We present a revised classification system for the class Ranunculo japonici–Betuletea er manii based on the analysis of 442 phytosociological relevés from Japanese Archipelago, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and Kamchatka Peninsula. The resulting system recognizes 17 associations and two community types, arranged within two orders and three alliances. We clarify the nomenclatural status of previously published syntaxa, describe several new units, and designate types for previously published names in accordance with the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. This revised classification provides a coherent and regionally consistent framework for Betula ermanii forests and shrub thickets of Alnus alnobetula s. l. in the insular sector of Northeast Asia and offers a foundation for future comparative, biogeographical, and conservation-oriented studies.

Northern Kamchatka represents one of the most understudied regions of Beringia in paleoecological research. To reconstruct vegetation dynamics, we analyzed a peat core from Hadey mire using pollen analysis, tephrostratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating. Our results indicate peat initiation at 12.7 kyr BP, followed by a 2.5 kyr hiatus due to deposition of the Ozernovsky tephra at 12.6 kyr BP. Two pronounced decreases in peat accumulation rates correlate with warm-dry periods across the peninsula. Late Pleistocene pollen assemblages record alder shrublands and meadow-tundra vegetation indicative of cold climate. Birch forests became dominant after 4 kyr BP, whereas the establishment of dwarf pine communities occurred later, around 2 ka BP. Regional comparisons suggest a south-to-north migration pattern for birch forests whereas the expansion of dwarf pine occurred from two primary centers: the central part of the Sredinny Range and the Koryak Mountains.

As a result of the syntaxonomic analysis of the subalpine alder Alnus alnobetula subsp. fruticosa (Rurp.) Raus scrub communities, it was determined that the associations names ‘Calamagrostio obtusatae–Alnetum alnobetulae’, ‘Poo irkuticae–Alnetum fruticosae’ and ‘Calamagrostio langsdorffii–Alnetum fruticosae’ are later synonyms of the association name ‘Athyrio distentifoliae–Alnetum fruticosae'. The validations and descriptions of the alliance Aquilegio glandulosae–Alnion alnobetulae Ermakov all. nov. and the order Aquilegio glandulosae–Alnetalia alnobetulae Ermakov ord. nov. were carried out in accordance with the 4th edition of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. The diagnostic species, peculiarities of ecology and geographical area are indicated for these higher units. Prodromus of South Siberian syntaxa of the class Betulo carpaticae–Alnetea viridis Rejmanek ex Boeuf, Theurillat, Willner, Mucina et Simler in Boeuf et al. 2014 is represented.

We classified temperate South Manchurian mixed forests (SMMFs) from the class Quercetea mongolicae, the order Tilio amurensis–Pinetalia koraiensis, and the alliance Carpino cordatae–Abietion holophyllae, using the Braun-Blanquet approach, and calculated diversity metrics for communities of different associations. The Querco mongolicae–Abietetum holophyllae represents mesic mixed forests dominated by Abies holophylla, Pinus koraiensis, with a complex of deciduous tree species. The new association Mitello nudae–Abietetum holophyllae encompasses SMMFs in the northern limit of their distribution with an admixture of boreal species. The new suballiance Filipendulo palmatae–Juglandenion mandshuricae unites two associations: Onocleo struthiopteridis–Juglandetum mandshuricae and Fraxino mandshurici–Abietetum holophyllae of SMMFs from eutrophic moist ecotopes. The association Rhododendro mucronulati–Betuletum schmidtii encompasses SMMFs of rocky ridges dominated by Betula schmidtii and Quercus mongolica. Two forest communities with no syntaxonomical rank: Carex drymophila–Abies holophylla and Magnolia sieboldii–Abies holophylla represent southern SMMFs on the Korean Peninsula.

Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz. ex Ledeb.) Schischk. (Apiaceae) is a perennial monocarpic herbaceous plant, the only species of the Far Eastern, Daurian, and Mongolian genus Saposhnikovia Schischk. The roots of this plant are widely used in China, Korea, and Japan as an effective anti-inflammatory for arthralgia, rheumatism, generalized ache and headaches, strokes, fevers, colds and allergic rhinitis, as well as an analgesic, anti-Parkinsonian, and in multi-component herbal preparations. The high demand of S. divaricata products has raised the problem of sustainable use and conservation of the species due to the mass and unregulated harvesting of the roots of this plant. As an effective solution to this problem, ex situ and in situ methods of cultivation and clonal micropropagation can be developed. This would support the conservation of this species, and the recovery of its natural populations, and would also facilitate the production of valuable raw materials for pharmaceutical needs. Currently available data on this plant's successful cultivation and clonal propagation are fragmentary and not systematic. This review aims to summarize the latest data on S. divaricata in order to elucidate the main findings helpful for further progress in development of ex situ and in vitro cultivation of the species. A review of in situ, ex situ, and in vitro cultivation methods, as well as biotechnological aspects, including the engineering of metabolic pathways, is essential to ensure the conservation of the species and its sustainable use.

