| Abstrakt: |
Living ground cover and forest litter under spruce stands in the city of Moscow were studied for the purposes of environmental monitoring. The application of the Ramensky, Ellenberg, and Landolt scales made it possible to establish that the ground cover undergoes ruderalization as a result of recreation. Regardless of the spruce forest type, the absence of understory results in a higher illumination and the number of species increases. The diversity of ecological niches is a result of moderate trampling that is more typical for intercrown spaces. The high L.G. Ramensky trophicity score is determined by elevated ground-cover littering. It is shown that living ground cover reflects the ecosystem diversity and the level of anthropogenic impact on the phytocoenosis. Litter under urban spruce stands is sensitive to changes in functioning conditions and can be used as an environmental monitoring object. The immediate availability of litter for analysis and the simplicity of parameter estimation techniques make it possible to obtain operational information on organic matter deposition in urban ecosystems affected by anthropogenic impacts of various intensity. In forest stands (both conditionally reference and disturbed ones), the litter structure is expectedly simplified in the trunk–crown–opening tesserae system, and the total organic matter reserves decrease, which can be considered an invariant process. The recreational impact reduces litter reserves by 1.5 times and redistributes it within tesserae; as a result, up to 85% of litter contained in the biogeocoenosis accumulates in undercrown spaces; while in other zones, litter reserves decrease. Sampling points in stands must be selected taking into account the priority of near-trunk and intercrown spaces that are most sensitive to external changes. Due to their location, near-trunk elevations are affected by recreation at a minimum and better reflect changes in environmental conditions; while intercrown spaces are more indicative for recreation-impact estimations. In terms of methodological approaches, two groups of parameters reflecting the structural and functional litter organization have been proposed for environmental-monitoring purposes. Parameters reflecting the structural litter organization include the total litter reserves and reserves in the L subhorizon. The following parameters reflect functional litter parameters: detritus reserves and proportion, reserves and proportion of easily decomposable components, ratio between the L subhorizon thickness and the F subhorizon thickness, and ratio between detritus reserves in the L subhorizon and in the F subhorizon. Litter typology in the system of trunk–crown–opening tesserae characterizes its long-term spatial functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
Full text from SpringerLink