Greek juniper in the eastern part of the Crimean South Coast (Fig. 1): Semidvorje, a natural landmark of local significance, established in 1964, having an area of 5 ha, and situated 7 km east of the city of Alushta; Kanaka, a botanical reserve of national significance since 1987, having an area of 160 ha and situated east of the village of Rybachye; Novy Svet, a botanical reserve of national significance since 1974, having an area of 470 ha and situated in the vicinity of the same-name village; Kiziltash, a natural landmark in the vicinity of the village of Krasnokamenka, having no any conservation status; Karadag, a state nature reserve since 1979, having an area of 2065 ha and situated 30 km west of the town of Feodosia. Figure 1. Map of the research area. Thus, the studies were conducted in the territories of four protected sites, of which two were created exclusively for the conservation of this species: Semidvorje and Kanaka (Yena et al. 2004). At each site we laid out test plots (Table 1), where the total number of Greek juniper trees was counted, population density was measured, and the inventory measurements of the oldest trees were performed according to the generally accepted techniques. The exception was the Karadag-3 plot, the unpublished data on which were provided by M.E. Kuznetsov. The sizes of the test plots at the Karadag-1 and Karadag-2 sites were smaller than usual, because the rough terrain (rocks and rock outcrops) did not allow us to establish a standard 50 × 50 m plot. In some places, the plots were laid out both in an officially protected area and beyond (Kanaka-2). Age structure of population was studied using the method of A.A. Uranov (Uranov et al. 1977). Age characteristics of plants (juvenile (Jv), immature (Im), virginyle (V), young generative (G1), middle generative (G2), old generative (G3), and senile (S)) were determined by the method of A.N. Grigorov (Grigorov 1983). Ecologica Montenegrina, 24, 2019, 58-65 59 COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GREEK JUNIPER IN THE SOUTHEASTERN CRIMEA Table 1. The localities' characteristics in the southeastern Crimea. Parameters Locality Area Altitude Location Aspect Slope (°) (ha) (m) the East part of the Semidvorje 0,25 E 40 20 area Kanaka-1 Yanturu mountain 0,25 E 50 20 Staurny Burmu Kanaka-2 0,25 SW 80 15 mountain Karadag-1 Karagach ridge 0,17 N 230 30 Karadag-2 Karagach ridge 0,17 N 200 30 Karadag-3 Karagach ridge 0,32 S 170 35 Socharchikon-Kaja Kizyltash 0,25 S 365 15 mountain the North part of the Novy Svet-1 0,25 SE 100 20 area Novy Svet-2 Sokol mountain 0,25 SW 100 25 To assess age level, the age index developed by A.A. Uranov was applied (Uranov et al. 1977). When assessing regeneration, we used the “regeneration index” (Kricsfalusy & Mező-Kricsfalusy 1994), which was calculated as the percentage of the number of plantlets, juvenile, and immature plants to the number of generative individuals. Age of trees was determined by the method of Yu.V. Plugatar (Plugatar 2011). To describe a plant community with J. excelsa, the methods of geobotanical studies were used; for this, the complete species composition of phytocenosis in the test plot, as well as its vertical and horizontal structure, was identified. Results and discussion By phytocenosis composition, all the communities with J. excelsa in the southeastern Crimea are divided into two groups: homogeneous thickets and mixed open woodlands (or forests). In the form of almost homogenous thickets, Greek juniper grows in Novy Svet, Kiziltash, and, to a greater extent, in Karadag, where this species can penetrate (on the northern slope of the Karagach Range) beyond the boundary of oak- ash forest, forming mixed transitional communities. Other species of woody plants are also present here (in Novy Svet, these are Pistacia mutica and Paliurus spina-christi; in Kiziltash, Juniperus oxycedrus and Quercus pubescens; in Karadag, Juniperus oxycedrus, Pistacia mutica, and Sorbus graeca), but their proportion is insignificant. The highest canopy closure was recorded from Novy Svet-1 (0.8–0.9); the lowest, from the Karadag (0.2–0.4). In Kiziltash, the canopy closure is also quite high, reaching 0.5–0.6. In Kanaka and Semidvorye, the plant communities with J. excelsa are somewhat different from those described above. Here J. excelsa is a component of oak-juniper open woodlands and forests, where its proportion decreases to 10–30%, the proportion Quercus pubescens increases to 30–50%, and there are also single Pistacia mutica trees. In Semidvorye, the understory and shrub layer is weakly expressed and is represented only by single individuals of Paliurus spina-christi, whereas the participation of understory in the plant communities in Kanaka is substantial. Here the plant cover of the shrub layer is 50–60%. It includes Carpinus orientalis, Paliurus spina-christi, Rosa corymbifera, and Pyrus elaeagnifolia. 60 LETUKHOVA & POTAPENKO The grass layer also varies between all the investigated sites, both in plant cover and in species composition, and has its phytocenotic features. The sparsest grass cover (with about 10%) was recorded from Kanaka; the densest one, from Karadag (plant cover 90%). In Kanaka and Semidvorye, the grass layer is dominated by xerophytic gramineous plants (Festuca valesiaca and Poa annua), as well as by annual species typical of the Mediterranean flora (Alyssum umbellatum, Crucianella angustifolia, and Trigonella gladiata). In addition, Achnatherum bromoides (a gramineous plant common for the Crimean Southern Coast) dominates some sites in Semidvorje (on gentle slopes in the lower areas and foothills). The grass cover of Kiziltash most sharply differs from that of other juniper communities: here petrophytic species dominate (Asphodeline taurica, Haplophyllum suaveolens, Helianthemum nummularium, Iberis taurica, Onosma taurica, and Sedum hispanicum). The grass cover in Novy Svet is characterized by Asphodeline communities (with Asphodeline taurica at the Novy Svet-1 site and with A. lutea at Novy Svet-2), which, in turn, are a special variant of petrophytic steppes. Other species present here are as follows: Bothriochloa ischaemum, Festuca valesiaca, Stipa sp., Alyssum obtusifolium, and Teucrium polium. In Karadag, xerophytic gramineous grasses dominate herbaceous communities on the southern slopes (Festuca valesiaca, Elytrigia maeotica, and Bromopsis cappadocica); on the northern slopes, the grass layer is formed by species characteristic of meadow-like and true steppes (Alopecurus vaginatus, Millium vernale, Poa bulbosa, Stipa pontica, as well as Filipendula vulgaris, Myosotis micrantha, Pyrethrum corymbosum, and Viola kitaibeliana). The results of the studies at the test plots are presented in Table 2. The density of Greek juniper populations in them is approximately similar, varying within 400–500 plants/ha.