Intraspecific trait variability reflects plant acclimation to habitats. In Central Forest Reserve (Tver’ Region, Russia) we studied four herbaceous communities with several common species: managed and abandoned mesic meadows, tall-herb subruderal communities and Filipendula ulmaria communities. To estimate the contribution of intraspecific variability to community weighted means (CWM) and indices of functional richness, evenness and divergence, we used the data on leaf area, specific leaf area (SLA) and vegetative height, measured per community type and their mean values across communities. Plant height had a positive covariation with CWMs, while SLA mostly had a negative covariation. For CWMs of leaf area, the species turnover was more important than the intraspecific variability. The highest functional richness by all the traits was observed in abandoned meadows. In subruderal communities the intraspecific variability of SLA can compensate for the losses in species and functional richness.

A novel species in genera Triseptata and Leptodontidium are described as Triseptata orientalis and Leptodontidium viktortsoii. The new species were isolated from the forest-tundra soils of the Magadan region (Russia) and is represented by ex-type strain VKM F-5014 and VKM F-5013, accordingly. To characterize the species, we used a polyphasic taxonomic approach. A description based on morphological characters is given and it is shown that the new species are morphologically different from closely related species. Partial sequences of internal transcribed spacer rDNA region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and 28S rDNA (LSU) were analyzed. The partial sequence of SSU (18S rDNA) was analyzed for L. viktortsoii as well. Sequences data, macro- and micromorphological characteristics distinguish T. orientalis and L. viktortsoii from all known species in genera Triseptata and Leptodontidium.

The plants of the Zygophyllaceae family are often considered to be capable of symbiotic atmosphere nitrogen fixation, forming rhizobial nodules similar to those of Fabaceae and Urticaceae. In four species of Zygophyllaceae and the related Peganum harmala (hereafter called Z-plants), collected in Dzungarian deserts (Kazakhstan), we analyzed the prokaryotic component of the root microbiome and the 15N and 13C content in the leaves of these Z-plants compared with neighboring dicots belonging to other families (R-plants). Among all studied Zygophyllum fabago root samples only one was found to have the root nodule, however the microbiome of this sample was similar to that found in other Z. fabago root samples where nodulation was not observed. If compared to Z-plants, the R-plants had a significantly higher relative abundance of bacteria of genera Glycomyces, Massilia and Streptomyces, while the Z-plants had a higher relative abundance of the representatives of genera Actinomadura, Nocardia and Pseudonocardia. Unidentified representatives of the family Rhizobiaceae were present in some of R and Z plants, being most abundant in soil samples. On average, the Z- and the R-plants did not differ in their δ13С and δ15N. Overall, the results do not allow us to consider the studied Zygophyllaceae plants as species with effective atmospheric nitrogen fixation due to rhizobial symbiosis – a characteristic feature of the most legumes.

The analysis of DNA nucleotide sequences is an important source of information in the identification of plant taxa or plant components in the composition of medicines. In this work, we studied the possibility of using universal molecular markers for DNA barcoding of rare plant species distributed in the Altai Biosphere Reserve, located in the Altai Republic (South Siberia, Russia). In order to identify commercially-used endangered species, universal markers recommended for DNA barcoding were applied: ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacers) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA and four regions of chloroplast DNA: trnL-F, trnH-psbA rpl32-trnL, and rpl16. Among 61 species of rare flowering plants protected in the Altai Biosphere Reserve, ten species belonging to eight families were studied. The results of sequencing showed that ITS, rpl32-trnL and trnH-psbA core plant barcodes are the most effective markers for discriminating rare species from the Altai Biosphere Reserve.

The suspended soils, associated with epiphytic plants in tropical forest canopies, have a very special type of biological cycle, morphological organization and ecological functional role. We have studies out whether the chemical composition and hydrological parameters depend significantly on the genesis of suspended soil, or they represent a single soil phenomenon with a certain supposed ecosystem function. Their maximum water holding capacity and field moisture capacity reaches hundreds and even thousands of percent which cannot but lead to mesophilization of the microclimate of the near-stem environments. The high content of nutrients in tropical suspended soils is enormously high compared to forest soils of other climatic zones and should be noted as their most important attributive characteristic. This once again confirms the hypothesis that the essence of epiphytic soil formation was and is that the biotic cycle breaks away from the ground and moves evolutionarily into the middle and upper tiers of the tropical rainforest ecosystem. Tree trunks in this context represent vertically and subhorizontally oriented phase interfaces, similar to parent materials, and epiphytic soils are analogues of peat accumulations with extremely high water-holding capacity, which is of extremely important environmental significance.